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Domain: ovum.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to ovum.com.

Comments · 8

  1. Another MS search addendum by broothal · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Microsoft Going After Yahoo! Again

    It seems like Microsoft is preparing to go without yahoo: http://www.ovum.com/news/euronews.asp?id=7136

  2. Re:Guess I'm a meiser by Hal_Porter · · Score: 3, Interesting · on 2007 Sees Wireless Spending Outstrip Landlines
    In Europe we have Pay As You Go SIMs. You buy one for say $30 and it comes with $25 worth of credit and often some bundled text messages. When you run out, you buy a voucher and top it up. The killer thing is that you only pay for calls, there is no monthly fee. Originally calls were more expensive, but competition has forced down prices. And if you have an unlocked phone which cost a bit more than locked ones but are usually available, when you go abroad you just buy a local SIM and avoid roaming charges.

    In fact if you read industry internal stuff you find phrases like this
    http://www.ovum.com/news/euronews.asp?id=4326

    It is likely the increase of prepaid customers contributed to the decline in data ARPU, which was lower year-on-year at 74 Euros (annual figure). ARPU is "Average Revenue Per User". So Pre Pay is cheaper. From the perspective of the telcos, sometimes it is disasterously so

    http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=1518-24_2220175

    Vodacom said in a statement that it is the group's policy to disconnect inactive prepaid SIM cards after seven months without a revenue generating activity on the Vodacom network. So the ARPU for some pre paid customers was literally zero. Presumably there's some cost to keeping them connected, so Vodafone was making a loss.
  3. Re:Proves public disclosure is the best for securi by shawn(at)fsu · · Score: 3, Informative · on Sony Warned Weeks Ahead of Rootkit Flap
    I realize the players are different here but didn't Kevin Mitnick spend years in jail for stuff like this? I guess when a corporation hacks a consumer it's OK.


    Oh man nothing like sucking up to /. to get a +5 insightful. No it's not Ok . If you would follow the news you would see that several states and contries are consider criminal charges against Sony. A quick news.google search will give you a result like this "Legal threats are now being discussed in some countries, notably the US and Italy, including criminal charges of computer misuse. For example, on 21 November the Texas State Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a civil lawsuit against Sony seeking civil penalties of $100,000 per violation of the state's Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act." from Ovum

  4. What's the Big Deal? by ultimabaka · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Real ID: You Can Still Fight It

    Sure, I'm probably going to be flamed a whole bunch for this, but ever since the national ID card issue developed in the U.S., I've been left wondering what the big deal about this is. States can pretty much get the same info off of you from a basic driver's license, the project is under development in the UK (apparently the project will create lots of IT jobs over there - I know jobs vs. limited freedom isn't much of an argument, but it's not a bad thing is it?), and until I see some solid evidence to the contrary, I see no reason not to believe it will help reduce, at the very least, illegal immigration. I can see a cop walking down the street asking people for their national ID card (which, on an aside, I prey will at least be difficult to counterfeit), and at least I wouldn't complain too much. The ACLU provides five reasons why the system would be a bad idea here, of which only reason #1 seems to make sense. I would love to hear opposing views on this, since, even though the idea doesn't seem too bad to me, I'm still on the fence. Flame away.

  5. Re:Great idea... by Thomas+Miconi · · Score: 2, Interesting · on UK to Privatize Radio Spectrum?

    They would have no incentive to update technology since there would be no competition.

    You're confusing "state-owned" and "monopolistic".

    France Telecom is still a state owned company, yet broadband is more developed in France than in the UK.

    Note that here we're talking about broadband in general, including cable, on which telcos have no influence. If we only talk about DSL, France simply dwarfs the UK in absolute numbers, percentage and growth, as can be seen on this graph. (France and the UK both have about 60 mlns inhabitants, Germany has 82)

    The mantra according to which state-owned = bad, private corps = good, is just an ideological stance. It's being shoved in your throat by the same people who believe that Scandinavia is a socialist hellhole (I'm not joking, some people really believe that having high taxes and highly developed public services is ethically wrong, regardless of the effect it has on the lives of people)

    Thomas-

  6. Re:Lame by tengwar · · Score: 1 · on Eight Biggest Tech Flops Ever
    You must be living in some alternate reality Europe then. It's rather dying quietly, even with efforts of phone companies.

    I disagree. See here, for example.

  7. Re:New light to shed on Bill Gates, Microsoft and by Rick+Stones · · Score: 1 · on SCO's Plan Examined
    You could point your poorly informed CEO at some research.
    Ovum has a nice short piece at http://www.ovum.com/go/content_old/019948.htm.
    Subscribers can access a longer version dated 12 September, which has more depth.

    Having met Gary a couple of times, I personally think his opinion is well worth consideration.
    Alternatively, maybe it's time to get a new CEO...

  8. Re:Look to ClearCase for some pointers by ebh · · Score: 1 · on Designing a New Version Control System?

    If you're looking to change SCM systems on a large project, your best bet is the comprehensive configuration management toolset report from Ovum (flyer here.) It's jaw-droppingly expensive (currently US$3400), but you'll get that back in time saved when doing your evaluation, because you can prepare from it your short list of vendors you want to bring in for demos and eval licenses.