Tech Talk Chat

Wow, what a night! Tech Talk Radio managed to try new chat software and the server it was hosted on suffered a meltdown, but when it worked, it seemed to work well. We’ll move it to a bigger server next week. Also this week saw the launch of the iPhone 3G with much fanfare and raft of plans that could be described as highway robbery in this country.

Adam paid us a visit to talk about TiVo and Foxtel’s IQ just in time for the Olympics.

Also, I see that the ACCC have decided to force telstra to be a bit more co-operative with their rivals when it comes to exchange access and DSLAMs.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel in a statement today… “The ACCC believes that there is a strong need for independent oversight of Telstra’s processes to cap exchanges to ensure that Telstra is held accountable and access seekers are not unreasonably denied access to Telstra exchanges”

more.

Alive and Cooking

The latest program to come out of Evolving Communications is a Lifestyle Cooking program for WIN and Nine. Produced by Creative Media, Alive and Cooking is a cooking program hosed by James Reeson. If you like good, easy to prepare food for the family, it’s worth checking out.

The state of Australian Broadband

In a new internet activity survey which was released on Thursday April 24, results collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal Australian’s took up broadband and wireless internet connections in record numbers during 2007, in fact at the end of the December quarter, there were 7.10 million subscribers to the Internet in Australia. Of which compromised 964,000 business and government subscribers and 6.14 million household subscribers. With Australia’s population around 21.2m, that’s not too shabby when it comes to household use, but business and government subscribers seem to be on the low side.

Be sure to tun in to Tech Talk Radio this Monday 28/4/08 for a discussion on the state of broadband inn the nation.

This release contains results from all ISPs operating in Australia as at 31 December 2007. For December quarter 2007 there were 421 operating ISPs contributing to the estimates.

The number of non dial-up subscribers recorded at the end of December 2007 was 5.21 million, compared with dial-up subscribers of 1.89 million - an increase of 33% since September 2006.

Most of those were converts from dial-up rather than new internet users, but the total number of internet connections did increase over that period 6.65 million to 7.1 million.

The biggest change to our connectivity in 2007 was the arrival of wireless broadband. Over 481,000 people were connected to wireless broadband at the end of the December 2007, compared with 186,000 connected in September 2006, once again a substantial increase.

Connections with download speeds of 1.5Mbps or greater increased to 2.51 million or 35% of subscribers in December 2007, compared to 1.13 million or 17% of subscribers at the end of September 2006. For December 2007 a breakdown of higher download speeds has been released for the first time.

Customer Support is alive and well at Powweb

What’s a blog for if it can’t be used to draw attention to consumers of good and not so good customer relations from companies large and small. As a producer of an independent tech radio show, we believe it’s in the interest of consumers to be well informed, so they can make the best possible choice (at the time) when it comes to purchasing goods and services.

In this post, Powweb, one of the (allegedly) largest web hosting companies in the United States, seems to want to hide behind bureaucracy and procedures when it comes to providing customer support.

Credit where credit is due, Powweb have been flawless up until now, some 2 or 3 years service, but all of a sudden, things have taken a turn for the worst. You can see the email thread and read more about exactly what is transpiring at the Tech Talk Radio website. We’ve dedicate a page specially to Powweb.

To sumarise the scenario unfolding, Powweb removed the podcast files for the show for reasons made clear in their email. To their credit, the reinstated them the next day. This lead to email dialog questioning their actions, as what they offer in respect to advertised bandwidth on the Powweb homepage, and what they are prepared to deliver seem to be worlds apart.

The response was sadly lacking the information requested which was:

1. The surname of the support individual we were conversing with,
2. A management contact point and
3. And a technical explanation to the reason why the audio files were removed.

All in all, questions which consumers have every right to know.

In the meantime, the account renewal period passed, and the response from Powweb was, and I’m paraphrasing here… “Pay your bill and we’ll talk”.

Now hang on a minute, as a consumer, wouldn’t you sit tight when it came to paying your bill until your resolve the issues at hand (timing is everything) just in case you weren’t happy with the outcome and wanted to change provider? Too right! In a previous email from their billing department, they told me that they valued us as a customer. This is obviously some strange usage of the word ‘valued’ that I was not previously aware of.

