| Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer service Feb 7th 2012, 21:46  A partnership between Microsoft and customer service company 24/7 may not exactly sound like the most exciting proposition on the face of things, but the two are making some fairly lofty promises, and Microsoft seems to be making a serious investment in the initiative. As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley reports, part of the deal will see Microsoft send at least some of the 400 employees it brought on in its 2007 acquisition of TellMe Networks to 24/7, and it will also license some of its speech-related IP to the company (in addition to taking an equity stake in it). The goal there being to combine natural user interfaces with a cloud-based customer service platform, which Microsoft promises will "redefine what customer service looks like." To that end, it gives the example of a credit card company getting in touch with you to report suspicious behavior; rather than a phone call, you could get a notification with all the pertinent details sent directly to your phone, which could anticipate a number of potential actions and let you respond by voice (or touch, presumably). Unfortunately, while the two are talking plenty about the future of customer service, there's not a lot of word as to when that might arrive.
Continue reading Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer service Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer service originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Microsoft | Email this | Comments | | Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series Feb 7th 2012, 21:00 Exactly twelve months after the unveiling of the Optio WG-1 family, Pentax is now introducing the successors to its colorful and ruggedized shooters. And while its macho design hasn't changed much, the newcomers usher in a host of predictable spec bumps. The new all-terrain shooters are sporting a 16-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 1080p (30fps) movie mode, micro-HDMI for when you feel like sharing your adventures and a 3-inch, 460,000 -dot LCD to help you frame your shots. Of course, this wouldn't fall under the rugged category if it couldn't handle anything you threw at it, which is why any WG-2 is waterproof up to 40 feet, shock-resistant and dustproof. If you're thinking about taking one of these on the trails with you, be ready to unleash around $350 for the unguided model or about $50 more for a GPS-enabled number. Neither will be available until March, so you'll have to wait a while, but in the meantime we've got the full PR below along with some press shots. Continue reading Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Canon unveils two AirPrint printers, thinks you should print more stuff from your iPad Feb 7th 2012, 20:32 Want to print stuff from your iPad, but hate drivers and cords and stuff? Good news, Canon's offering up the Pixma MX512 and MX432, two all-in-one inkjets that offer up Apple AirPrint support, letting users wirelessly prints photos, docs and the like from their iPad, iPhone and iPod touches running iOS 4.2 or later. Canon also used the announcement to reaffirm its commitment to the technology, ensuring as before that it "will be available with the majority of Canon PIXMA Wireless All-In-One inkjet printers launched from this point forward." A brief, fully printable press release can be found after the break. Continue reading Canon unveils two AirPrint printers, thinks you should print more stuff from your iPad Canon unveils two AirPrint printers, thinks you should print more stuff from your iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  iPodNN | Canon | Email this | Comments | |
