Our internet broadband connection at home is down. I am in the process of changing from my service provider from AOL to TalkTalk.
There are a few reasons I am changing from AOL. At first I was quite happy with their service but later found that my friends were enjoying faster broadband speeds and it seems to be getting worse.
I also have had to call their customer service 4 times in a duration of 2 months. I got connected to a call center in India each time and everytime didn't solve my problem. In the end I had to solve the problems myself with the help of some IT savvy friends. What made it worse was that I was charged 5p per minute for the calls to their customer service.
After being unable to access the net for 2 consecutive days, I finally decided to cancel my broadband subscription. My contract with them had ended as well a few days back. Imagine my reaction when I found out that they had ALREADY cut my broadband connection BUT WERE STILL BILLING ME.
AOL YOU REALLY SUCK
We have signed up for the Talk2 International with Broadband package from TalkTalk. The phone line comes with free broadband. Best of all, calls to their customer service is absolutely FREE. They promise "up to" 8MB broadband speeds and 40GB usage allowance but I am sceptical. Waiting for their modem and the setup CD to arrive. I will conduct a broadband speed test as soon as I have it up and running.
Till then, I won't be blogging that much.
23 November 2007
19 November 2007
It's snowing
Just wanted to be the first guy in Coventry to blog about it.
Autumn is not even over yet but it's snowing outside. At first we thought it was sleet - due to the fact that BBC weather site told us so. My car already has a thin layer of snow on it.
17 November 2007
Why do you need a Swiss army knife for?
While driving back home from the University I suddenly remembered that Go Outdoors was having a sale and I decided to drop by their store. I just wanted to survey the prices but as it normally happens, you see something you like and end up buying something.
I was just browsing through the place when I noticed the pen knife and multi tool section. I have always wanted a multi-tool ever since I lost my small pen knife when I was a kid. Anyway, I really liked the Leatherman multi-tools but they were way over my budget. I finally found a multi-tool that I liked and quite affordable as well - the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Climber 1.370330. Unlike the normal ones that have red handles, mine is black. The Climber has a total of 12 basic functions including scissors and a multi-purpose hook.
The retail price is £20 but I got it for £16 after discount.
When I got back home, I showed it off to my wife who didn't look impressed. "So! What are you going to use it for?", she asked.
I replied that can use it when we go camping and stuff but I guessed what was coming next. "When are we going camping?"
Now, I am going to have to leave it in the car because I don't want to risk my kids playing with it and cutting themselves.
I was just browsing through the place when I noticed the pen knife and multi tool section. I have always wanted a multi-tool ever since I lost my small pen knife when I was a kid. Anyway, I really liked the Leatherman multi-tools but they were way over my budget. I finally found a multi-tool that I liked and quite affordable as well - the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Climber 1.370330. Unlike the normal ones that have red handles, mine is black. The Climber has a total of 12 basic functions including scissors and a multi-purpose hook.
The retail price is £20 but I got it for £16 after discount.
When I got back home, I showed it off to my wife who didn't look impressed. "So! What are you going to use it for?", she asked.
I replied that can use it when we go camping and stuff but I guessed what was coming next. "When are we going camping?"
Now, I am going to have to leave it in the car because I don't want to risk my kids playing with it and cutting themselves.
Moving to WordPress
At present all my blogs are hosted with Blogger. I am quite happy with that but I would be lying if I told you that I haven't been tempted to move to WordPress and hosted somewhere else. One of my friends was describing the various bells and whistles on his WordPress powered blog including the various plugins support by this blog publishing system, the ability to block IP addresses of people I don't like and of course the huge number of themes available on the web.
A lot of people told me that if I consider myself a serious blogger, then I should move from Blogger and get myself a unique domain name and host my blog somewhere. In the past I did survey around a bit but good hosting companies that supported WordPress were charging quite a lot. However, today I realise that there are a number of reliable and reasonably priced blog hosts around. 34SP.com Ltd is one affordable WordPress webhosting company that I recently came across. Their prices start from $35.95 per year for 200Mb space and 2000Mb of bandwidth per month. For those who are new to WordPress, do check out their list of useful WordPress resources on the web - from codex, themes and plugins to discussion forums.
Right now they are offering all new customers who order WordPress hosting a free upgrade - double storage space and bandwidth.
A lot of people told me that if I consider myself a serious blogger, then I should move from Blogger and get myself a unique domain name and host my blog somewhere. In the past I did survey around a bit but good hosting companies that supported WordPress were charging quite a lot. However, today I realise that there are a number of reliable and reasonably priced blog hosts around. 34SP.com Ltd is one affordable WordPress webhosting company that I recently came across. Their prices start from $35.95 per year for 200Mb space and 2000Mb of bandwidth per month. For those who are new to WordPress, do check out their list of useful WordPress resources on the web - from codex, themes and plugins to discussion forums.
Right now they are offering all new customers who order WordPress hosting a free upgrade - double storage space and bandwidth.
Consumer vs customer
NOTE: Latest update: 25 August 2010.
Updated 18 Nov, 2007 after consultation with my the marketing expert, my wife.
Last week, I was in charge of this undergraduate class and I suddenly realised that a number of the students were using the words 'consumer' and 'customer' interchangeably. Guess this is true for a lot of people on the street. However, I have on some occasions come across some academics making the same mistake at academic conferences as well.
As used in marketing terminology, there is a huge difference between the two concepts. The term 'Customer' refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy. On the other hand, a 'Consumer' is someone who uses the products or services.
At a glance, there doesn't seems to be any difference but if you examine closely, there is. For example, A mother who does the shopping for the family in a supermarket is a customer. She and the rest of the family sit down at the dining table to eat the food she has bought and they are all consumers. The mother is a customer and a consumer at the same time.