Not wanting to antagonise the situation, this post is purely to draw attention to attitudes Powweb currently have towards customers in what could easily be solved with one simple email. This scenario is still in progress so keep an eye on this blog or the Tech Talk website for the next exciting chapter of “Customer Relations 101″

2008 kicks off with a bang

Well it’s February already and my new years resolution was to keep up with the blog. So far not so good.

Tech Talk Radio kicks off for 2008 tomorrow and all going well, it should be another great year. We’re launching our new look newsletter, so feel free to sign up.

Last week saw an interesting moment on ABC Radio. I was sitting in the Tardis (That’s where you go at the ABC when you want to sound like your in the same studio as a presenter in another state) and was on 891 ABC Adelaide listening to the 1PM news when I heard the Victorian Premier John Brumby in a door stop saying “Melbourne didn’t want to die and become like Adelaide) or words to that effect. Mmmm I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time I thought. Just then Robbie (the producer) piped up in the headphones… I’m not from Melboure I said; I from Mars today… He laughed. Would Carole get through our 20 minute chat without saying something? With a minute or so to go, I thought it had fallen off the radar, but alas “Your Premier…” she started. It was at this time I realised that I was looking down the barrel of a political gun. Far be it for me to throw petrol on the fire of what could become more interstate turmoil. It was ugly. Nooooo I thought. Anyway I think I got out of it unscathed. I’ll stick to tech commentary in future. I don’t mind politics there, but not in the mainstream. I’ll post the audio on the media page on TTR soon for all to hear.

Phil Burgess claims “Terror threat if Telstra looses” (FTTN)

If you’re a Telstra share holder, you must be seriously wondering about the wisdom of your investment in what used to be the most highly regarded and respected Australian owned and operated telco.

Since the demise of Ziggy and appointment of Sol and his three amigos, the companies reputation in the eyes of most Australian’s has been some what tarnished. The on going stouch with the Australian Government over Fibre to the node, along with pricing issues with the ACCC, and now the threat by Telstra’s public affairs boss and bull terrier Phil Burgess – you remember him – he was to one who wouldn’t sell Telstra shares to his mother – to invest the $4bn allocated to FTTN into something else, and probably overseas, really makes you wonder where their loyalties lie.

Most other IT companies invest unconditionally for the future, earning the reputation of being innovators and leaders in their field. With success comes respect and loyalty with consumers and manufacturers, take Apple or example. Like them or loath them, Apple has a league of devout followers who, for what ever reason, worship the technology that Steve Jobs and his colleagues dish up. The may have their run ins with governments and businesses from time to time, but it doesn’t stall the process of development and roll out of new technology. This unfortunately is not the same for Telstra.

Dr Phil Burgess addressed a Rotary club lunch in Melbourne this week and the mud slinging he’s renowned for was flying thick and fast. The headline in the Australian newspaper made me laugh – “Terror threat if Telstra loses” I just had to read on. This time Phil was ramping up the fear factor about the strategic roll Telstra plays when providing services to ASIO in the form of phone intercepts. He said “That is something that has to be an intimate relationship between the judicial authorities, the security authorities and the telecommunications company. You want the government of Singapore to be at the table on that?” He went on to say he didn’t know any country in the world, and he didn’t know any press in the world, that would stand by with their hands in their pockets and watch critical infrastructure be turned over to a foreign government.” Not bad for a pr boss who’s company is about to sue the Federal Government for missing out on winning a tender for broadband in the bush.

Maybe Phil’s dealing with the wrong department and Senator Coonan could introduce Doctor Phil Burgess to Kevin Andrew’s the minister for Immigration and Citizenship. After all Kevin Andrews takes a great deal of interest in Foreign Doctors who deal in SIM Cards. Maybe Phil could spend some time at hotel Villawood and then been deported as a threat to national security. Now there’s a thought. 2 birds with one stone! Shareholders rejoice!

Hear the Tech Talk Radio panel talk about this Mon 6/8

After Sales Service in Technology

Recently I spoke about the current trend of suppliers of technological goods and services leaving consumers high and dry when it comes to after sales service. It’s the middle of the work day as I blog what has just happened with Engin, the new kid on the block when it comes to Voice over IP telephony, that is, making telephone calls on the internet.

