They are able to put a $$$ amount in my monthly bill, but I can't find my usage in data terms (megabytes or gigabytes) anywhere on the invoice or on-line.
They use a very cryptic "data calls" unit that means nothing to me.
Telecom New Zealand makes it really hard for me to control my usage. And they charge dearly if I go over my limits.
Vodafone is a bit better in this area, but their on-line meter is frequently outdated or incorrect according to discussions in our forums.
In Australia the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a warn to consumers regarding mobile data usage.
What about here? TUANZ? Commerce Commission? Anyone awake and aware that we have overpriced data plans?
Read MoreWow... Talk about a complete reinvention. I just read this press release and I can only think what a waste of investors' money from the start.
I am talking about Foldera, a company which started as a "developer of web-based organization and collaboration software" and now decided their market is really selling network switches.
I see this as an example of where all this "web-based" craze is going if people keep investing in good ideas with short sighted implementations. Too much money being thrown into companies with no vision, or trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist - or doing it in the wrong way.
I am posting this because I think it's relevant to a topic Ben posted today on "web 2.0 and monetisation".
Want more "fail"? Their new web-site, linked from the press release doesn't even exist yet:
SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foldera, Inc. (OTCBB: FDRA), today unveiled the Company’s new strategy, management team, market thrust, name and capital structure by issuing the following letter to shareholders.
Dear Shareholder:
We are pleased to announce that Foldera has now successfully transitioned itself from being a developer of web-based organization and collaboration software. We have searched to find the right market, management team and product with which to take the Company forward and we would like to take this opportunity to outline the Company’s future plans.
New Strategic Direction
The Company’s principal market moving forward is with the core network infrastructure of the telephone companies, cable operators and wireless suppliers. The Company has recruited a new management team with a wealth of telecom infrastructure experience and who have already independently completed much of the software development for a High Speed, High Density Carrier Grade Ethernet Switch that will be the Company’s initial product launch. Along with our product development partners, we are continuing to develop the software and hardware in a closely integrated program that will result in timely implementation of the system using components that will exceed all carrier and prospective customer requirements.
There are other players attempting to enter these markets. Cisco Systems (CSCO), Juniper (JNPR), Force10, Alcatel-Lucent (ALA), Huawei, World Wide Packets and Foundry Networks (FDRY) clearly have well-established brand names and large customer bases. However, they also have legacy technologies and cannot re-launch into new markets with products that must be redesigned/re-architected and which would cannibalize their existing product lines. We will compete in the high density, carrier grade 10 Gigabit switch market with a switch that is both extensible and affordably scalable. This will present a ‘new standard’ in the market and the Company will be a ‘first mover’ in this segment.
The Company’s new technology will transform the Ethernet Switching market segment by developing and selling dramatically more cost-effective, scalable solutions for High Speed Ethernet switching with the industry’s first 288 10 Gigabit port Ethernet switch as our initial product launch at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas in April 2009.
Corporate Name Change
As is appropriate with this major change in the Company’s direction, we have decided to change the name of the business to CeCors, Inc., an acronym for Carrier Ethernet Core Switch and pronounced ‘SeaCores.’ This will become effective in the coming weeks as the Company’s legal name, registrations, trading symbol and marketing materials are changed.
Expanding Management Expertise
The CeCors executive team brings 100+ years of combined management experience in IT and communications technology, manufacturing, sales and marketing. The team has worked together and successfully led a number of liquidity events, such as mergers and acquisitions, as well as IPO’s.
As of July 18, 2008, Jim Fiedler, an experienced and respected leader in the telecom industry, with vast experience in running early and mid-stage telecom networking and services companies, has become Chairman, President and CEO of CeCors. His experience and contacts within the industry will provide exceptional leadership into the future.
Excuse me while I laugh here. Seriously, I think Ben Kepes should look into this and analyse it further because he's the SaaS guy.
Read More... and by poor proof reading:
- from the Vodafone website.
It's been up there for a few days since they changed their little advertisement blocks into images...
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Yesterday I posted about Telecom New Zealand's lack of a "meter" for their mobile data. Here is something that I thought would illustrate the issue well...Let's say you rent a car on a monthly basis, for work. You agree to pay $49.95 a month if you drive up to 1,000 km per billing cycle, and $1 per km after this.
You decided on 1,000 km because you thought this could cover your average daily usage multiplied by the number of days in the month.
