Disqus - Latest Comments for TerenceEden

Re: Getting introduced to Vodafone 360

TerenceEden — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:33:04 -0000

Re: Should You Validate Your Twitter Following?

TerenceEden — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:31:04 -0000

Yes, you should validate your followers. Two reasons, firstly to see if there's anyone too shy to @ you who may be worth following. Secondly, to cut spammers etc off at the knees. Thirdly to stop you looking like a total arse.

If I see that you have thousands of followers, I assume one of two things
a) You're a "sleb"
b) You're a multi-level-marketer, spammer, self-help guru or politician. In which case, I don't want you showing the world how awesome you are by following.
c) You're a feed, in which case, I'll add you to my feed-reader.

I regularly trim my followers. I'm only interested in those who are actually interest in me. If you're following 14,000 other people, you're not really following me, are you? You may just as well be on the public feed or have specific searches set up.

Re: Nokia N900 and BBC iPlayer – it’s bad news folks!

TerenceEden — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:37:30 -0000

Either http://linuxcentre.net/getiplayer/ or http://po-ru.com/projects/iplayer-downloader/ should be able to run on the N900. They're command line tools which will download the MP4 versions suitable for iPhone playback.
I'd assume the media player has the codecs & horsepower needed to display the vids once downloaded.

Not ideal, but a good stopgap.

Re: Understanding The Power Of Social Media

TerenceEden — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:10:59 -0000

What you're talking about is sousveillance - watching from beneath. As I wrote about in my article about your social media adventure we now have much more power.

But I do wonder if we have figured out how to wield this power responsibly. I don't doubt that your actions were correct; it's always a good idea to expose bullies. But when I read some of the over-reactions that people have posted on your blog, it makes me deeply uncomfortable. You're not to blame for their reactions, of course, but is it possible to have a subtle and nuanced conversation with the baying of a mob behind you?

Regarding media rapid response - I think it's the sort of thing that can only happen after the first incident. When I took a photo of a police van parked in a disabled bay - I was highly impressed with Surrey Police's use of social media to apologise and put their side of the story. I suspect that TfL will have to implement this kind of SMR (social-media-relations as opposed to PR).

It will take some time for everyone to adjust to a world where what once was gossip can become news.

Thanks for highlighting this.

Re: giffgaff gives the goss (on pricing)

TerenceEden — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:32:21 -0000

Top industry tip - whenever you see "First month FREE!" or "Get FREE xyz when you buy abc" it should translate to "Billing? The original project plan said nuffink about billing, squire. Dave? DAVE! How long will it take to integrate into billing? 6 weeks? As it's you, we'll put a rush on and do it in four. What do you mean the advertising space has been booked? Can't you sponsor X-factor a different week? No? How should I know? Why not give it a way for a month? Yeah, for free. Call it a trial offer or sumfink. Right, you show me where you billing system is and Dave will get the monkey wrench and soldering iron. Milk two sugars for me, ta."

100% FACT.

T
(Excluding anywhere I may work, obviously)

Re: Ian From The London Underground Vs An Elderly Man

TerenceEden — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:52:46 -0000

The pro-gun lobby often says "A well armed society is a polite society." The implication being that you don't go around being aggressive when anyone could pull a gun on you.

With the rise of sousveillance - where we are all the watchers - I wonder if we'll see a rise in professionalism and politeness. Because, you never know who is recording for posterity.

There are two problems
1) It relies on those higher up to do something. If this Ian chap doesn't get disciplined - you have achieved nothing. Similarly, if after all the videos of police abuses of power (G20, climate camp etc.) no officer gets punished / the rule aren't changed - it's all been for naught.

2) I think people should be polite and professional because IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Not because they're afraid of being punished. Call me old fashioned, but I want to live in a world where people are respectful to one and other - not merely afraid of being caught out.

Well done for filming it. I hope that "Ian" doesn't lose his job - I hope that he realises what an arse he has been and learns to treat customers with a bit more respect.

T

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:38:06 -0000

In a word, yes.

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:31:16 -0000

I quite agree. As much as I love Mippin (they're a major technology provider behind http://vodafone.com/myweb ) they're not selling anything. No one rings their call centre up to complain when something isn't compatible.

As I've said - I'd like to see a better basic version. But without being able to sell content through it, there's little incentive to do so.

