Archive for September, 2010

Customer Testimonials: “Easy to use & straightforward”

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

 To assure we’re doing our job right, we follow up with every customer after their order is complete. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we receive rave reports. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories. Please find a sampling of the testimonials below that we’ve recently received. 

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, you can always find us here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808 if you have any questions or just want to chat!

“You have a great company.  Who knew I would not be too scared to send my prized photos to a company in California? Your website and the status bar, made me feel connected the whole time. The whole experience was great.  The photos I sent were pulled from albums I have made over the past 25 years.  They were photos for a disc to give my folks for their 50th wedding anniversary. They have no idea I have done that.  The anniversary in March 2011, but I wasn’t sure how fast it would be to get them scanned, etc and I am guessing my siblings will want discs after they see it.  They don’t know I did this either.  Just want you to know how great this service is and why. I definitely will use you again and recommend you.”  Chris – Chicago, IL

“I was very satisfied with my experience with ScanDigital and will most likely use the service again.  I would definitely recommend it to family and friends.” Michele – Eagan, MN

“I am very happy with my experience so far.  I have been converting 8mm film to DVD from when I was a kid. I just put in an order that is actually for a friend of mine.  She is getting a bunch of slides put on DVD. I have more 8mm film to send in and I am going to get it together this weekend. I think the pricing information is straight forward.” Kelly – Baltimore, MD

“I understood the pricing options.  I think it’s good that you offer several levels of service to accommodate the needs of professionals and people who just want their personal photos scanned. I will be sending you another batch of photos soon.   I will put the word out to my family and friends. Thank you so much!” Dana – San Francisco, CA

“I just received my first order & am very satisfied.  I actually sent another order just 2 days ago.  Your website is very easy to use & straightforward.  I especially appreciated the tracking status of the order.  I had contacted the customer service twice & both times I received very prompt responses. Again, thank you.” Karen – Winter Springs, FL

“I will definitely be a continued customer and recommender.” Jason – Boston, MA

“Yes, would use the service again. Yes, have already recommended the company.” Susan – Hoboken, NJ

“Thanks for following up. I am very happy with my new DVD and I will most likely send some more so you can convert them. I definitely recommended it to my sister. Thanks.” Patricia – Alexandria, KY

“I’m sure that I need your service again, I need to put together some old pictures. Yes, I’ll certainly recommend you!” Lizzette – McKinney, TX

“I received my order and am very pleased to have on DVD some very precious film that was taken in the 1940s of family weddings, as well as other family events that had been recorded on videotape.  It was well worth the cost.  I plan to send some other videotape to ScanDigital for conversion to DVD – it was fast and easy to do.  As soon as I go through some tapes and designate what I need converted to DVD, you will be able to count me as a repeat customer. Thanks for the services you offer and for your friendly and courteous customer service.” Ann – Lafayette Hill, PA

“I have enjoyed viewing my old Hi8 movie files your company converted to DVDs.  The quality is good considering the age of the films. I will be sending more of my films in soon. Thanks.” Ruth – Belmont, CA

New Apple TV: Game Changer?

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

New Apple TV: Game Changer?

Apple’s Revamped Device Streams Music And Video To Your TV

Last Wednesday, as Steve Jobs wrapped up his presentation unveiling a whole new lineup oh iPods, we all waited for his signature “One More Thing.” This time around, Jobs announced a much-anticipated revamp of the Apple TV console, which streams music and video content to your HDTV from your other devices (such as laptops, iPhones, and iPads), or from the cloud-based iTunes video rental service. The new consoled is 80% smaller than the previous version, sells for less than half the price of its predecessor ($99, down from $229), and offers a wide variety of new features including Netflix content streaming.

Jobs stressed the Apple TV’s ability to deliver instant gratification via video rentals from the iTunes store. No longer outfitted with a built-in hard drive, the new Apple TV does not allow users to purchase digital video transfers of movies and TV shows from the iTunes store. Instead, users can rent video content, which is delivered from the cloud directly to the Apple TV either via Ethernet or built-in WiFi. Commercial-free, high definition TV shows from ABC and Fox will be available for rental for only 99 cents, and Jobs said that more networks are expected to hop on the bandwagon soon.

Another major addition to Apple TV’s feature set is Netflix streaming. No longer limited to iTunes and YouTube content, Apple TV can now stream digital video transfers from Netflix’s enormous online library (Netflix subscription required). Apple TV is late to the Netflix streaming party – many competitors such as Roku and Sony already offer set-top Netflix streaming solutions – but Apple promises superior implementation, and extras like the ability to use an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad (with their useful QWERTY keyboards) to search, scroll, and navigate.

But you don’t need to rent content from iTunes or even pay for a Netflix subscription to take advantage of Apple TV new feature called AirPlay. Not only can users stream their iTunes music and video content from their computers directly to the Apple TV, but they can also stream directly from any iOS device, including the new iPod Touch. Any song or video on a user’s iPod Touch, iPad, or iPhone can be streamed instantly (and wirelessly) onto the Apple TV, with just a couple of taps on the touch screen. Just imagine, every bit of music and video entertainment on your iPod can play through your home theater system, with zero effort and no wires!

