Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Flash Player 10.1 FINALLY getting to Smartphones!

For updates on which smartphones currently support Adobe Flash Player 10.1 please go to https://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/supported_devices/smartphones.html

We are very pleased to see Adobe FINALLY making headway in getting Flash Player active to support mobile use of the VirtualSalons & VirtualSpas application.

It is too early for us to provide any recommendations for which phones are managing the Flash Player best. We are collecting user feedback and will keep posting more information as it becomes available.

As Adobe joins forces with almost every smartphone producer other than Apple...If you are an iPhone owner who also subscribes to VirtualSalons / VirtualSpas we suggest that you contact Apple to let them know you want Flash Player on iPhone too!

In the meantime we are working on a browser-based access to our app for iPhone users, but ultimately the use of the application will be much richer in content, functions and features via Flash Player enabled devices.

We're hopeful that the outcry from iPhone users will put pressure on Steve Jobs as they see the Android and other smartphones using Flash Player well.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Back to Basics...and lessons learned

By datestamp, it will appear that I've been ignoring the need to blog, but in reality we found a "hot" new blogging technology we thought would be a great addition to our business. Sadly, the truth is that we had a very bad experience with this blogging company and are now back to basics with good old Google Blogger!

The lessons learned here are exactly the things we tell all of the professionals evaluating our online appointment booking and salon and spa management services. I believe they are worth sharing as we re-engage this blog:
1. When evaluating a technology you want to incorporate into your business, don't settle for reviewing demos and getting your questions answered. If you cannot be provided the ability to test a technology on your own computer to be sure it works well for you - DON'T move forward with it! We provide a 30-day free trial with full system available to potential subscribers. Every technology should!
2. Try every feature you or your clients will use FOR YOURSELF. You must know what your clients will be seeing and experiencing just like you must see the online tools you will be using in your daily business. Frankly, what your clients see and experience will ultimately be more important than what you see a service provider.

In the case of our bad "new" blog technology experience, all we lost were some blog posts. In the case of evaluating online appointment booking tools and Salon and Spa software, you can lose much more if you chose badly - like your entire client list and all of your historical client and sales information.

In addition to being able to touch the technology with your own hands and your own computers, you've got to know what a service providers policies are for when you leave their service. Will they provide you lists of all future appointments? Will your clients be contacted by this company or other professionals using their service? We hear horror stories from professionals all the time about what they didn't know when they signed up for some cool "new" service. I'll discuss these things and more here in our weekly discussion.

Our team is here to help you evaluate not only our system but we are also prepared to answer questions about our competitors. Our support team is available to our Free Trial users just like they are to our subscribers Toll Free at 1-888-474-8018.

Let us know how we can help you.