WINDOWS LIVE SEARCH IS LIGHTNING FAST
Using the Windows Live Search is one of the options on the Windows Live Toolbar. The search tool allows you to
perform various searches such as the Web, News, Images, Feeds, This site, Encyclopaedia, shopping and Local maps.
These are all Web based searches. It also allows you to perform searches on your computer. This includes the
Desktop, E-Mail, Documents, Pictures and Videos. In this post I will be focusing on the ‘Desktop’ search.
As mentioned in a previous posting, if you need to search within PDF files, you will need to install a filter from the
software manufacturer’s website and configure Windows Search to use the filter when indexing the files.
Using Live Search in the Windows Live Toolbar is very easy, just enter your search terms and select an option from the
drop down menu. Please note that if you select ‘desktop’, you will allow Explorer to access your computer to perform the
search. You will be given the option to permit the search to be done without requesting your permission each time. This
will eliminate one ‘click’ and take you to the search results almost immediately. I am using Windows Vista Ultimate on a
Dell Dimensions 5150 PC.
As soon as the results are displayed you have the option of refining the search if necessary using one click on the
‘show only’ menu. Here the options are ‘All, E-mail, Documents, Pictures, Music and Other’. You can also explore the
‘Advanced Search’ option.
This works well and it does not require additional downloads. This is because it uses the index that is already on the
computer. If you were using a third party search tool such as from Google or Exalead, you would be forced to download
some software that would be used to build its own index of files on the computer. They also work well but they also
require additional space on your hard drive. The efficiency of Windows Live Search makes it unnecessary to use any
other search tools.
REVIEW OF NETSPEAK
Netspeak is Cable & Wireless’ VOIP solution. They offer various calling plans depending on the country where you are
located. The basic plan for Jamaica includes unlimited calls to the US/Canada and UK fixed lines for a flat rate of
J$1575.00 per month plus GCT. Currently significant discounts are being offered as a part of Cable &Wireless’ plan for
market penetration.
Cable & Wireless has not been a trend setter despite their obvious strategic advantages. They opted to flag the
traditional products while defending their monopolistic position especially where fixed lines were concerned and initially
they actually resisted the introduction of these new and innovative products. Consequently, they have allowed others to
beat them to the market with the various VOIP products and they are actually playing ‘catch up’. However, their product
is good i.e., offering consistent service while requiring absolutely no support from the initial setup and having crystal
clear call quality. Their successes here are partly due to the fact that they have partnered with a well established
Internet based ‘telephone’ company namely Net2phone. The basic plan also comes with one Jamaican telephone
number and one US or UK telephone number. Additional numbers can be added as required.
Each customer is provided with Internet access to their call data. Once logged in, one can view/print his/her call history,
initiate calls from the Internet, listen to voice mails etc. The interface is simple and user friendly.
The main complaint that I have had from friends is that very often when they call my number, they either receive a busy
signal or the voice mail menu. This makes it a little frustrating for people who need to speak to me from overseas as
they are forced to call me on my regular telephone line at the regular rates. This is a major problem that Cable &
Wireless must address quickly as this is one of the main advantages of the Netspeak plan i.e., people can call you using
a local US or UK number depending on your choice.
SETUP:
To use Netspeak you need to have a high speed Internet connection. The connection should be 128 kbps or higher and
at least 512 kbps if you want to access the Internet and speak at the same time.
You do not need to have a computer to use the service, but you need broadband Internet. Also, you can take the
Netspeak box with you whenever you travel overseas and provided you have access to broadband Internet, you can still
utilise the service and enjoy the low calling cost while abroad. The Netspeak setup is ‘dummy proof’. Simply plug one
end of the network cable into the Netspeak box and the other end into the ADSL modem. Connect a regular telephone
to the Netspeak box using the telephone cable provided and plug the Netspeak power adapter into the electrical wall
socket and power it on. Leave the Netspeak box for a few minutes for it to perform the configuration routine and as soon
as you get a steady green light on the VOIP indicator, you are ready to make calls.
COST:
Although Cable & Wireless offers a complete package for Netspeak, it is not the most cost effective. Additionally, its use
is restricted to residential and there are significant termination costs if you decide to close your account after 30 days.
Since the demise of Cash Plus’ Megaphone international calling product, it is Digicel that has stepped in to fill the void.
They are currently offering the same package as the Netspeak basic plan for J$999.00 per month unlimited. This means
that unless Cable & Wireless does something significant about the cost of their plans, I will switch to Digicel at the end of
the current contract. I did not consider using Megaphone when they were around as I thought the call quality was poor.
JAMAICA'S TELECOMS NO LONGER COMPETING!
The major players in Jamaica's telecommunications industry have stopped competing. This spells doom for consumers
as without constant innovations and aggressive attempts to conquer the market, consumers will lose their pride of place
as 'Kings'. This must be a very short-sighted approach as without price as a basis of competition between the
companies, we are left with a few options, services being the main one. This is an area however where all big Jamaican
companies have fell short without exception. Most customer service representatives, although trained to be pleasant,
lack the requisite technical knowledge to help any but the 'casual' caller. This makes it very annoying after an
unsuccessful attempt to get assistance to hear them say, ‘thanks for making it Digicel’ or ‘thanks for calling C & W’.
All companies offer a fairly decent range of mobile phones at affordable prices but regrettably, they offer similar calling
‘plans’ at similar prices. Take for example 'international calls' form mobile phones.
Miphone's 'Miphone International' offers calls to any USA or Canada number or any UK landline for just J$999. This
gives you 1,000 minutes of talk time.
Digicel's 'Unlimited International' is not really 'unlimited' and offers the exact 1,000 minutes for the same J$999.
Finally, Cable & Wireless, they were offering the same 1,000 minutes for J$999.
The same situation holds true for their other calling plans for pre-paid mobile. Digicel charges $12 to call the other
networks during peak hours and $8 off-peak. C & W’s bMobile charges are $10 and $8 respectively. Both companies
charges $3 for sending local text messages and $6 for send international text messages and I could go on and on and
on.
We have to conclude that they have all decided to 'rip' of the consumers. They may as well announce a 'joint' board of
directors to set prices. It appears that they have been able to 'agree' on prices without meeting officially. This cannot be
good for consumers. How else can they all be charging the same prices? These companies all have different overhead
expenses, they all have different size client bases and they have different size infrastructure. Somehow I was hoping
that Carlos Slim’s America Movil’s entrance in the Jamaican market would have made a difference other than being ‘one
of the boys’ but it is early days yet. He did not become the world’s richest man just by towing the line, so I am still
expecting big things from Miphone.
The competition authorities should be looking into this.
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