b_book1.gif (162 bytes)Internet

WWW - Agent technology
"Intelligent" applications that find and analyse information on the net. They can deliver price comparisons for merchandise on different web retail sites or help find information without specific topics. Users can't buy agents, but use them when they go to certain shopping sites.

For example:

Amazon's shop the web site allows users to compare prices on multiple sites.

 

The basic process is as follows;

  1. A consumer goes to a shopping bot and requests pricing on a product, e.g. a particular video card.
  2. The bot unleashes multiple agents that go to every site that sells that particular video card.
  3. Each agent visits the web retailer to find the required video card, and if successful compiles the data to an html template
  4. The custom information is posted back to the consumer to view, compare and sort.

b_ref.gif (1385 bytes)(1999, May 10) Machlis, S
[Rev: 31/03/01] 11/5/99 © 1999 V/2-Com (Verhaart), P O Box 8415, Havelock North, New Zealand.