About Me

I ramble about a number of things - but travel experiences, movies and music feature prominently. See my label cloud for a better idea. All comnments and opinions on this blog are my own, and do not in any way reflect the opinions/position of my employer (past/current/future).

18 November 2010

ITWeb's Misleading Reporting on Mobile Data Charges

ITWeb's comparison on mobile data charges is so misleading, I wonder how it even got through editorial review. And to top it off, the calculations are also wrong!



Lets start with the calculation error - Cell C's 2 GB rate is R149 per month, which translates to R0.07 per MB and not R0.08. It seems the journalist divided by R1000 and not 1024! The price per MB for 5GB bundle is actually 5.6c so 6c is forgivable, but the same mistake was made. I didn't make sure of the other calculations, but I assume they are equally wrong (and when you calculate it back, it makes sense too).

But the misleading part of the article is to focus only on out of bundle rates. Sure Cell C and 8ta have higher out of bundle rates, but the key question with out of bundle rates, is what was the total cost. Thus, it only makes sense to compare out of bundle charges if the total bundle cost is considered.



And then, if you consider the effective per Mb price, the real value will be shown, with Cell C and 8-ta coming out ahead.

Lastly, Cell C's pricing includes the modem which, as far as I know is not included in the other offers (I can confirm Vodacom, since I have used it). Once you take account of that, the pricing is even more competitive from Cell C!

I wonder who paid the journalist to write such crap ...

16 November 2010

The Beatles ...

With Apple finally releasing The Beatles catalogue on iTunes, they have also released the first US concert free for streaming. What stands out from the concert, is it seems that almost the entire audience was screaming women. Which does not make it roo different to Justin Bieber or the Jonas Brothers etc ... I doubt however that any of the modern day equivalents will last as long as The Beatles.

14 November 2010

Music: To Hire a Nurse, Doe and Zaire

The Bo was packed last night, and for good reason. Unfortunately, I arrived after the first band, To Hire a Nurse, had already started (they started on time it seems); and of the three bands, it was certainly the most interesting! Apart from the usual guitars, bass and drums, the band also features an electric violin which certainly gives the band a very different sound. Of what I did see, the violin fitted in perfectly; and the sound is somewhat similar to what Apocalyptica manages with its cellos. A very cool effect, and I now really want to see a full show of theirs!

The second band, Doe, was nice but not very interesting. The song writing was very good, but while the lead singer does sing well, I don't think her voice was always suitable. The mixing may also be to blame.

Zaire, is an indie-rock/brit rock type band with great songs, with great beats. A four piece band, they really threw a good party. I can't seem to find much about them online, besides this, and their Facebook page, but they seem to have quite a big following. They had the whole club dancing, and their music is very easy to get into. Another Parlatones in the making?