Trouble with Google Buzz: No End to Its Woes

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Social Tips, Consumer Kicks — admin at 7:38 am on Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Google is a noted brand name in the Internet and it is a well-known fact that it has managed to capture a major share of followers with both its internet search engine as well as Gmail, its email. It was therefore in for a shock when it realised that it was not going to score as well this time with the launch of its social networking application, Buzz.

When Google Buzz was conceptualized the main idea behind it was that it would serve as a sort of platform where people would get to share their status updates, social media streams and multimedia content. They would achieve this through the use of Google`s Gmail. Buzz has however not been received with universal approval. People have openly stated their obvious dislike towards it, as they felt that it was an unnecessary invasion of their privacy. Buzz was to become Google’s path to enter the area of social networking. In an attempt to make it popular, Google gave it as an automatic benefit to all the users of its Gmail, which constitute almost 176 million people. Google had taken a decision of allowing the users to follow all the people who were in their Gmail contacts list, which was seen as a blatant invasion of privacy and disliked by the people so much that the company was left with no other choice but to apologise and eventually to lessen some of its functionality.

Buzz continues to invite even greater trouble as a major US privacy group has asked regulators to see if Buzz follows all the rules and regulations related with consumer protection laws. It has also invited controversy from The Electronic Privacy Information Centre (Epic) who has clearly stated to the FTC that Google should provide an advance warning to all its users and should also take their permission before going ahead and making any changes to their privacy policy in the near future. They have also asked Google to refrain from using the address books of the Gmail users to frame social networking lists.

This should serve as a lesson to Google that people are really in no mood to take in this sort of behaviour, especially where their privacy is at stake. Facebook, another popular social networking site, learned their lesson in the recent past, when it made changes to its privacy settings without any advance warning to its users, provoking a negative public response.

If you are approaching the end of your contract and considering changing broadband provider, or if you are concerned about internet safety or just the safety of your download limits searching for broadband deals and making the right choice can be a difficult process. If you choose to compare broadband through Mobile Broadband Genie, you will be given all the information you need about each supplier to help guide you through what otherwise might be a bit of a juggling act. I found some excellent internet laptop deals, so take a look at their website; click on the provider of your choice, and check out the latest on broadband UK.

BT to Change Tariff, Free Evening Calls Plan on Landlines from April

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Tech Life, Consumer Kicks — admin at 9:01 am on Saturday, February 13, 2010


Come April and BT consumers will no longer be able to make free calls from the usual 6 pm. The time for making free calls has now been pushed one hour forward to 7 pm. The free calls ending time in the morning will also shift to 7 am from 6 am.

The change could upset and confuse many subscribers since notification of the modification has been sent to the customers in letters and emails titled “Important information about your BT service” which many would never open and read.

The telecom major has a 10-million strong customer base, which has subscribed for packages that offer free evening calls. When the changes are implemented from April 1, only the Anytime package users will remain unaffected.

BT believes its new move is a fair deal to its customers. A BT spokesperson said the company had come up with the new plan after much consideration. The company representative pointed out that 6 to 7 in the evening was a busy time for calling, but people mostly made short calls during this time, while most customers were likely to chat comfortably over the phone between 8 pm and 9 pm.

BT’s notification to its customers also mentioned that the company was changing its prices, terms and conditions from April 1, 2010. It said the modifications included changing the evening call period for all kinds of calls, which is 6 pm-6 am presently, to 7 pm-7 am.

BT is also hiking the standard daytime call rate to 5.9p a minute from the present 5.4p a minute for customers outside BT Basic, Light User Scheme and In-Contact Plus packages.

For the latest information and offers, click for best selling BT broadband deals, which includes broadband and phone bundles.

UK Deemed Unfit for Future Needs and Applications of Broadband

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Tech Life, Consumer Kicks — admin at 12:56 pm on Monday, October 26, 2009

Countries such as Romania are better suited for future requirements of broadband applications than the UK, revealed a recent study.

Technology provider Cisco Systemsby Oxford University’s Said Business School and Spain’s University of Oviedo’s Department of Applied Economics jointly conducted this study. The UK was placed 25th in 66 countries scrutinized for levels of preparedness of broadband capabilities. The countries were broadly categorised as ‘Ready for tomorrow’, ‘Comfortable for today’, ‘Meeting needs for today’ and ‘Below needs for today’, and the UK was alarmingly fitted under the ‘Meeting needs for today’ category.

The study essentially based its conclusions on two factors, viz. average download/upload speeds and the levels of broadband penetration in each country. A country with a slow connection or with a majority of population offline was rated lower, as compared to a country like Japan having widespread broadband connection.

