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Results 121-140 of 143 for Pam Baker
BEST OF ECT NEWS

Corporate Chat Bots – When Will They Ever Learn?

In the ultimate game of bait-and-switch, several Web sites try to pass off a bot as a bod. That is to say that Live Chat is offered to users, but there's no flesh-and-blood person on the line, there's only a chat bot making a robotic guess at what the user might want to know. Few are fooled by the switcheroo, but nonetheless, could the tactic be working?...

BEST OF ECT NEWS

The Mobile Web Experience: Why So Lame?

Cruising the Web on a smartphone is about like cruising for a date on a tricycle -- the basic concept is there, but the delivery is laughable. If you are using an iPhone, then it's more like cruising in a Volkswagen Beetle -- better, but still short of the Lamborghini speeds we're used to on the open cyber-highway ...

Avoiding the E-Tail Boomerang

Online retailers agree that it's better to give than receive, yet they stand to receive more than most. Santa will barely have time to shuck his boots for his slippers before the merchandise misfits begin a return journey to the warehouse to wreak havoc on the season's sales numbers ...

Nothing Says Holiday Cheer Like Free Software

So you want to give the best this holiday season? How about a nice bundle of free software? Hold on, this isn't a lesson in Scrooge 101 but a way to give some really good software on a shoestring budget, or to lend a hand to charities, struggling college students, underprivileged kids, even help out the un-geeks who want to do more on their computer but haven't a clue about software...

The E-Tail Holiday Bazaar: Way Beyond Sweaters and Ties

What's the use of having access to a World Wide Web if you're only going to shop three or four mainstream retailers anyway? ...

E-Mail Disclaimers: Scant Protection at Best

Considering putting an e-mail disclaimer at the end of the e-mail that says, in effect, "Hey, don't read this!" is every bit as effective as a park flasher telling you not to look -- how much protection does that overly verbose threat actually carry? ...

PRODUCT PROFILE

The Great Showdown: MS Office vs. OpenOffice

Microsoft has the best products money can buy -- at least, that's what they would have you believe ...

Playing the Name Game: Sometimes, It’s a Losing Effort

With all the games people play with Internet company names, it's quite possible that someday no one will be able to spell anything correctly ever again ...

Say What? Chat Bots Just Don’t Cut It – Yet

In the ultimate game of bait-and-switch, several Web sites try to pass off a bot as a bod. That is to say that Live Chat is offered to users, but there's no flesh-and-blood person on the line, there's only a chat bot making a robotic guess at what the user might want to know. Few are fooled by the switcheroo, but nonetheless, could the tactic be working?...

Deconstructing the Incredibly Weak Mobile Web Experience

Cruising the Web on a smartphone is about like cruising for a date on a tricycle -- the basic concept is there, but the delivery is laughable. If you are using an iPhone, then it's more like cruising in a Volkswagen Beetle -- better, but still short of the Lamborghini speeds we're used to on the open cyber-highway ...

Incurable Viruses: How Real Is the Threat?

Pimply faced pranksters and lone profiteers who poison computer systems have been replaced by organized criminals of a different breed ...

Is It Time to Scale Up? Signs of E-Commerce System Strain

E-commerce is an important sales channel to businesses of all sizes, but when it's a company's sole meal ticket, the stakes are even higher. Threats to Internet profits often lay hidden and customers rarely stop to point them out ...

Protecting Your Kids: Tools for Thwarting Online Predators

The Internet is the greatest educational tool since the advent of books, but it is also a sinister playground for prowling predators searching for young prey ...

Blaring Ads Can Scare Off Customers

Automatic audio ads that co-opt the user's speakers to automatically play sounds and music are often intrusive and annoying and can even disrupt the workplace. The oft-cursed technique begs the question of whether advertisers can actually sell goods to a startled audience left leaping from their chairs and desperately seeking the mute button ...

BEST OF ECT NEWS

The Ultimate in Service Automation at Home

In the not-so-distant future, the mundane will become borderline miraculous. The home washing machine will order its own repairs and the sprinkler system will call you on your cell phone to say the lawn service has broken one of its water spouts and it is now wasting water ...

The Next Chapter for eBooks

The publishing industry is struggling to cash in on eBooks; so far the digital literary attempt has been fragmented and slow, both in terms of adoption and in getting the material to the reader. However, that may change soon, given new initiatives announced in the last few days ranging from the arrival of new industry standards to a new reader with some cool effects...

211: A Fast Track to Government Service

211 is more than a mere convenience to callers seeking information about critical health and human services available in their communities; it can literally be a lifesaver ...

Looking for an Industrial-Strength E-Biz System?

Mega e-tailers have harnessed the Internet with such finesse that their Web sites seem to run on magic. However, the trade is a tricky business, and the options are few ...

Do Shopping Engines Turn Up Better Computer Hardware Deals?

In an attempt to get a hands-on read of the efficiency and credibility of comparison search engines, I embarked on a buying experiment for an HP Media Vault mv2020 server -- specifically a Windows-based PC tower with two 500 GB Internal Drives, three USB ports for expansion, room for an additional 3.5-inch internal drive, built-in Gigabit Ethernet and a dual processor configuration...

Desperately Seeking SEO

Retail's enthusiasm for e-commerce started as a tentative courtship, but has blossomed into a love affair, with businesses large and small embracing the Internet as a prime source of sales revenue. Everybody, it seems, is entering the queue, hoping to attract a growing mob of cybershoppers ...

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