Put the Web to Work for You

New Tools for Old Hassles

There's more to getting your work done than sending and reading email (although, much of the time, it may not seem that way). Indeed, even the most intense "knowledge work" still involves some truly mundane headaches. And in the realm of headaches, is there anything more mundane (and yet more mission-critical) than getting an important package to a customer or a colleague overnight?

If you've got a package that absolutely, positively must get to its destination the next day, you don't have to call FedEx. Instead, you can call up the Web. SmartShip.com
(www.smartship.com) is a Web resource that will help with all of your shipping needs. The site lets you compare services and prices for Airborne Express, Federal Express, UPS, and the United States Postal Service, as well as other couriers. Once you decide on a carrier, you can print a label and even arrange for a pickup. SmartShip will also email the recipient to say that the package is on its way -- and then notify you by email once it has been delivered.

If you need to track a package, just go into your shipment log and select the appropriate tracking number, and SmartShip will provide an update on the progress of your shipment. If you're sending documents, don't waste time contacting a courier or downloading postage -- heck, don't even waste a minute printing them out or photocopying them. Visit NowDocs.com
(www.nowdocs.com), a new service that will print, bind, and deliver your documents -- all in the same day (or even in less than two hours), if you live in one of 13 cities. Or choose next-day service, which is available nationwide. Just enter the recipient's address; upload the documents; select a delivery method, a type of paper, and a binding option; and pay the appropriate fee.

You'll never worry about missing a FedEx deadline again: With next-day service, the deadline is as late as 11:59 PM on the East Coast, or 8:59 PM on the West Coast. (The deadline for same-day service is 4:59 PM on the East Coast.) Next-day service costs $9.95 for up to 10 black-and-white pages. Same-day service starts at $19.95 for up to 10 black-and-white pages.

Thanks to the Web, it's possible to send packages to far-off destinations faster than ever before. But what about getting you where you need to be? Well, if you need to be at a critical meeting with colleagues from several different cities, then the Web can help. Log onto WebEx (www.webex.com), a site that hosts Web-enabled meetings, and you'll be in the right place almost right away.

To schedule a meeting or to start one immediately, click on the "Create Meeting" button; enter a meeting name, a password, and a time and date; send email notifications to attendees; and choose from additional features, such as teleconferencing, polling, and chat. To join a meeting, attendees click on the "Join Meeting" icon and enter the meeting number that was sent as part of their notification. That's it. No software to download. No complicated setup.

After a meeting begins, the presenter can share any presentation, document, application, or Web page simply by clicking on the "Share" button, selecting a document to share, and opening it in the usual manner. Once the document is open, it automatically appears in the browser of every attendee.

WebEx also allows the presenter to give attendees the ability to print, highlight, or annotate anything on the shared document. Or the presenter can turn the meeting over to another attendee simply by selecting that person from a user list and clicking on the "Presenter" button. But the meeting room's most powerful feature is "desktop sharing," which enables a presenter to take control of another person's desktop (with that person's permission, of course).

Sarah Mayor uses WebEx to get her foot in the door with potential clients and to give them preliminary demos. Mayor, 29, is a sales-development representative at Siebel Systems, a San Mateo, California-based e-business-solutions company. WebEx is "great for giving clients a taste of what our applications are all about," she says. "They get a sense of the program's maneuverability. Then they usually say, 'Yes, definitely come in and give me the full demo.' "

You've got to start meeting like this!

Perhaps the only thing better than being able to meet anytime, anywhere is being able to get technical support anytime, anywhere. NoWonder (www.nowonder.com) is an online marketplace that connects computer users who have technical questions with techies who have answers -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. NoWonder has no employees, but it boasts a large network of thousands of techies who eagerly monitor the site.

How does it work? Users can get help in one of three ways: "Live Help" lets you interact with a support technician personally and in real time. "E-mail Help" provides answers to questions within 24 hours. And "Self Help" offers an extensive list of do-it-yourself Web resources. Users can view technicians' qualifications before seeking their help -- and then rate their performance afterward.