Other factors considered were the broadband infrastructure capabilities to cope with the demands of future internet users like video and TV streaming. Only nine countries were found ready to meet the needs of future surfers. South Korea is aiming for a universal 1Gb broadband by 2012, and hence it scores highly in the study as compared to the UK, which aims at 2Mb by 2012.

The good news is that as compared to last year’s study, there has been a significant improvement, with many more countries ‘Ready for the future’ this year. However, it is the present that matters most, according to Cisco.

However, to know more about broadband UK, you can visit broadbandgenie.co.uk and click best broadband providers to have a look at their comparison table of the products and services of the top internet service providers.

Converged Messaging Solutions, Seattle Home Inspector, Reverse Craigslist Software

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Software Tips + More, Home Improvement Stuff — admin at 1:42 am on Monday, October 19, 2009

Converged Messaging Solutions are also availabe from Mavenir.The world of messaging solutions is experiencing a transition from the previous standard of SMS messaging to rich, multimedia MMS and IP based instant messaging. All mobile providers possess a compelling need to integrate the messaging core among many service domains and different devices in order to meet thesse changing requirements. Mavenir Systems accomplishes this with a strategy to cap investments in legacy systems and focusing on newer revenue generating offerings.
Why a Seattle home inspector can protect you
Our inspections will empower you to take hold of the transaction by assisting you - identify some potential problems, evaluate the property’s condition, identify possible required repairs and upgrades, take measure of your investment decision, and experience confidence and peace of mind throughout any negotiations.
Things to expect from your Seattle home inspector The Seattle home inspection process will provide an invaluable discovery experience during which all of your questions can be addressed and answered right then and there. Seattle home inspections always encourage you to be present throughout your Seattle home inspection..
Reverse Craigstlist software can provide incredible results for your business. You can have ability to actually draw thousands and thousands of potential leads in just a few minutes by parsing through info from ads on craigs list. Simple reverse craigs list software can supply an opportunity to literally drive you operations to the next higer level. You can define what niche you are aiming at and which specific geo areas, then push a button, wait, and watch the leads come in. Then you can mail a sales letter directly to this list or manage them, save, export, and more. There are many different types of reverse craigs list software as well as data mining software on the market today.


Network Optimization the Key for Mobile Broadband Operators

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Tech Life, Consumer Kicks — admin at 8:47 am on Friday, October 2, 2009

Currently most operators in the field of mobile broadband are offering a fixed-price model to attract more customers. These operators are facing various challenges in the form of competition and the failure of value added propositions like netbooks, laptops etc. They also constantly struggle to overcome challenges like limited connectivity and slow speeds.

Many analysts believe that the profitability of the current model of fixed-rate pricing is threatened by increase in competition and usage. According to experts, as use of mobile broadband will increase with time, the amount of data exchange will also see a sea change.

Senior analyst Steven Hartley, at Ovum, a Telecom and Software consultancy, says that the day is not far when consumers will stream videos using their cell phones. As technology progresses, the speeds offered will increase and so will the data exchanged. This will add up to the costs that the operators bear and will result in making the fixed-price model ineffective. Operators will turn to a usage- based price model in an attempt to share the burden of costs with the consumers.

What can be done to avoid this situation? Analysts believe optimization of network resources is the key. They also point towards the increasing need to focus on the customers. If the data is carried and handled in a cost effective fashion, then the impact on profit margins would be minimal. This would make it possible for providers to stick to a flat rate. Analysts also feel that retaining customers by providing excellent customer service will not only help increase the profit margins for the company but also benefit the customers.

Mobile Business in the Community

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Market — admin at 5:03 pm on Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The new award for small company of the year which was presented at the business in the community annual awards for excellence has gone to a little-known Scottish mobile phone recycling company called Redeem.Prince Charles who is the president of the business in the community awards presented the award last night to the company, in London.

The particular award that the company was awarded was the impact on society award, which can only be given to a small company who have no parent company and employ up to 250 people. This award was staged in association with the Institute of directors.

The company originally he started out by taking in old inkjet printers and recycling those as well as mobile telephones. They would recycle them in a potato barn back in 1999, and they worked with the prison service in Scotland in order to offer employment to former offenders.

It currently holds multi-million pound contracts with at least three major high-street retailers, to recycle their goods in exchange for loyalty rewards or vouchers. In addition the company have developed a number of strategic partnerships with leading UK charities, and now it partners with over 200 across the UK.

