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Thread: Broad band in SA

  1. #11
    Email problem RKS Computer Solutions's Avatar
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    Dave, that might be an issue yes... Let us know how it's going when you've upgraded...

    For those interested in venting on iBurst, here you go: http://hellburst.za.net

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  3. #13
    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eugene View Post
    A complainant had said that the advertised claims were misleading as during the day iBurst caps its speed at 46 kbps and users are never able to reach speeds of more than 100 kbps, notes IOL Technology.
    That is quite a strange claim. I have iBurst and I almost always obtain speeds between 25-80kBps, which is equivalent to 200-640 kbps. I wonder if that should read kBps, which seems more realistic.

    On a side note here: what I've noticed is that they appear to limit any single stream to around about 25kBps, but if you use multiple streams (e.g. download manager opens 4 connections) then you obtain better results. With a download manager I typically get over 80 kBps and have even gone over 100 kBps.
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  4. #14
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eugene View Post
    The ASA found that it could not be shown that a significant number of customers could achieve the advertised speed of 1 Mbps under reasonable circumstances, and in fact there was no evidence to prove that iBurst users can ever currently achieve that speed. The claim was therefore held to be misleading, and iBurst was ordered to withdraw it from advertising with immediate effect.

    Legalbrief 08-08-2007
    Now that is real interesting. iBurst is of course owned by Vodacom nowadays. And the speed claims are in exactly the same format as their speed claims for HSDPA (up to 1.8 Mbps )
    Quote Originally Posted by RKS Computer Solutions View Post
    Thanks Riaan, but that's the US version unfortunately, which is based on GST, not VAT.

    You need to go to Quickbooks UK for a VAT system. Note: 2007 version not released yet! And support is only given for 3 years based on the edition year

    I'm patiently awaiting the new release, which at this rate will be the VAT version for 2008.

  5. #15
    Email problem RKS Computer Solutions's Avatar
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    Never knew they were different, my bad... Don't really deal with Quickbooks so just grabbed the first link google gave me....

    Have you spoken to their support regarding the slow networking and if it's been solved in later versions? Have you contacted QuickBooks SA (PTY) LTD to see if maybe they couldn't shed some light on your issues? http://www.quickbooks.co.za

  6. #16
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RKS Computer Solutions View Post
    Have you contacted QuickBooks SA (PTY) LTD to see if maybe they couldn't shed some light on your issues? http://www.quickbooks.co.za
    Oh yes. Although the primary cause for my contact with them has not been the speed over network issue - for standard operations it is a non-issue.

    Quickbooks has some absolutely amazing plug-ins which I'm interested in. And this needs a recent version. I'm simply not excited about getting a 2006 version where support will drop off at some point in 2009.

  7. #17
    Email problem RKS Computer Solutions's Avatar
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    Taking into account the time you have to wait for a new version, and knowing that it's support will drop off in a certain timeframe anyway, how long are you willing to wait for a new version just so you can get the newest features...

    That's a standard problem in the software industry... Waiting for new software releases with all the bells, then it's released and a few bugs needs to be sorted... People then wait for the next version or service pack.... and so on... and so on...

    Technology will always be moving forward, no matter how much forward thinking has gone into a current release. The moment you buy a piece of software, it's already old news... The fact that the moment after you install any piece of software, you notice something better or faster or something with more features, is a fact of life...

  8. #18
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    You're right - but consider this for a moment.

    When you buy Quickbooks, you will receive updates on that version for any changes in the operating environment until they bring out the next version. Thereafter, you will receive support if something breaks for the next two years. And thereafter, if it breaks, tough luck.

    This is not the usual lifetime support thing. Although Quickbooks is sold as a once-off fee (no annual licence fee), there is a built-in obselesence in there that forces you to buy an upgraded version sooner or later.

    The trouble is, despite this fact that you are going to have to spend money from time to time, it still is more cost effective - not to mention a considerably superior product, than most other well known accounting packages out there.

    As for the delay - well bear in mind that what I need is not an entry level product. It might look like I only need to spend a few thousand - but it's actually closer to 30k. At 10k per year of supported product, I can just live with that.

  9. #19
    Silver Member Eugene's Avatar
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    State firm to slash Internet costs to 5% of Telkom rate

    The government revealed plans yesterday to slash the wholesale price of broadband access by 95percent within five years.

    But the state encountered new obstacles in Parliament to the licensing of the company that will make this possible.

    Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin told the Sunday Times last week that the new state-owned enterprise, Broadband Infraco, would market bulk broadband to value- added network providers, known as VANS, at 35 percent of Telkom’s 2006 cost.

    Yesterday, Public Enterprises director-general Portia Molefe went further, saying the cost would come down in steps to five percent of Telkom’s price by 2011 and would stay there.

    She also promised that the new company, Infraco, would stay out of the value-add sector.

    Infraco will take over the fibre- optic networks of Transnet, and Eskom will lay undersea digital links to Brazil and Europe at a cost of R3-billion to R3.75-billion.

    Infraco’s price targets would be measured against Telkom’s 2006 STM-1 benchmark price for 155 megabytes/second.

    Telkom recently slashed its retail prices for always-on Internet services in a bid to ward off increasing competition, but declined to say what its wholesale price was.

    Molefe told Parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises that South Africa ranked 25th out of 122 highly connected nations on regulatory provision for digital access — but only 75th on the ratio of people able to use the Internet.

    She said the wholesale price was the primary obstacle.

    Urging MPs to use their power to circumvent the requirements of the Electronic Communications Act and license Infraco, she said this would be the quickest way to get the new prices into effect.

    Detailing Erwin’s concession announced last week, she said the department’s second choice would be to amend the ECA as quickly as possible to allow the Independent Communications Authority to grant Infraco an immediate licence without having to put it to open tender.

    Source: http://www.suntimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=545906

  10. #20
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eugene View Post
    Urging MPs to use their power to circumvent the requirements of the Electronic Communications Act and license Infraco,
    You know what - I want this to happen as much as anyone else (except Telkom probably), but I get more than a tad troubled by these short cuts of convenience. If the law isn't right, it needs to be changed, not "circumvented".

    But then I think we're way past the thin end of the edge on the "short cuts of convenience" front.

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