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Oonagh Reidy

160 Telstra Jobs Shipped To India: Reports

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Indian giant Tata Consultancy Services is set to take over as many as 160 Telstra posts in a $US50 million deal.

The Hindu Business Line says the deal will covers finance and accounting operations, afffecting 100 jobs although a Telstra spokesperson suggested the number may be as high as 160. 

Reports in July suggested the Telco was planning to outsource 160 jobs India, with another 146 posts with Telstra contractors also destined to go offshore. 
The new deal with Tata could also impact existing outsourcing suppliers such as IBM and HP, the report also suggests.

Google, Do I Suffer From Memory Loss?

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Do you suffer from long term memory loss? Can’t remember? Well Google probably has the answer.

The famous line from the song by pop group Chumbawamba, called Amnesia, has some resonance in reality, new research claims. 

A study by psychologists from Colombian University in the US, now says search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing fosters memory loss, known as the Google effect. 

The study, “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips” looks at how the Internet is changing the way people store information and has found alarming reliance on search engines as a personal memory bank, rather than brain power. 

“What surprised the researchers most was not people’s reliance on online information but their ability to find it,” says the study’s findings published in July edition of In Science magazine. 

Sharp memorys are no longer necessary as the internet generation can Google just about everything (and if we can’t think of a person’s name we can just look it up on Facebook), which is generally regarded as”an external memory source that we can access at any time,” says Betsy Sparrow one of the principal researchers. 

Rather than the remembering specific information stored, PC’s users are more likely to remember the computer folder or location where the content is stored, the research also found. 

“The experience of losing our Internet connection becomes more and more like losing a friend. We must remain plugged in to know what Google knows.”

 
So, its official. A PC is now like a friend with a great memory. 

Hello High Speed: NBN Full Throttle Hits Tas

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Its official: $36bn NBN is assaulting Tasmania full throttle.


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NBN Co has finalised its $300m agreement for the construction of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Tasmania, it said today.

The NBN Co will team up with networking service provider, Visionstream (part of Leighton Holdings), to construct the remainder of the fibre network in Tasmania.

The contract is worth around $300 million over the initial four year  period, although the Department of  Communications said earlier the deal was worth $220 m.

The fibre optic network will deliver broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps.

So far, there are just 5,500 people connected to NBN across Australia and this new deal will connect 190,000 premises in Tasmania by 2015.

Tasmania was one of the first locations to get NBN treatment with partial rollout in rural areas last year, with fibre services now available in Scottsdale, Smithton and Midway Point.

Its the first state in Australia where the controversial network will be rolled out in its entirety.

“The Gillard Government made a commitment to Tasmanians that they would be the first to benefit from the rollout,” said Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband.

And Conroy was also quick to sing off the benefits (not to mention the electoral bounce) the $36bn project will have in Tasmania. 

“It will establish a permanent NBN maintenance workforce in Tasmania, creating more job opportunities for Tasmanians.”

The contract is expected to create 800 new jobs during rollout as well as a permanent workforce to undertake maintenance and future upgrades.

However there has been some question marks over the NBN Co decision to rollout high speed fibre optic network in Tasmania and other rural spots (including Armidale, NSW) rather than heavily populated urban locations.

However, NBN Co’s Chief Operations Officer, Ralph Steffens, said it will give Tasmanians a head start on high speed broadband:

“It’s appropriate that the state that was the first to be connected to the NBN will be the first where the rollout will be complete. It will give Tasmania a head start to be able to take advantage of this transformative infrastructure for the nation’s future.”

Mike Quigley’s NBN Co anticipates that services will be available in Triabunna in the coming weeks, followed by Deloraine, Sorell, St Helens, Kingston Beach, George Town and South Hobart over the coming months.

 

The broadband company updated its 12 month fibre rollout schedule in February, which now covers 758,100 homes and businesses in 66 locations in Australia where the network is either active, work is underway or planned to start by the end of 2012, NBN Co said today.

This schedule includes three new locations in Tasmania: Bellerive, Claremont and South Launceston.

NBN Co is expected to issue its first three-year indicative rollout plan shortly, it said in a statement.

iPad War: Vodafone Assault Telstra Plans $47 + 2GB

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Vodafone has undercut rival Telstra on iPad pricing in a bid to out-plan rivals.
A 16GB new iPad on Vodafone will set you back $47 per month with 2GB data – compared to Telstra $48 plan with just 1GB data, while Voda’s 6GB data plan is $57, 12GB $67 and 14GB and 18GB plans costing $77 and $87 respectively.