The company employed over 70 people across Europe and earlier this year they opened a central processing plant in Hong Kong. The new processing plant is to become a hub for the refurbishment and resell of the mobile phones, and allows the company to target emerging markets for mobile phones in China, India, Africa and South America.

At the start of this year the company announced that their turnover was on course to increase from £5.6 million to £9 million. Following a statement earlier this month revenue is in fact expected to rise to over £12 million this year. The key aspect of the business model that this company uses is that whilst minimising the amount of waste the goes to landfill, revenue is generated for charities, schools and other community groups.

Mobile Broadband Sales on the Rise in the UK

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Tech Life, Consumer Kicks — admin at 6:54 am on Thursday, June 25, 2009

According to data obtained by Mobile Today this week, mobile broadband sales are nearing 20,000 per week in the UK. This figure is expected to increase further if existing trends persist.

Mobile broadband has returned to the spotlight following the recent release of the Digital Britain report, and is set to become a significant part of the future of communications in the UK. Exponential growth in sales has been reported across numerous mobile broadband networks, regardless of the current economic state. According to the market research company Gfk, mobile broadband sales have increased by more than 100% between October 2008 and January 2009.

In its early stages, mobile broadband was used mainly by travelling businessmen to stay connected. Recently, however, it is being used by thousands to surf the web on the go (click for pay as you go mobile broadband). With the influx of high end mobile phones like the iPhone, mobile internet has gained popularity among a wide range of people. What has also helped set the trend is the fact that fixed-line broadband remains out of reach in many parts of the country.

With aggressive advertising and marketing, information about mobile broadband is accessible to everyone. Service providers are offering incentives to buyers in the form of attractive pricing schemes, free services and promotions such as ‘Laptop Bundle’ schemes in which customers receive a laptop along with their mobile broadband connection. It is no wonder then that mobile broadband schemes have been selling like hot cakes!

Economic Crisis Hinders Launch of Faster Mobile Broadband

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal, Tech Life, Consumer Kicks — admin at 7:17 am on Wednesday, March 4, 2009

During recent times, one of the things that have been frequently talked about is the fact of the mobile broadband market is going to do well despite the global recession. The segment has been providing growth momentum, as well as higher margins to telecom companies that are witnessing losses from the voice segment. The GSMA Leadership Summit echoed the popular sentiment and went even further to say that mobile broadband could be a major stimulant for growth in the wider economy.

However, the severity of the recession is putting most industries under tremendous strain and it seems that despite what some would like to believe, mobile broadband is not immune to the downturn. Until recently, huge investments for upgrades were expected to take place, but falling revenue is forcing the operators to reduce capital expenditure, and delay their 3G upgrade and 4G development plans.

It has been revealed by The Australian that contradictory to the positive statements coming out of the Mobile World Congress held recently, most operators are considering shelving their investment plans. The paper reports that industry behemoths like Vodafone and T-Mobile, are planning to postpone their upgrade plans as they want to wait till the economic conditions improve. The industry would hope that the postponement of investments does not have a longer term impact on its growth and that it can get back on track as soon as possible.

A Great Money Saving Tip to Make Cheap Calls to Czech Republic

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal — admin at 7:47 am on Thursday, December 4, 2008

If you are trying to find a way to save money on your phone bills I have a great suggestion for you. As a student who has been studying in the UK for a number of years, on several occasions I’ve been faced with some massive bills as a result of dialling home overseas. I was desperate to find a way of making cheap calls to Czech Republic. A friend recently told me that her phone bills were only a fraction of mine and when I enquired how she managed to keep them so low she told me that she uses ‘VoIP’ technology to call home, which means her calls are routed over the internet rather than over a usual carrier. This means you can avoid a whole host of charges that you normally have no other choice but to pay for the privilege of using the phone network.

The biggest revelation was just how easy it was to install, and how great the sound quality was. I would have assumed being routed over the internet would have meant the sound quality would have suffered. Also having signed up with one of the biggest providers of VoIP, calls to other users are totally free and don’t cost me a penny. Which is great news as I can speak to family now back in Czech Republic without having to worry about how much money it’s costing me.

118 - Directory Enquiries Facilities

Filed under: Telecommunication Portal — admin at 10:20 pm on Friday, January 4, 2008

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Each and every day of the week 100,000’s of folk uncover locations, information and facilities they need by contacting or texting 118 118 or through going to Talk text.

It’s straightforward to make use of 118118’s directory enquiry services, wherever you might be. Call out team to speak our skilled and welcoming directory enquiry assistants. Our employees may be able to help out people with neigh on each and every question as regards someones contact information for individuals, places & trades. You may, additionally, text 118 118 and collect feed back sent straight to your mobile.

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