It scarcely needs saying but let it again be said: one of the benefits of SeniorNet membership is the opportunity to keep up to date with technology. And it was a true updating that members enjoyed when Chris Sullivan from Vodafone discussed the latest and the forthcoming developments in a communications system corralling mobile and landline phones, pay and free to view television, computer devices and more.
The September monthly meeting had much to absorb as he outlined just how much the knee bone was connected to the thigh bone, etc, in an age when infants are seemingly born with connectivity in their blood but their grandparents could still be relying on pen, paper, stamps and envelopes.
At a time of almost universal user-pays, it was nice to hear his description of a free app for people with a Vodafone mobile which shows much of the information needed to manage the payment plan relating to a phone. And talking of plans, it sounds as though the mobile phone user has a pretty good choice of payment schemes to choose from, taking into account frequency of use, and types of use. Plans, moreover, extend to factoring in broadband for the home (via copper or fibre), fixed line installation, Sky tv, and so on with one bill covering all services. Packages, it seems, could be pretty well tailor made, such is their broad base.
Individual points made by Chris included: potential to eliminate raid fade on Vodafone tv, availability of $5/day roaming, that the iPhone is incredibly secure, that a couple of full stops (..) worked into a password further flummox a hacker, that (applying common sense) internet banking is very safe, that the telecommunications business is hugely competitive and that a certain website is worth a look if you’re seeking help to set up a password – a needle in a haystack (I typed haystack into Google which offered www.grc.com/haystack and was then glued to the page).
Chris, who considers his world to be cool, very cool, was wearing a watch about which I’ve only read. It did indeed look very cool. “Wearables are an internet thing,” he pronounced. “It’s like sci-fi movies – these things are starting to happen.”
A couple of months ago we were very well briefed on how Chorus (a Government-owned business) is delivering ultra fast broadband (UFB) throughout the country. Chris’ presentation elaborated on that, albeit from a proprietary perspective but with universal appeal. Individual appeal of Vodafone to a couple of members at the meeting was expressly expressed – they are very impressed with the customer service they have experienced.
This, by the way, is not an advertorial for Vodafone but I did leave the meeting feeling very keen to know more about what’s on offer.
Christine Fleming