This compares to Telstra’s 4GB ($58), 8GB ($68) and 15GB ($98) plans, meaning Voda are offering far more bang for your iPad buck on data.

Voda’s 32GB iPad start at $51 with 2GB data, undercutting Telstra starting rate of $52 with 1GB data.


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Both Telstra and Voda’s are offering deals for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB new iPad models over 2 years, while a new iPad 16GB starts at $539 if purchased outright.

However, Voda are flogging the 9.7″ Retina screen tab on a range of 12 month deals also, starting at $76 for 2GB to $116 for a hefty 18GB data.

The red telco are selling new iPad from tommorow while Telstra are going one better and opening its George St, Sydney and Melbourne’s Bourke St stores at 12.01am tonight for eager iPad fan-atics.

Read: Telstra Mad Midnight iPad Run Here

Optus too have released it pricing for the latest iPad which starts at $41 for 1GB data – while its 2GB option costs $46.

And it appears Optus’ basic 16GB new iPad plan beats both Voda and Telstra hands down. If you want very little data allowance there is 500 MB Optus option, which costs $38 and other plans come with 4GB ($49), 8GB ($59) and 16GB ($79) data options for consumer plans.

Further up the food chain, Optus are charging $45 for 1GB data for 32GB new iPad model and $49 for 4 GB.

 

It also has business plans which kick off at $36.95 for Apple’s 16GB model, $49.95 for 4GB, $59 for 7GB and $69 for 10GB.

 Customers can buy the new iPad online at 12.01am tonight from Optus and instore tomorrow.

Revolutionary Lytro Boxy Camera On Sale $399

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Its here: the Lytro light field technology camera is going on sale as tipped by SmartHouse in October.
Lytro, billed by its inventor, Ren Ng , as an “amazing new kind of camera”, allows photographers to focus their pictures after taking them, is to go on sale in the US.

And the nifty 214g device fits in the palm of your hand.

“We’ve proudly started shipping the Lytro camera to our first customers and are putting the future of light field photography in your hands,” Ng, who was born in Malaysia but raised in Australia, confirmed on his blog.

Its boxy design is also revolutionary and is being billed by many industry watchers as the saviour for the ailing camera industry. Mashable calls it “the most social camera ever made.”


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“For a photographer, whether amateur or professional, the Lytro technology means that the headaches of focusing a shot go away,” said Steve Lohr,The New York Times.

Lytro records all of the light falling on its sensor without running it through processes such as colour balancing or sharpening, allowing for instantaneous shots. The “living picture” camera lets you alter the focus of images post production.


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The new camera starts at US$399 for  the 8GB model which comes in electric blue and graphite and can hold 350 images, and US$750 for the 16GB ‘red hot” model (above) which stores 750 pics.

Later this year US based Lytro will introduce software updates giving it additional features, including 3D viewing of your existing light field shots. No word when it will hit Aussie shores yet.

 

Even Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed an interest in the Lytro light field camera, meeting with Lytro boss Ren Ng not long before his death.


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BREAKING NEWS: CBA ATM Crash Out

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Commonwealth Bank’s ATM network has crashed across Australia. Its EFTPOS card payments system has also gone down, meaning Commbank customers will have to use cash for retail and other transactions.


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The system collapse was reported in the early hours of this morning, when a flurry of complaints hit CBA’s Twitter account.

“We’re still working to resolve this but you can access and transact using NetBank, phone banking and in branch,” CBA replied to one customer who complained via Twitter 13 minutes ago.

However, customers can view and transact on NetBank accounts in branch or via phone banking, the bank also confirmed.

No word yet on what caused the system failure.

CBA said it was working on resolving this as a “matter of priority.”

Intel Chips ARE Down

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As PC sales slide, Intel admits its a “tough” market.

Intel’s third quarter results paint a dull picture of the PC world, with revenue, operating income and gross margin all showing zero growth, and are identical to Q2 figures. 

Intel Corp today reported quarterly revenue of $13.5 billion and an operating income of $3.8 bn. However, it wasn’t all bad with net profit rising 5.1% to $3 bn compared to second quarter. 
The results come as no surprise as global PC shipments fell almost 10% y-o-y to 87.5 million in Q3, analysts Gartner confirmed last week, and also showed zero growth on the previous quarter.