You get the car and notice there is no meter in it, but the rental agency tells you it's ok, they are monitoring it within their system, remotely.
You drive away. During 30 days you have no exact idea of how many kms you've done. You have to keep calling the company to find out how many kms you have driven so far, and calculate to see if you are still within the expected average.
Then you receive the monthly bill. You look through five pages for something that says "kms driven this month", but instead you find "times you started the car this month". And a charge for the rental.
Does it make sense?
No. Neither does Telecom New Zealand's "data sessions" line in the bill. They don't tell us how many megabytes or gigabytes we used during the month, only how many times we used it during the period.
Telecom, are you going to fix your systems?
Read MoreA few months ago I created a Jobs forum on Geekzone to allow for some of our readers to exchange job information, post requests for specific skills, etc.
Of course it's no competition for the big job sites around, but it seems to be working ok for our community. We do have some of the job agencies posting some ads there - and why wouldn't they, it's free!
Anyway, after talking to the guys at JobX, New Zealand's newest site for job search, we decided to add a Job Search to Geekzone.
One of the first joint initiatives was their sponsorship at the Geekzone Pizza evening in Christchurch - by chance we selected a pizza place just next to their offices, so that helped too.
The Jobs forum is still active and I expect it to get busier every day, but I think the Job Search will bring an even bigger selection for you.
Good luck!
Read MoreLast Friday, Microsoft finalised the code for the RC 1 (Release Candidate 1) prerelease versions of both Windows Small Business Server 2008, and Windows Essential Business Server 2008. See below for download links.Rumour has it that organis... (more in the full post)
Read MoreThe saga of the Mobile Me debacle continues.
Now over 7 days since my wife had access to her mail. I would imagine that Apple could have totally replaced any servers affected many times over within seven days. The average corporate IT dept can fix things in 24 hrs - I am sure the problem is bigger, but then so are the resources Apple has available to deploy!
Worst of all is the fact that there just seems to be no comment coming from Apple about the nature of the issue and when they expect to have things up and running.
On top of that it has still barely stopped raining....!
We did go and see Dark Knight today. IMHO one of the better Batman films to date. The late Heath Ledger is, I think, an excellent Joker - a memorable Swansong performance from an actor who had much potential. If you like that kind of thing, it's a great film with lots of action. We are in danger of trying to explore 'the reason why' a bit too much though - Batman is because Batman is! We need not be troubled with his navel gazing when we have so many of our own issues to resolve, I feel.
Well, have a good weekend, Dear Reader!
Read MoreMobile Me - good in practice, not so sure about the execution.
My wife has been without email for 3 days now, missing out on business-critical communications. No useful explanation has been provided by Apple, Support is virtually impossible to contact and to claim that only 1% of users are affected seems disingenuous given the vast numbers of irate posts on Apple Support!
The theory is great but a better tagline might be "Exchange For (Some Of) The Rest of Us"!
Apple may well become a victim of their own success, I think.
Read MoreThere are a variety of threats attempting to compromise your computer and it takes a variety of tools to protect against them. Many vendors sell security suites, but many people... Read More
After hearing lots of good stuffs about this new SERVER product from Microsoft called Windows Server 2008, I took the decision to move from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition 
The good thing is, Windows Server 2008 can be configured as a fully featured desktop workstation. Your one stop guide for completing this ‘awesome’ task is here
Below is my laptop configuration:
2) 4 GB RAM
I have Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x86 Edition installed
Below is the list of software installed:
1) Apple Bootcamp
2) Microsoft Office 2007
3) Microsoft Visio 2007
4) Mozilla Firefox
5) Skype
6) Apple Quicktime
7) Apple iTunes
8 ) Windows Live
- Live Writer
- Live Messenger
- Live Photo Gallery
9) Foxit PDF Reader
10) Flashget Download Manager
11) Virtual PC
12) Kaspersky Internet Security
13) tWhirl
14) Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1
This server is Fast, Sleek, and Customizable (in Features and Roles). That’s a huge benefit over Vista where many services get started no matter you use them.
I have also moved my development stuffs to a virtual environment now and virtual machines run quite fast than in Vista here. Yes, I am quite happy with Virtual PC 2007 and I don’t think I would install x64 version just for Hyper-V. The application support for x64 sucks!
Everything works good in my setup including sleep,shutdown and hibernate 
So far, my experience of having Windows Server 2008 as my main desktop workstation is good and I think I will continue to stay on this for a long, long time until Windows 7 comes out
Read More
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