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September 22, 2009, at 6:47 pm
I need to gather a few thoughts as to cell phone charges. Most of us sign a cell phone contract and get a “free” phone depending on the contract we take. A wise man once told me “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” let’s call it TANSTAAFL. Now the cell companies are going to build this “free” phone into your monthly contract, the compulsory itemised billing, your calls and “free” minutes. The cell companies are not going to break even on this so there must be a profit in there somewhere and rest assured it’s not in the single digit percentage. So to recap your monthly contract bill has the following components:
1. Recouping the cost of your “free” phone
2. Profit for the Cell company.
3. The actual cost of the call
Now that brings me to my next point Pay As You Go
With PAYG you pay in advance so there is no monthly billing admin, no bad debt, and as a cell company you have the money in the bank at least 30 days in advance and earning interest. So there is no risk little admin, no “free” phone to fund and cash earning interest so please explain why PAYG is almost double that of contract.
To my thinking there should be a contract option to buy your own phone cash, pay in advence for your calls and enjoy dramatically reduced call costs.
Then of course we get to interconnect charges, once a call is established on a GSM network it is data, GSM runs at 13kb/s max. A 2mb line can carry about 157 conversations simultaneously and the networks have a number of these peering points. Do the maths and explain how they can charge what they do.
I may be wrong on all of this.
TANSTAAFL
August 26, 2009, at 10:10 pm
At the risk of sounding like an old fart I have seen several technologies come and go. I wrote my first program on an Apple II computer (borrowed, not owned) I owned a Sinclare ZX81 but the programming frustrated me, you had to use the pre defined keys. I saw the demise of the repro graphic industry with the introduction of Desk Top Publishing, and am now seeing the changes in journalism with the advent of online.
I used to carry a pager and then I had a cell phone while network was still in its test phase, I had a Siemens S1 that you had to charge twice a day to keep it going, kind of like the iPhone.
Where is this going?
I believe we were more productive before cellphones, before cellphones if we went out we would let someone know where we were or take our pagers or heaven forbid just call in from time to time. Typically messages would be left an a call would be returned in time. It sounds fairly inefficient but I believe the converse is true.
Now that we all carry cellphones people expect your cellphone to always be on and if it rings it should be answered immediately.
I work as a consultant and as a result charge by the hour, when I am at a client that client is paying for my time, when my phone rings a cannot expect my current client to pay my time to answer another clients questions. But further than that it is the interruption that really is the issue. When you are problem solving it requires a clear train of thought and when doing diagnostics you need to be able to be aware of all variables. By taking a call you interrupt this train of thought and increase the possibility of making a mistake, this is inefficient.
Further most incoming calls have questions that can only be answered when back at the office, there are exceptions but experience tells me that this is mostly the case.
Before cellphones most of us had a structured day where appointments were kept, tasks done and calls were returned all to a routine of our own devising. Most calls were returned in the afternoon after lunch and as a result appointments made for the following day. All very civilized.
So if I do not always answer my phone don’t feel neglected I am just being efficient.
 Siemens S1
August 20, 2009, at 8:37 pm
I have allowed my fitness to lapse over the past year, I am not unfit but am not at my peak. As a result I am now finding excuses to not get out and cycle regularly and as result fitness suffers, rinse and repeat. Of course one of the other side effects is a slight thickening around the torso but there is no way that I will let it get to the point I have to buy larger pants, Doh!
So anyway I have decided to take a new approach to riding regularly, but I am not getting out and “training” rather I am making sure that all my rides are enjoyable and dare I say it leisurely.
This morning I went out and did only about 30km but at a pace that I barely broke a sweat, again the theory being that I will gett gradually faster while having fun. I expect this will only last a week or so, it is in my nature to be competitive and once I start riding regularly with my mates it is inevitable that I will want to be in front.
Any here is to a few upcoming leisurely rides and hoping the dreaded swine lurgy does strike.
August 19, 2009, at 9:07 pm
iBanzi is a uniquely African dog and is now being recognized as a breed, previously it was thought to just be a mix and match of breeds, a pavement special if you like and more on this later, but is now known to be genetically unique.
Wikipedia tells us:
The dog Africanis is a short coated, medium-sized dog, well-muscled and slightly longer than tall. It can be of any colour and occasionally come with a ridgeback. The Africanis has over the years been shaped by Africa for Africa. Its beauty is embodied in the simplicity and functionality of its body. It is slenderly built, agile, supple, and capable of great speed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanis
The local name of the breed is iBanzi
In South Africa any dog of indeterminate breed is know as a “pavement special”.
We’re getting there.
I am a keen mountainbiker and get out and about every chance I get, however it is not always possible to get out of town for a quick ride in the dirt and we wanted to ride after work. I detest riding on the road and believe that every car is driven with the sole purpose of running me over. As a result we ride on the pavement (sidewalk) whenever we can.
Hence the name iBanzi.
March 3, 2008, at 11:22 pm
We are proposing to build a circuit trail at Golden Harvest Park, Johannesburg City Parks have been very supportive about the proposal. The loop trail when finished will be about 7 KM in length. It will be predominantly singletrack through bluegum forest and have great views from the kopjie. We will need your help to build this trail. Please leave comments and suggestions.
Golden Harvest is a very large park that is between Northgate and Malibongwe, half of the park is currently used for walking and playgrounds, the other half is still veldt with a stunning kopjie that overlooks the park with Magaliesburg on the horizon.
November 19, 2007, at 2:28 pm
Jack came to cheer me on at the 94.7
Note the matching outfits. René in the group photo (second from right) organised team shirts sponsored by Away2Xplore.
 
October 19, 2007, at 10:25 am
The Dashund Nikki is the toddler in the family, although he tries hard not to be a nuisance, he still wants his attention and cuddles.
October 18, 2007, at 2:20 pm
Evening sleep seems to be OK at the moment, but Jack tries hard to stay awake as long as possible during the day. Staying awake too long just makes Jack grumpy and then he refuses to sleep. We are trying to keep him entertained while he is awake without stimulating too much so he does not get overtired.
October 9, 2007, at 4:12 pm
Some nights sleep is fine, other nights he is awake every hour. I am sure we will work it out sometime (probably when he is 21)
Sunday afternoon he was sleeping and I took about 2 dozen photos because he looked so sweet.
September 26, 2007, at 2:04 pm
Isabella came to visit on Tuesday, Isabella is the daughter of Greg and Debbie and was born 6 weeks ago. Picture is real cute but I like the one take straight after.
Eeeu, boys
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