At 11am this morning I picked the phone up to call Engin’s customer service number 1300 305 000, to connect voicemail on one of my services, I followed the prompts and was told to wait as all operators were busy taking “your” calls. How long would you expect to stay on hold when trying to connect to a telco or ISP? Every time I’ve had to ring Telstra, to their credit it’s been a wait of maybe 30 seconds after you gone 10 rounds with that god damn IVR. This wasn’t the case with Engin. After being on hold for 30 minutes, I picked up another phone and rang the 1300 number again - this time selecting SALES instead of SUPPORT. The phone was answered INSTANTLY!

Having told the sales rep of my frustration in calling support, he was most apologetic, but none the less, it didn’t sooth my raging temper. All I wanted to do was add voicemail to my service. It’s at this stage that you think to yourself, it can’t be much longer… can it? With the thought of ringing back at a later stage and having to go through the pain and anguish again, I chose to hang on. I was forty minutes into the call and I was becoming increasingly frustrated at being told “I’d progressed in the queue” Forty minutes turned to fifty minutes, then at the 52 minute mark I heard the dulcet tones of a human, asking me how they could help me.

I refrained from paying out on the call taker at the other end of the line, instead choosing this medium to express my frustration. What does it take to provide good quality customer support Engin? Maybe you get what you pay for, but I find it amazing that as probably Australia’s largest supplier of VOIP products and soon to be TiVo, you have such a deplorable attitude to support. And the sad thing - your not alone. I also searched the Engin website for a support email, but alas, on the contact us page, only the 1300 number and, you guessed it, a sales email address are provided.

Is this what consumers in Australia are to expect in the coming years?

Comments welcome! Please share your experience as I can refer to them on Tech Talk Radio and other places! The only way to make organisations like this accountable is to speak up. Oh… and it only took 2 minutes to set up voicemail once I could connect! Maybe I’ll go and test it now to see if they’ve got it working. If not, it’s back on the phone again.

Timing is everything

Riding the Airwaves is the title of an article which featured in the Melbourne Age’s Green Guide on July 19. It’s quite a coincident that I should begin personal blogging at the same time I get some PR in the mainstream media. There is a difference between a blog and a news post. A blog is a personal, first person, sometimes biased, and full of opinion that may or may not be based on any solid foundation. A news article should be a un biased representation of facts, presented in a fashion that allows the reader to make up his or her own mind about the story at hand.

I produce Tech Talk Radio, a radio program heard on air and podcast which rose from the demise of Jon Faine’s computer segment which used to be heard on 774 ABC Melbourne. It’s a 2 hour weekly show which talks about consumer technology and delivered in a lounge room environment. It’s the equivalent to a coffee table magazine which seems to be growing in popularity. It has a community forum where listeners can share their thoughts and a website which receives anywhere between 2000 and 2500 visitors daily. I also do a bit on Carole Whitelock’s program on 891 ABC Adelaide from time to time.

The purpose of McBlog is to allow me to blog in a non news forum. One of things I love, is talking to other like minded souls, passionate about technology, especially those who share their thoughts with listeners or readers who find technology challenging. It’s a fact that some people, for whatever reason just don’t click with today’s high tech world. I find the attitudes and choices made by decision makers in government extremely frustrating, as often or not, careers and short term goals are responsible for poor decisions that end up being problematic in time rather than for the good of the community in general. I believe those involved in Tech Talk Radio have the same philosophy and that’s what drives us to do what we do - but I can’t speak for them. It’s what makes the show unique.

The main bone of contention that bugs me right now, is the attitude of Telstra (Australia’s incumbent ex Government owned Telco) and the Australian Government in the single most important decision that will affect all of us - Broadband. Telstra’s agenda is shareholder focused (rightly so) and the Federal Government is looking to the election in 4 months. Who’s going to win here? Not us - or am I being to cynical?

I welcome your comments.

McBlog

Hello everyone and welcome to McBlog

I’m Andrew McColm, host of Tech Talk Radio, purveyor of electronic media, and regular contributor on ABC Radio. This blog will ramp up as time permits, primarily discussing technology. I run a production company in Melbourne, where we make TV, Radio and Websites.