Email notification by VoIP. Was: Re: Om2008.8: execute script on incoming call

Stroller stroller at stellar.eclipse.co.uk
Mon Sep 1 16:43:29 CEST 2008


On 31 Aug 2008, at 11:56, Rod Whitby wrote:
> Stroller wrote:
>> On 30 Aug 2008, at 05:34, Rod Whitby wrote:
>>> Please don't assume that everyone has unlimited data plans.
>>
>> "Please don't assume" probably won't prevent developers from doing  
>> so.
>
> Nothing can prevent open source developers from taking any world view
> they please.  That's their right.  That's why I'm educating them with
> the message that unlimited data plans are not available in all  
> parts of
> the world.

Your assertive tone here sounds like you're upset with me for  
questioning you. Please chill out.

Nothing can prevent open source developers from taking any world view  
they please - that's why I ASKED YOU to educate them. Your previous  
message wasn't educational because it just said "please don't assume"  
without providing any depthful understanding of your problems.

>> How much does data transfer cost there? (comparison of data cost
>> relative to calls?)
>>
>
> 1c per Kb.  Calls are about 30c/min.


A quick summary stating "checking email every day would add $XX to my  
current $YY monthly phonebill" might make your education more memorable.

>> Why is the situation unlikely to change in the foreseeable?
>
> There are no market forces that will make it change, as Australia is a
> large country with a relatively sparse population (2.6 people per  
> square
> kilometer).

I'm surprised that makes any difference. I'd have thought the  
majority of data users were in the cities. A telco could provide  
GPRS / 3G data only in metropolitan areas or apply their unlimited  
data plans only in those areas. At the end of the day unlimited data  
has only become available in other countries because it's in Telco  
X's interest to induce customers away from Telco Y. Even restricting  
unlimited data to metropolitan areas one would sway a profitable  
percentage of customers.

Once you have the infrastructure in place I understood the cost of  
shifting data to be relatively low. I appreciate that this my not  
scale for very long data lines, but once you've built cell towers in  
rural areas you have to supply them with bandwidth for voice.

>>> I expect the IMAP client on my openmoko phone to be able to
>>> download all
>>> my email for offline reading, deleting, and replying on the bus with
>>> *no* internet connectivity, and then sync all those changes  
>>> seamlessly
>>> to the server as soon as I get the next internet connection.
>>
>> I expect that, too. Certainly under my data plan this would be
>> essential for foreign holidays.
>
> It's good that our needs are identical then.  Ability to do stuff when
> connected, and ability to do stuff when not connected as well.  As
> opposed to an assumption that someone is always connected.

Our needs aren't identical because I can enable checking every 5  
minutes when at home and disable it when on holiday. On holiday I can  
check once per day or just manage without email on my phone - I can  
survive with an internet cafe for a couple of weeks per year. In fact  
I have been known to leave my phone at home when on holiday, for  
various reasons - for 2 weeks per year I can manage without.

Stroller.





More information about the community mailing list