T
(These comments are my preciouseses - no one else's)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:36:11 -0000

To make the inevitable car analogy, if you buy your car from Ford but fit after-market wheels - they can't guarantee Ford tires will fit any more. Vodafone UK does what it can to support non-ranged handsets. Pop over to the Vodafone forums and you'll see plenty of people getting the right settings etc.

However, I would agree that there needs to be a better "text-only" version of live.

Regarding implementing it. Without going in to all our internal structures - Vodafone live runs in UK, France, Germany, South Africa, Romania, Austria, Netherlands and a dozen other countries. I'm not saying that running a mobile portal is like dealing with the United Nations, but making changes can be "complex".

Vodafone My Web is a completely new product specifically designed to work with as many handsets as possible.

T
(This is all my opinion and not that of any FTSE listed company)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:26:55 -0000

"Requirement 4.7.11: Our homepage must look like a cryptic re-encoded URL for anyone that doesn't have a precisely on-range device" - you've been rifling through our bins again ;-)

No, it shouldn't look like that. As you can see from the train times images - it should be getting a basic version which we can ensure works on every phone. So, yes, the front page for N86 should be filed under "bugs".

This is the first time in 6 years, to my knowledge, that C/B have crossed over.
T
(My opinions are my own and not those of any corporate behemoth)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:08:26 -0000

As regular readers will know, I work for Vodafone Group - but I don't speak for them.
However, I was the Production Manager for Vodafone live in the UK for two years, and Product Manager for Portals at Vodafone Group for a similar length. So I speak with some knowledge.

Theses comments haven't been checked, approved, censored or filtered by anyone at Vodafone. If you buy or sell shares based on my ramblings, you're a fool :-)

There are several reasons why non-ranged phones like the N86 don't work with live.

Firstly, Vodafone UK don't stock the phone. Sounds like a minor problem but it presents them with all sorts of challenges. Not least buying the (unsubsidised) device. Then another one with updated firmware (have to keep the old firmware to test that with new features).

Then there's testing. Every extra device and firmware variation slows down the testing and acceptance time for any new feature or release.

We still support the Sharp GX-10 - the very first live phone from about 6 years ago. True, it doesn't support mobile TV, but all the services that it can support need to be tested on it for the frightening amount of customers who can't/won't upgrade.

So, as you point out, why not just assume the N86 is basically the same as the N85?
Well, what's the difference between the N95 (original firmware) and the N96? Surely they can't be that different...?

As you know, they are. That presents us with all sorts of rendering challenges - what resolution do images have to be in order to stay readable? Can the device handle this bit of CSS, that bit of JavaScript?

Take a look at this list of Webkit "support" on mobile. http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2009/10... Similar handsets yield wildly different results.

Then, there's content delivery.

Does the N86 support a higher bit-rate for music than the N85? Or do we serve up a low quality file we know will work but sounds rubbish?

What's the screen resolution? Do we send a wallpaper that's too big or too small?

Do games and application work on it? They've been rigorously tested on the N85 - so will they work on the N86? Sure?

In all those cases, you've got an angry customer ringing up demanding a refund. That costs Vodafone money.

So, should we show links to the games, music, apps etc? Or should we remove them? Or should we show them, but on download present a warning that what you've bought may not work and there are no refunds if we don't support your phone?

Do we create a "generic" version of the portal? If so - do we make it lowest common denominator? Well, that's what you're seeing. A text only page that should be viewable by all. Except the N86 obviously has an issue rendering it...

Or, do we stick up a banner saying "Why not pop along to a Vodafone store and buy a compatible handset"?

As you can see, there are a myriad of issues Vodafone would have to deal with. Our latest corporate report will tell you how many million mobile internet customers we have. Is it worth our shareholders' money to support a few dozen* N86s ported over from Orange? (*I have no idea how many are on the Vodafone UK network.)

Yes, an N86 customer may buy some content - but enough to make it worth our while? They may choose to get a compatible phone next time - or they may decide to import a Chinese no-name iPhone rip-off with a lousy browser and kick up a fuss when it doesn't work.

However, were taking a different approach with the replacement for live, Vodafone My Web - http://www.vodafone.com/myweb - we're allowing practically any phone to access it. As you pointed out yesterday, it's still buggy on the N86 - and for many of the same reasons. That's why we're not automatically redirecting all traffic to the site - yet.

Here's a good test - see how many different makes and models of phones access http://thereallymobileproject.com - now buy and test all of them to ensure you get a good & consistent experience on everything from an unreleased smartphone to a GX-10.