You might have come across the term B2B and B2C. B2B refers to Business-to-Business transections. For example, Tesco buys goods from Procter & Gamble in bulk. On the other hand B2B refers to Business-to-consumer transection. For example, I go to Tesco and buy Duracell batteries. For those who did not know, Duracell is owned by P&G.
Did that make any sense to you?
Updated 18 Nov, 2007 after consultation with my the marketing expert, my wife.
Last week, I was in charge of this undergraduate class and I suddenly realised that a number of the students were using the words 'consumer' and 'customer' interchangeably. Guess this is true for a lot of people on the street. However, I have on some occasions come across some academics making the same mistake at academic conferences as well.
As used in marketing terminology, there is a huge difference between the two concepts. The term 'Customer' refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy. On the other hand, a 'Consumer' is someone who uses the products or services.
At a glance, there doesn't seems to be any difference but if you examine closely, there is. For example, A mother who does the shopping for the family in a supermarket is a customer. She and the rest of the family sit down at the dining table to eat the food she has bought and they are all consumers. The mother is a customer and a consumer at the same time.
You might have come across the term B2B and B2C. B2B refers to Business-to-Business transections. For example, Tesco buys goods from Procter & Gamble in bulk. On the other hand B2B refers to Business-to-consumer transection. For example, I go to Tesco and buy Duracell batteries. For those who did not know, Duracell is owned by P&G.
Did that make any sense to you?
15 November 2007
Online marketing companies
The World Wide Web is the first truly new medium since television, offering marketers with several opportunities as well as challenges. In fact, a study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers this year showed that online advertising is the fastest growing advertising medium. Thus, it no wonder that so many internet marketing companies have mushroomed all over the net. Even the traditional ad companies have got into the act.
So how do we know which company to choose?
I have a few simple tips: First of all look at their track record. The older they are, the better. Secondly, take a look at their own Alexa and Google rankings. If these companies claim to specialise in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), yet are themselves stuck with a low PR, it doesn't make sense.
Look at the companies that fulfils both criteria. They should have over over 10 years experience in SEO, Pay Per Click Management, Online Media Buying, and Website Usability.
Look at their home page - does it have a Google PR 3 and above?
So how do we know which company to choose?
I have a few simple tips: First of all look at their track record. The older they are, the better. Secondly, take a look at their own Alexa and Google rankings. If these companies claim to specialise in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), yet are themselves stuck with a low PR, it doesn't make sense.
Look at the companies that fulfils both criteria. They should have over over 10 years experience in SEO, Pay Per Click Management, Online Media Buying, and Website Usability.
Look at their home page - does it have a Google PR 3 and above?
14 November 2007
Malaysian universities out of the World top 200 list
The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) - Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings are really taken seriously by a lot of people. Thus the dropping of Malaysian Universities from the top 200 Universities list for the first time since it was first published in 2004, is indeed a big issue, especially among the Malaysian academic community.
The results are based on scores on 6 variables, namely, peer review (40%), employer review (10%), staff- student ratio (5%), citations per staff (20%), international staff (5%) and international students (5%).
Though I am not sure about the other variables, I am totally sure of two where Malaysian Universities will always have low scores: international staff and international student ratios. I guess it is related to the education policy there. Unlike universities in the US, UK or even Australia, majority of the Malaysian Universities are not profit orientated. They do not target foreign students for the undergraduate programmes. Most of the foreign students there are not in the Universities but rather in the various private colleges (many of them now with a unique Malaysian terminology - College Universities) scattered across the Klang Valley of Malaysia.
As for foreign academics, Malaysia is not exactly an attractive destination due to uncompetitive salaries and tough immigration laws. I know of some highly qualified academicians who had worked for more than 10 years in the country but were not given the permanent resident status, don't even talk about citizenship. Totally opposite of policies in the developed countries including Singapore.
Of course the most important factors are peer review followed by citations per staff. The universities definitely need to look at what's keeping the Malaysian academicians from publishing in top rated journals. However, I have no idea how they calculated the peer review thing, so I can't comment.
The report does mention a possible reason behind the fall:
"National shame" cries the opposition. It has become a political issue and I am sure that some heads will roll.
Read The Star's report: Whither rankings?
The results are based on scores on 6 variables, namely, peer review (40%), employer review (10%), staff- student ratio (5%), citations per staff (20%), international staff (5%) and international students (5%).
Though I am not sure about the other variables, I am totally sure of two where Malaysian Universities will always have low scores: international staff and international student ratios. I guess it is related to the education policy there. Unlike universities in the US, UK or even Australia, majority of the Malaysian Universities are not profit orientated. They do not target foreign students for the undergraduate programmes. Most of the foreign students there are not in the Universities but rather in the various private colleges (many of them now with a unique Malaysian terminology - College Universities) scattered across the Klang Valley of Malaysia.
As for foreign academics, Malaysia is not exactly an attractive destination due to uncompetitive salaries and tough immigration laws. I know of some highly qualified academicians who had worked for more than 10 years in the country but were not given the permanent resident status, don't even talk about citizenship. Totally opposite of policies in the developed countries including Singapore.
Of course the most important factors are peer review followed by citations per staff. The universities definitely need to look at what's keeping the Malaysian academicians from publishing in top rated journals. However, I have no idea how they calculated the peer review thing, so I can't comment.
The report does mention a possible reason behind the fall:
But we suspect that some Malaysian and Singaporean institutions have lost out because of our increased rigour over voting for one’s own university, and there are no Malaysian universities in this top 200.According to Ben Sowter, QS head of research, “nowhere has keener interest been taken than in Malaysia”.
"National shame" cries the opposition. It has become a political issue and I am sure that some heads will roll.
Read The Star's report: Whither rankings?
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