Jockeying for Position, Keeping Tabs, Speaking Out

Tweet

Not only employers benefit from the program's comprehensive reach. The on-line module lets employees check out new-job and other postings, benefit information, and a company handbook (which can be updated at will). Jam.LOGIC can even add custom documents -- say, quarterly updates on employees' goals. All that, and it's easy to install and use, too.

So what's the downside? There's not much of one. The data handling isn't as sophisticated as it could be in dealing with errors or carrying forward data that have already been entered. For example, several times when I input the wrong information, the program crashed and I was shipped back to the Program Manager. Much more helpful would have been a simple beep or other indicator to tell me I was on the wrong track. Also, there's an inconsistency in the screens, almost as though they were designed at different times or by different people. (On some you use scroll bars to move up and down a form; on others, buttons.) However, those lapses are offset by an annual maintenance contract (available for $300 or 20% of the retail price, whichever is higher) that covers updates for both the software and the government regulations inside. Still, given the nature of the program, it would have made sense for Jam.LOGIC to calculate the cost of updates into the original price of the package.

But those are minor quibbles. Would I buy HR Task Counselor for my company? Two years ago I'd have paid dearly for it. Since then I've hired a full-time HR person. She's looked at several packages that cost two to five times more than this one and don't provide as much information. As soon as she can tunnel through the paperwork on her desk, I'm going to have her evaluate the program. I think it just might make her life a lot easier -- and improve the way our new and current employees feel about their company.

Software
WebTalk from Quarterdeck Corp., Marina del Rey, CA (800-683-6696; price $49.95), an Internet audio connection

Reviewer
Garry Kvistad (garry@chimes.com), founder and CEO of Woodstock Percussion Inc., a 17-year-old maker of wind chimes and distributor of other musical instruments, in West Hurley, NY

Requirements
486DX/33; 8 MB RAM; 3 MB free disk space with your own browser (13 MB if you use the program's); Windows 3.1; Windows-compatible 16-bit sound card; speakers; microphone; 14.4-bps modem; any Winsock 1.1-compatible network stack; FLIP or PPP Internet connection

My business is music, so the idea of software that would let me communicate audibly with customers over the Internet was exciting. I could imagine the benefits of demonstrating wind chimes and drums all over the world at no cost. Billed as a program to "make yourself heard," WebTalk promises to let you "use your PC just like a phone." A phone whose lines were cut would be more like it.

Installation and setup were the first hurdles. For starters, Quarterdeck should supply a reference list of the information you need to register and start up the software: an E-mail account number, an SMTP server, a POP3 server, an NNTP server, and so on. Instead, the program is set up so that when you enter one piece of information, you're prompted for the next. That means time lost scrounging around when you thought you were ready to go. Luckily my IS director was by my side and could readily supply me with the information; most users won't be so fortunate.

Yet even knowing the numbers wasn't enough. While I was trying to finish the installation, a dialog box kept trashing my E-mail address. I called Quarterdeck's technical support but hung up after spending 10 minutes on hold. The Help function was, well, no help: it had nothing to say about why the program kept rejecting the address. Finally, the program accepted the address, and I was able to go on.

At least I thought I could. The next obstacle was connecting with my Internet server. My second try was successful; I still don't know why. The victory was short-lived, however, because the link kept breaking. Without the help of my IS director, I'd still be trying to make a connection.

At last I was able to place a call. The code names of other users appeared in boxes on the screen. I clicked on one that turned out to be a woman in Seattle who was also testing the software. Buttons appeared to indicate the "talk" and "listen" modes. I could hear her -- the transmission was choppy but intelligible, like a bad telephone connection -- but she couldn't hear me. We had to resort to the Chat box to get anything across. After nine minutes of discussion about adjustments on her end that might help, I disconnected.

In a later try (this one with my trusty IS director), I was able to connect to and just about talk with another party -- again the line was besieged by static. My correspondent was using a 14.4-bps modem, which may have been the problem. Perhaps Quarterdeck should recommend a 28.8-bps modem and a specific sound card to guarantee better results. In the final analysis, I suspect that the technology isn't quite ready and that AT&T doesn't mind.

 PREV  1 | 2