In fact, I can guarantee that even on a relatively simple site like yours, there will be rendering bug/quirks on some of the handsets you have about your person. However, no one is going to ring you up demanding a refund if something goes wrong with TRMP.

Device compatibility is hard - products like WURFL & DeviceAtlas make some problems go away, but ultimately, it's a difficult problem that can't be solved without a massive time & money investment.

Could Vodafone live handle it better? Undoubtedly. That's why we're moving to My Web.
Much like your McDonald's manager, My Web will support non-ranged handsets. It will also support non-Vodafone customers. So if you're, say, a T-Orang3 customer with a Casio 5173i - you'll be able to use our services.

T
(Written on a turbulent train, so please excuse any typos!)

Re: Poll: What’s the best network for the iPhone?

TerenceEden — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:06:09 -0000

I've noticed that *some* Vodafone 2G sites have been upgraded to EDGE. Not sure if it will be a nationwide roll out.

(I work for Vodafone, but not in network design, these are my personal views)

Re: Interface Preview: Vodafone 360 Samsung H1

TerenceEden — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:09:27 -0000

I've posted a whole bunch of Qiks - including this one showing off the interface http://qik.com/video/2991962

Re: Vodafone pay as you go is down for the weekend

TerenceEden — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:19:35 -0000

Hi Andy,

As I said in my post, I don't work for Vodafone UK. I don't have any special knowledge about the PAYT service outage.

I suggest you call customer services on 191, ask a question in the forums (http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/index.php?act=idx) or visit a store.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

T

Re: Vodafone pay as you go is down for the weekend

TerenceEden — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:26:10 -0000

(I work for Vodafone, but not Vodafone UK, nor their billing department. I don't speak for them. All opinions are my own.)

Vodafone UK do offer an IOU service. When you're out of PAYT credit, you call 468 for free and they give you £2 credit. I'm not sure if this was affected during the failure. Be pretty awful if it was.

Of course, there's a 30p charge when you pay back on your next top-up, but it's pretty handy if you're reliant on dad's taxi and have spend your money texting your mates.

Re: How To Install Android On Your Nokia N800

TerenceEden — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:55:45 -0000

I've written a detailed how-to for anyone wanting to attempt this http://shkspr.mobi/blog/index.php/2009/05/nitdr...

Very easy to do - and very easy to recover if you go wrong. But NitDroid is not as stable or useful as Maemo is for general use.

Re: Installing Android on your Nokia N800

TerenceEden — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:55:38 -0000

Re: I’m getting a BlackBerry Curve 8520…

TerenceEden — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:48:16 -0000

The one problem I have with the Bold is that the trackball gets a bit gummed up. I'd be very interested to see how the track-pad works.

Re: Alleged shocking insight into working in a SpinVox call centre

TerenceEden — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:06:51 -0000

Regardless of the veracity of that post, you can't expect anyone to respond to every single unsubstantiated accusation. That's simply untenable.

Re: Quick Review: Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10

TerenceEden — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:44:39 -0000

What sort of connection ports does it have? Can it play back PowerPoint? Could be very useful for travellers wanting to present their brochure-ware.

Re: French government building a mobile portal

TerenceEden — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:41:28 -0000

The UK Government has a mobile version of Direct.Gov.UK - http://m.direct.gov.uk - I think it's pretty swish.

Re: Read my Palm: A Random Encounter

TerenceEden — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:59:45 -0000

Talkmobile - http://www.talkmobile.co.uk/ - specialise in cheap international calls. They are a MVNO running on the Vodafone network.

Re: What happened to the good old days of buying a mobile phone? (Or, why I’ve stopped being a Nokia customer)

TerenceEden — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:17:18 -0000

I'd buy the device you want, then get it unlocked. Or buy it from somewhere like Expansys.

Re: Nokia’s got game: Android handset coming in September

TerenceEden — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:13:26 -0000

"There is no truth to this story whatsoever. It is a well known fact that Symbian is our platform of choice for smartphones," a spokesperson confirmed to PC Pro, before adding. "It's actually absurd."
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/260113/nokia-blasts...

Re: Guest Post: ÜberTwitter for BlackBerry

TerenceEden — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:59:13 -0000

I've signed up for an invite - I'll let you know how I get on. UberTwitter does have full screen images - if the original image is big enough.