Master for Webs

Archive for June, 2009

Especially for mechanical and software products, technical support is a huge cost for many manufacturers and their resellers. Customers not only want answers to questions you haven’t already covered in your catalog, but their appetite only gets bigger after they’ve made a purchase and now need technical support, tutorials, documentation, FAQs and so-on. If that kind of information is not easier to find than your phone number, then chances are you’ll be spending a lot of time, and a lot of your payroll, on voice customer support. Read the rest of this entry »

Not needing a SQL database for every site or every table means you can use Interchange in more hosting environments, but that’’s has usually come at the cost of being able to use SQL as your query language. Fortunately Interchange comes with a built-in SQL interpreter, which means you can use a single query language even if your tables are stored in a “flat file” instead of something like MySQL or Oracle. Read the rest of this entry »

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is hoping that the third time’s the charm as it once again launches a retooled Web site, with the emphasis now on speed and ease.

The new site (www.wal-mart.com) promises to be less dazzling and more efficient, “less of a shot out of a cannon than an old-fashioned store remodeling,” says Jeanne Jackson, chief executive of Walmart.com, a joint venture of Wal-Mart and Accel Partners of Palo Alto, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »

Fraud is a growing problem with doing business online, according to a new survey, and a growing number of businesses are taking steps to counter illegal transactions. Read the rest of this entry »

Web sites are gearing up to provide full-bore coverage of the Bush-Gore cliffhanger, as well as the results of every last congressional election, governor’s race and referendum. And unlike the television networks, which must keep as many people as possible glued to the same broadcast, outlets in cyberspace have practically unlimited time and space to report on every decision. (For an encyclopedic guide, check out the State Watch section of Elections U.S.A. at www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6228.) Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes, the best travel advice comes from the travelers themselves.

Those looking for information on hot destinations in the form of personal anecdotes can click on Concierge.com, where the recently unveiled “travelog” feature shifts the balance of power and makes the user the expert. Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet may be struggling, but the $17 billion online travel business is still growing — rising to 7% of the total travel market from 5% last year. But is it getting any easier to use? I tried something that even the most adventuresome Web surfers avoid: booking an entire vacation on the Web. And I mean everything, from theater tickets to hotel facials. My goal: Never to pick up the phone. Read the rest of this entry »

Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

For time-strapped last-minute holiday shoppers, the promise of mobile buying is seductive: You can shop from anywhere — whether it be the doctor’s waiting room or the line at the ATM. Since Amazon.com is the behemoth of online shopping, I tested their mobile site with a friend’s Sanyo cell phone and Sprint PCS service. I didn’t have to do finger gymnastics to get to the site: Amazon.com is featured on the Sprint PCS home screen. But when I clicked on the search function, I did have to tap away (three clicks to get to “c”) to spell out “cook books.” Amazon.com gave me only six choices, three of them CD-ROMs. I wasn’t interested in any of the picks so I went back to the search function and tapped “Martha Stewart Living Cookbook.” (Yes, it took forever.) Because of the tiny phone screen, Amazon.com offers only basic of information, including price and author, though you can access some customer comments. When I clicked the “buy” button, Amazon.com asked for my e-mail address and Amazon.com account password. The mobile site is set up only for customers who bought through Amazon.com before and registered their shipping and billing addresses and credit-card numbers. After I clicked on the “one-click charge” button, I was done. I didn’t get a confirmation of my order on the phone. So it wasn’t until later, when I received an e-mail on my personal computer, that I learned I was charged $13.98 for shipping and handling. Besides the sticker shock, a downside is the lack of customer support. I couldn’t find any information or FAQs about mobile service on Amazon.com’s regular Web site. Even for big guys like Amazon.com, mobile shopping has a long way to go. In its current state, I can’t imagine doing it again unless I had a lot of time and nothing better to do.

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