App on Mobile Phone
Quote from: geofftswin In fact; I don't think the portal has changed at all in the time I've been with PN!
I remember when I signed up in 1999, the website looked like this -
There even used to be a kids zone for playing little online games !
Amazingly I just discovered that the old "F9 Kids" part of the "Force9" website still exists ! - http://kids.f9.net.uk/
It's interesting to read that for some people that being stuck in the 20th century works for them. Although I am not one of these techy guys and all singing and dancing on new technology and the latest iphones etc. (I have a Samsung Galaxy S3) I would still consider that having an app is an advantage e.g. can be used as a tool for marketing and could increase the customer base for example brining more young adults who are much in touch with technology and new developments. If you look just for the sake of moving the discussion forward at the Tesco Mobile app you will see what I mean by it.
The website is old fashioned, difficult to use on the mobile phone and too many clicks to get the information one wants. If I could keep track of my spending by being able to check easily and in a flash how much more money I am spending by calling international numbers then it would be great.
The other thought was that PlusNet sends a text to alert their customers for reaching their allocated usage of minutes. I am on Anytime International 300 and this month my bill is over £50 just for the phone calls, instead of the normal £8 so I am sure you can appreciate where I am coming from.
Thanks for participating in this forum with technological jargon which means nothing to me and using capital letters for shouting your disapproval. Please be nice! I am only a new middle aged customer with PlusNet.
The website is old fashioned, difficult to use on the mobile phone and too many clicks to get the information one wants. If I could keep track of my spending by being able to check easily and in a flash how much more money I am spending by calling international numbers then it would be great.
The other thought was that PlusNet sends a text to alert their customers for reaching their allocated usage of minutes. I am on Anytime International 300 and this month my bill is over £50 just for the phone calls, instead of the normal £8 so I am sure you can appreciate where I am coming from.
Thanks for participating in this forum with technological jargon which means nothing to me and using capital letters for shouting your disapproval. Please be nice! I am only a new middle aged customer with PlusNet.
@francklavie welcome to the forums 
11 posts and you've decided what's needing fixing. Looking at the posts above I see only agreement with you and the heavy types certainly isn't shouting
You will find this subject has been discussed at length in other posts
11 posts and you've decided what's needing fixing. Looking at the posts above I see only agreement with you and the heavy types certainly isn't shouting
You will find this subject has been discussed at length in other posts
Hi Chris,
That indeed would be a better solution, negating the need to go back to quite old fashioned thick-client server architecture solutions which is what these mobile apps really are. Technology which pre-dates websites and browsers.
One client side application (the web browser) being able to access a multitude of services / supplier's systems is a much lighter foot print on the mobile device than the multitude of special bespoke single use apps many would advocate.
To be honest, I do not see the issue being complained about here. Yesterday I looked at the portal on my iPhone (which unlike some mobile platforms makes very clear to the server that it is a mobile device) and was therefore presented with a smart "mobile friendly" sales page, which seems to meet one of the claimed benefits of a specific app (its ability to promote the vendor's service). Click on the three white bars and select the "Member Centre" option. Enter username and password and from the next screen click "View my phone bill" which immediately displays all of my current period phone calls. This seems to deliver exactly what is being asked for, without fuss and more importantly not inventing more old fashioned technology.
...that said "fashion" should NEVER be the judgement criteria for changing IT. The only criteria justifying change is "Does it do what it is supposed / needs to do correctly?". If it functions correctly, move on to the next thing which actually needs correction, or essential functional enhancement.
Following fashion (oh don't do it that way, its 'oldfashioned') can cost substantial amounts of money - I have seen changes to Government business systems cost more than ten times what they needed to do because the department concerned chose to "follow fashion" and develop in new technologies, rather than enhance the existing system.
As ever Chris, there is great wisdom in your thinking! 
Kevin
That indeed would be a better solution, negating the need to go back to quite old fashioned thick-client server architecture solutions which is what these mobile apps really are. Technology which pre-dates websites and browsers.
One client side application (the web browser) being able to access a multitude of services / supplier's systems is a much lighter foot print on the mobile device than the multitude of special bespoke single use apps many would advocate.
To be honest, I do not see the issue being complained about here. Yesterday I looked at the portal on my iPhone (which unlike some mobile platforms makes very clear to the server that it is a mobile device) and was therefore presented with a smart "mobile friendly" sales page, which seems to meet one of the claimed benefits of a specific app (its ability to promote the vendor's service). Click on the three white bars and select the "Member Centre" option. Enter username and password and from the next screen click "View my phone bill" which immediately displays all of my current period phone calls. This seems to deliver exactly what is being asked for, without fuss and more importantly not inventing more old fashioned technology.
...that said "fashion" should NEVER be the judgement criteria for changing IT. The only criteria justifying change is "Does it do what it is supposed / needs to do correctly?". If it functions correctly, move on to the next thing which actually needs correction, or essential functional enhancement.
Following fashion (oh don't do it that way, its 'oldfashioned') can cost substantial amounts of money - I have seen changes to Government business systems cost more than ten times what they needed to do because the department concerned chose to "follow fashion" and develop in new technologies, rather than enhance the existing system.
As ever Chris, there is great wisdom in your thinking!
Kevin