Of course, Jobs and the folks at Apple hope you’ll rent tons of content from the iTunes store, and that’s the part of the package that Jobs really played up. But the Apple TV might prove to be much more than a money-maker; it really might change the way we watch TV, and certainly the way we enjoy the digital content we already have.

Customer Testimonials: “Quality of the pictures processed is great”

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

We follow up with every customer because we care. We truly want to hear about as many customer experiences as possible to assure we’re doing our job right. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we hear from customers overjoyed to have their memories preserved and thankful the process was so easy. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories.

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, you can always find us here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808. Hope to hear from you soon!

 “As long as I have more negatives, which I do, I’ll be back in small batches until I’m done and then I may start on some slides. I have already recommended you service. I have had a very positive experience with your organization and have found Koa to be a very pleasant individual.” Edward – Saugus, CA

“The instructions, labels… everything, very clear and easy to do. My one confusion was cleared up by your staff quickly. The end result was well done and nicely packaged.  Yes, I would and will use your service again. I wish you well with your business. Thank you!” Robert – Denver, CO

“I was quite pleased with my ScanDigital experience and will definitely use the service again. The photos I sent were very old family photos that I needed to create a video for my parents’ 50th anniversary. As soon as I emailed I received a prompt response and got the images in time for the party.” Michael – Madison, CT

 “Your service and the quality of the pictures processed is great. I would recommend your service to others. Thank you.” Gesue – Greens Fork,  IN

“I have nothing but good things to say about my experience. I would write more but am now in Slovakia taking more photos.” Judith – Boston, MA

“If I were in the market for this service in the near future, I would certainly pick your company over others as I did have a positive experience.  I feel your prices are reasonable.” Katharine – Brooklyn, NY

“This very personal response from your business is very impressive.  I am VERY happy with my order. You all did a very nice job and we have thoroughly enjoyed the photos.  I would definitely recommend your service to others, and I already have.  Thank you again and you’ve done a very thorough job with the communications part of your business.” Traci – Seattle, WA

“Just placed our second order with you so we are obviously pleased with the service.” Sandy – Tampa, FL

“In my first test of your and about a dozen other companies’ services last December, I noticed that my order was scanned early in the morning on Christmas Day and shipped about a week later on New Year’s Eve.  Now that’s what I call dedication!

I like the breadth of your services – the one-stop shopping aspect, dedication to quality and invitations to do additional work. Receiving a note from the President of the company inviting feedback is a great idea.  It is very personable. Keep up the good work.” Rob – Snellville, GA

“The service is great. Customer service to update my address or answer my questions was great. Thanks and good luck to your business.” Sebastien – Dallas, TX

“My experience with ScanDigital was amazing!  In fact, it was so great that I have purchased the latest Groupon to get more photos scanned.  And I was just telling some of my friends about it the other day. Thanks for providing such a great service, I can’t wait to get more of my photo albums scanned in!” Katherine – Mansfield, MA

Extreme Makeover: School Lunch Edition

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Extreme Makeover: School Lunch Edition

School Lunches In Santa Barbara County Receive A Much-Needed Revamp

It’s back to school time, and for millions of kids across America, that means it’s back to school lunches. Many parents don’t know just how unhealthy and unappetizing school lunches can be, but kids everywhere can tell you that frozen chicken nuggets, packaged burritos, oily french fries, and canned fruit are pretty much the norm, and they usually taste even worse than they look. 

Luckily for the kids in Santa Barbara County, change is on the horizon. The country school system has sent 24 cafeteria employees – “lunch ladies,” as we used to call them (though not all of them are women) – to a culinary boot camp run by Cook for America founders Andrea Martin and Kate Adamick. The program is designed to teach the cafeteria workers the skills they need to prepare fresh and healthful food for their students. While all of the cafeteria workers in the Santa Barbara Country schools have been trained in food safety, many of them have no culinary training. The boot camp teaches cooking basics such time management, menu planning, and knife skills, but also discusses concepts that are specific to school cafeterias, such as child psychology and nutrition, the history of school food, and the culinary math needed to design large-scale meals within strict government budgets.

The above photos, which were scanned to digital for use on the Los Angeles Times website, show the cafeteria workers learning the skills they need to make food that tastes good and meats government standards for nutrition. Adamick and Martin’s Cook for America boot camp is one of many efforts across the nation to fill lunch trays with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and freshly cooked foods. The issue was brought further into the public eye by the reality TV show “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” in which Britain’s “Naked Chef” attempted to reform the school food service in one of America’s unhealthiest towns. But while that program depicted a TV-worthy struggle between the forward-thinking chef and the change-resistant school staff, everyone seems to be on the same side in Santa Barbara County. Cathy Kelly, a cafeteria worker from Lompoc Unified School District, says she was “totally impressed” with the culinary boot camp, adding, “I would like to serve something I’m proud of.”

To see the full slide show of boot camp photos that have been scanned to digital, visit http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-culinary-boot-camp-pictures,0,978938.photogallery.