Intel’s PC Client Group revenue fell 8% compared to Q3 ’11 to $8.6 billion.

Company shares closed at $22.35, but fell 3.4% to $21.59 in after hours trading.

“Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment,” said Paul Otellini, Intel CEO.

However, despite the pervasive gloom Otellini was “pleased” with progress on Ultrabooks, the new ultra thin notebook category it masterminded last year, and alluded to the Intel based tabs coming this quarter, including Microsoft’s Surface.

“As we look to the fourth quarter, we’re pleased with the continued progress in Ultrabooks and phones and excited about the range of Intel-based tablets coming to market.”

“The world of computing is in the midst of a period of breakthrough innovation and creativity.”

However, despite the dull air in PC market, Intel is still spending $4.5 billion Research & Development in Q4, just slightly below last quarter.

 

The chip giant is predicting a slight rise in Q4 revenue to $13.6 bn, plus or minus $500 million.

Intel Data Center revenue was down 5% to $2.7 bn, although up 6% year-over-year.

Its Q3 Gross margin of 63.3 percent was 1.3% above the the company’s expectation of 62%.

The company generated approximately $5.1 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.1 billion.
Earnings per share was also up 7.4% to $0.58 from $0.54.

Optus 4G “Wave” Hits ACT, SA

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Optus is riding a big wave. A 4G wave.

That’s according to the network’s boss, Guenther Ottendorfer, who today admitted surfing the new 4G network “was the main ride we had this year.”

Getting the 4G LTE service up and running was an “incredible race” as telco No. 2 played catch up to Telstra, whose LTE network is well over a year old with several hundred thousand users.

Optus finally launched its 4G LTE network in Newcastle and the Hunter region in April and has blitzed all metro cities in select areas, and claims to have the largest coverage of any telco in Perth.

But still this does not get away from the fact rivals Telstra have a far bigger coverage (around 40% of the population) and hope to blitz over 1,000 sites in all, by early next year.

Telstra’s typical 4G download speeds are 2Mbps – 40Mbps, uploads of 1Mbps – 10Mbps, while Optus says its 4G TD LTE network has typical download speeds from 25Mbps – 87Mbps.

Optus’ Managing Director of Networks, Ottendorfer, claims Optus is getting “positive” feedback from 4G customers, adding it will “continue to improve” service.

Ottendorfer also confirmed Canberra and Adelaide will be privy to a faster 4G network in the first half of next year, although would not be tied down to a precise timeframe. He is “hopeful” Adelaide’s 4G rollout will accelerate in 2013, and currently working on the Canberra project.

The Canberra 4G service will also be different from Optus’ other services elsewhere as it will operate on TD LTE, or Time-Division Long-Term Evolution, which allocates separate channels for outgoing and incoming signals, used widely  by Chinese telcos like Huawei and Nokia.

Currently Optus 4G runs on a FDD-LTE system but is getting set for is set for a major national 4G TD-LTE network roll out next year.

Currently it has 50 LTE sites in Brisbane and says it will upping this in the Qld capital to 130 next year.

But hold on, what about us plebs still on 3G?

The telco said today it is continuing to deliver improvements on the “workhorse” that is 3G +, a service that is “still used by the majority” Ottendorfer said.

 

Optus is currently “refarming” its 3G network and going deep into metro areas, basically meaning improved calls and data quality for indoor users.

Indoor quality is now improved by 74-87%, and will improve beyond this next year, he said.

In 2013, this 3G+ upgrade will extend to other areas including Queensland and Wollongong. Optus has integrated over 400 sites in Sydney and 3000 nationwide since the project began last year.

In fact, Optus’ modernisation of 3G plus is “one of the biggest refarming project in the world,” Ottendorfer said. 

iPhone 5 Sales “Record-Breaking”: Telstra

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It may be hum drum, but Aussie appetite for the iPhone 5 is still voracious, as Telstra sells out within hours.


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Telstra sold out of the iPhone 5 in just 18 hours after the pre-orders kicked off on Friday 5:30 pm, marking a new sales record for the telco.

“Tens of thousands pre-registered interest in the new Apple and we sold out within two working says “smashing all Telstra previous online sales records, even the iPhone 4S which also sold out within a few days.

A spokesperson told SmartHouse they are “thrilled” with huge demand for the iPhone 5, which “exceeded all expectations.”

