Vivian Wagner Archive

Food Testing for Safe Tasting
May 21, 2013

As parents of children with peanut sensitivities well know, awareness of what's in their kids' food is of paramount importance. In order to detect this allergen -- and many others -- engineers at UCLA have created a system called iTube. It involves placing a small amount of food in a test tube, shining a light on it, and then using a smartphone's camera and a specially-designed app.

Consumers Warm to Infrared Grilling
May 14, 2013

Like many sailors, Tom Dougherty likes to grill a juicy steak on his boat. And he has found that infrared technology sears his steaks to perfection, even on a small, sailboat-sized grill. "It creates an intense heat that allows you to sear your steaks and chops and holds in the heat," said Dougherty, director of sales and marketing for boat grill manufacturer Magma Products.

Gardening in Waterworld
May 07, 2013

One day, gardener Robert Mainville saw a show about hydroponics on PBS, and it fascinated him. Soon he had set up a hydroponic garden in his own yard -- forsaking his old soil plots -- and within months was harvesting tomatoes, cabbage, kale, and turnips. "It works fantastically," said Mainville, the owner of Cape Fear Hydrogardens. "The production you can get is amazing."

Digging Into Garden Planning Software
April 30, 2013

When Catherine Kasper Place in Fort Wayne, Ind., needed to help refugees plan garden plots for themselves and for the organization's community supported agriculture, it turned to GrowVeg.com's Garden Planner and its affiliated iPad app, Garden Plan Pro. "It's challenging just to manage one garden," said Holly Chaille, Catherine Kasper Place's director. "This is 36 different ones, with 36 different designs."

Good Earth, Good Apps
April 12, 2013

When Leslie Sturgeon wanted to identify some brown spots on cucumber leaves in her greenhouse, she pulled out her phone and consulted the app she herself developed, iVeggieGarden. Before long, she'd identified the culprit -- angular leaf spot -- and could begin treating it. "We use it ourselves as a reference," said Sturgeon, owner of Moorit Software and Little Rest Farm in Brimfield, Mass.

Selling to the World: A Map for Global Marketing Success
April 05, 2013

When Dr. Martens customers from around the world search for its site, it's possible they'll end up on one designed specifically for their country. "They have specific sites for specific countries," explained Gil Levy, managing partner with ECommerce Partners. "That's the best thing to do."

Shipping Abroad: Customs and Duties and Laws, Oh My
April 01, 2013

When overseas customers order smartphone and tablet repair parts and accessories from RepairsUniverse.com, they must know the laws and regulations in their individual countries regarding international shipments. Those laws and regulations might include a variety of taxes and fees. Everything from customs and duty fees to the creation of enforceable electronic agreements and contracts needs to be considered.

E-Commerce Carts That Are Ready for a World of Shopping
March 22, 2013

Shoe shoppers from Antigua to the United Kingdom, when visiting the Jildor Shoes website, can click a link for the "International Website" on the homepage and enter their country and currency. Immediately, the prices, shipping costs, duty fees and taxes for every pair of boots, pumps, and slippers on the site adjust automatically.

E-Commerce's Fast Boat to China - and Beyond
March 06, 2013

When Brooklyn-based PruneDanish.com sends shipments of its electronics, accessories, and home and garden products to customers overseas, it uses Swedish stamps. As odd as that might seem, it makes sense for the e-commerce company. PruneDanish.com uses the services of Direct Link, a U.S. subsidiary of Sweden Post.

Exploring the New World of Travel Apps
March 01, 2013

When Richard Rygg, the co-founder of HipGeo, sailed with his family last year through the islands of French Polynesia, he used his company's app to document the experience. The result is a multimedia blog complete with a GPS track of his adventure, and a collection of dozens of geo-tagged photos of sunsets, beaches and bays.

Mobile Devices Help Chart the Future of Marine Navigation
February 15, 2013

Daniel Collins, an avid sailor and sailing instructor, has traveled solo across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. to Nova Scotia, using only his iPhone and iPad for navigation.He's part of a new breed of boaters who use tablets and smartphones in addition to -- and sometimes in lieu of -- traditional onboard electronic navigation and chartplotting systems.

Satellite Communicators: Connecting the Wilderness to the World
February 08, 2013

In the midst of an emergency while on a Grand Canyon rafting and rock-climbing trip last fall, Kevin Camp discovered first-hand the life-saving capabilities of satellite communicators. When a member of his party fell off a rock and sustained serious injuries, Camp used a DeLorme inReach to contact rescue personnel and coordinate a helicopter landing.

See Customers Clearly Now
February 04, 2013

Customers expect call centers to know everything about them -- their order history, what they've posted about the brand on Facebook, and how long they've bought from the company. Increasingly, companies are beginning to keep up with that expectation, and the more they do, the better customer service they can provide.

We'll Call You: Putting an End to On-Hold Misery
January 28, 2013

It's a universal reality: Customers dislike waiting on hold. Now call-backs and virtual queuing are changing all that. "Our basic mission is to improve the call center experience," said Shai Berger, CEO and cofounder of Fonolo. "The heart of what we do is replacing hold time with a call-back."

The Call Center in the Cloud
January 21, 2013

Call centers are increasingly migrating away from on-premises systems to cloud-based systems, which can save money and give greater flexibility. Everything from customer data to telephony software is making its way to the cloud, revolutionizing the way call centers manage their operations. "It's all the buzz now, " said Mitch Lieber, principal at Lieber & Associates.

Call Centers Jump on the Mobile Bandwagon
January 14, 2013

Mobile devices are changing both how customers get in touch with call centers and how companies respond to those calls. The days of customers sitting at kitchen tables on landlines waiting for agents to answer their calls are gone. Now, they're calling from smartphones and clicking on apps, and call centers are adapting to this new mobile reality.

App It Up: Mobile Strategies for Small Businesses
January 04, 2013

Even when Darien Gold's pilates clients aren't in her studio, they can work on their moves by following the instructions and imitating the positions on her mobile app. Gold uses the app to expand the reach of her business, according to Bharath Lingam, CEO of PurpleTalk, which worked with Gold to develop her app.

Voice of the Customer: Analyzing What People Say and How They Say It
January 02, 2013

Call center software can now identify everything from anger to dissatisfaction in the voices of customers. Since call centers are all about voices, it makes sense to analyze those voices in order to provide better customer service. The field of voice analytics, in fact, has become a big business.

Facebook Opens Messaging Dollar Store
December 21, 2012

Facebook announced Thursday that it is testing a system that will let users send prioritized messages to people who aren't among their contacts by paying $1. The initial test, part of an effort to monetize its user base, involves a small group of people. Currently, any messages Facebook members send to non-contacts go into a folder labeled "Other."

Boeing Uses Sacks of Spuds for In-Flight WiFi Tests
December 20, 2012

Using potatoes as an analog for humans, Boeing has come up with a new way to test for in-flight wireless signal strength. Signal strength is everything when it comes to effective wireless connectivity, whether it's on the ground or 35,000 feet up in the air. Passengers on board a wireless-enabled plane want to access the network whether they're in first class or the middle seat in the back of the plane.