The 4″ screen, 4G-enabled, thinner, longer iPhone 5 has features Android devices have had for some time, was announced by Apple with much fanfare last week, which many are slamming as mundane.

The telco released their pricing plans for the new i5 on Friday, and are flogging four plans (S, M, L, XL) for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5.

Telstra’s S 16GB iPhone 5 plan starts at $67 per month ($600 call, unlimited txt and 1GB data) and also comes in $80, $100 and the top end $120 deals.

Further up the scale, the 32GB iPhone 5 on Telstra’s S starts at $71 (with the same allowances as the 16GB plan) but if you want a massive data allowance you will pay $132 for XL deal which gives unlimited talk, text and 3GB data.

The 64GB iPhone 5 S plan starts at $77 per month.

With no more devices in stock, consumers are currently unable to pre-order the device online.

A Telstra spokesperson said it is currently reviewing how to feed consumers huge hunger for the new 4G smartie but was “pleased” customers are embracing its online store with such aplomb.

 

“Our online pre-order has been very popular and for the moment, we’re out of stock. We’re working on getting more in,” according to Telstra’s website.

Vodafone, too, released its plans for i5, which starts at $6 a month on the $60 Plan ($700 value, infinite calls on 3/Vodafone’s network, infinite text standard and international and 1GB of data.)

A Vodafone spokesperson also confirmed demand is “strong” and will know more precise sales figures later today.

Optus are also riding high on i5 demand and are already sold out of the 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 on pre-orders, with pricing plans starting at $30 (+$18 handset repayment), $60 (+$6) and $80, revealed Friday afternoon.

Cash Grab? Optus Hike Up Phone Charges

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Don’t stay too long on the phone. Consumer groups have hit out at Optus’ increased mobile charges, effective from yesterday. The revisions, which have been rolled out since last last year, mean Optus mobile customers will be charged in one-minute blocks – a move away from per second cost structure, for all national and overseas calls.


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Staying on the phone too long is no longer a good idea.

Basically, customers will be charged per minute of talktime, so if you talk for a minute and ten seconds you will be charged for two minutes.

So, who much will the charges set you back? Pricing differs depending on your plan but the general rule of thumb is if the pricing is 40c for 30 seconds, it will now double to 80c per minute.

Customers on $49 Optus plan will now pay $1.05 per minute, compared to 75c previously.

It is also introducing the regime for Optus home phone users from November 27.

However, the change is affecting just 5 percent of its customer base, who were on older plans and are now being moved over to the new structure, an Optus spokesperson told SmartHouse.

The vast majority of customers moved over to the new per-minute regime 18 months ago.

Optus also denied accusations of a “blatant cash grab” – voiced by consumer group Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) , saying it is simply playing catch up with rivals like Telstra, who introduced per-minute billing in March.

“Its about updating billing structure to keep in line with the market. If you look at Vodafone and Telstra they already have this in place” said the Optus spokesperson.

Telstra said the change would add an extra 2 per cent on to user bills. The per-minute regime “is just another way to make you pay more,” said Choice’s Christopher Zinn, criticising Telstra’s move earlier this year.

The SingTel owned telco are also giving users the right to walk away if they are not happy with the new arrangement: “If a customer chooses to cancel their plan as a result of these changes, their cancellation fees will be waived.”

However, Optus customers are not happy, voicing their ire on Whirlpool’s forum: “What kind of deal is this? I tried ringing Optus but their was an “extended delay”. I tried to visit the website optus.com.au/planupdate however the website has fallen over,” one wrote having been informed in a letter of the change.

Another said: “If I was in the habit of making many short (<30secs) phone calls then they have just doubled the amount of revenue they would be collecting from me.

 

“Even if I wasn’t in that habit, then calls I make that go just over a minute are subject to another doubling of the charge. It would appear that Optus has been taking predation lessons from Tel$tra.”
 
Later this month, Optus will change to the one minute block structure for all national STD and fixed to mobile calls on some fixed line phones to “bring us in line with others in the industry.”

The majority of Optus’ fixed line customers are on unlimited plans or plans with included value, thus changes will have limited impact on their monthly bill.

On the Home Starter plan, a 29 second national call costs $0.85c today; it will cost $1.25c after the 27 November.

While this is a “significant increase”, the actual impact on customers will be nowhere near this magnitude, given the majority of customers make longer calls, have call value or unlimited calls included in their plans, the telco insists.