Skip to main content

We Blindly Tick 'Accept' - But At What Cost?

Every time I plug it in, my iJobs insists I upgrade its operating system. It requires about 1GB of download to install. After weeks of nagging pop-ups I finally decided to let it run - despite the fact my iJobs has been performing 'normally' up to this point. How easily we forget the countless times in the past when we've 'upgraded' only to discover that we've unleashed system clash hell on our increasingly confused hardware, only to bitterly regret the decision, again and again. But we always hope that this upgrade will solve all our problems - like my iJobs not picking up a mobile or wifi signal perhaps - and delight us with something new and amazing. Make it a better telephone would be top of my wishlist Mr JobsV2.0 if you're reading this.

So I finally give in and click 'OK'. I need to leave it running overnight since our internet bandwidth into the house only permits the occasional lonely passing byte to squeeze down the phone line every now and again. So imagine my unbridled joy to be greeted by my iJobs saying 'upgrade complete'. I was on version 5. I'm now basking in the glories of 6.0. Not everything went well, however. Inevitably it was all too much for my BillSoft PC. It's constant fight with iJobs crashed the new and even less friendly version of iTunes I had previously 'upgraded' (whose 'new' Store, by the way, is still the most chaotic online searching experience you could possibly invent - read this).

So what's new about V6.0 and the 1GB of data I patiently waited for? Nothing. Absolutely nothing I can see except for two things. A useless app has appeared which will apparently contain American Airlines boarding passes (+ Delta or Lufthansa - all other airlines already have their own apps), or discount vouchers - which I always forget and therefore never bother with (will they ever persuade me to shop somewhere I hadn't already decided to use?).

So what else does V6.0 contain that iJobs so desperately wanted me to tick the 'I accept' box? Nothing, it would seem other than offering me the option of reading hundreds of pages of minute text written by legions of lawyers who are paid obscene amounts to make the agreement not only as impenetrable as possible, but also as much in iJobs flavour as it can possibly be without actually promising them my soul.... although I must admit I didn't read every word (has anyone? Ever?), so maybe that was also included.


Footnote. Having written the above, iJobs have issued version 6.1 after only a few days of waiting for that 1 GB of 6.0 to download. A couple of days later (after my iphone refused to update the iOS to 6.1 anyway for a reason related to "software on my phone that needs to be transferred to itunes first"... How you twats? If itunes doesn't do it automatically, there's no way to force it to happen!), I get a text from Vodafone warning me NOT to upgrade!! Now I know you'll be amazed that Vodafone managed to actually arrange for a signal to deliver a text to my phone, so perhaps it's not a surprise that it arrived several days after it should have. The text stated that iOS 6.1 fucks with iPhone 4S 3G phone signals. Clearly this is of no interest to me since my iPhone can't get one at the best of times, but it sort of proves my point that upgrading software is almost always a very bad idea.
Labels:

Comments

Post a comment

Thanks for taking an interest.

Popular posts from this blog

Phillips screws - yes I'm angry about them too

Don't get me wrong. They're a brilliant invention to assist automation and prevent screwdrivers from slipping off screw heads - damaging furniture, paintwork and fingers in the process. Interestingly they weren't invented by Mr Phillips at all, but by a John P Thompson who sold Mr P the idea after failing to commercialise it. Mr P, on the otherhand, quickly succeeded where Mr T had failed. Incredible isn't it. You don't just need a good idea, you need a great salesman and, more importantly, perfect timing to make a success out of something new. Actually, it would seem, he did two clever things (apart from buying the rights). He gave the invention to GM to trial. No-brainer #1. After it was adopted by the great GM, instead of trying to become their sole supplier of Phillips screws, he sold licenses to every other screw manufacturer in the world. A little of a lot is worth a great deal more than a lot of a little + vulnerability (watch out Apple!).

My gromble is abou…
8 comments
Read more

Introducing Product Relationship Management - it's what customers want.

Most businesses these days have Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems which store and process vasts amounts of information about us. They use this information to generate communications, amongst other things, which target us to buy their products and services. CRM is all about how a business relates to its customers: Past (keeping them loyal through aftersales and service), Present (helping them buy through bricks and clicks channels) and Future (prospecting).

Most businesses will at some stage have declared themselves 'customer-centric'. They will probably have drawn diagrams on whiteboards that look something like these:



But there's a problem with this whole approach of keeping the customer at the centre of your world and the focal point for everything you do.Is it what the customer wants? Of course companies who ignore their customers eventually go out of business. And those who treat their customers well, tend to thrive. But is it really in the best interests …
2 comments
Read more

The Titus Trust Deceives British Parents to Brainwash their Kids

I have a son who went to a well known preparatory school (7-13) in Surrey. He came home one day clutching a leaflet for fun activity holidays that the school promoted every summer. The Titus Trust operate several camps around the UK where they organise fun outdoor activities for youngsters. Something caught my eye in the leaflet hidden in a paragraph in one of the sections describing the holidays. They used the word Christian. It was the only place in the whole leaflet that the word was used. My suspicions raised, I hunted around the leaflet for more clues and found the imprint which said something like 'A Titus Trust Charity' (the name of the camps was on the title of the leaflet). I dug deeper and found some disturbing evidence of who was behind these 'fun' camps. This is what I wrote at the time to the headmaster:
Dear Headmaster

XXXX came home the other day extremely excited about an outward bound camp next summer that he and his friends had been told about by a rep…
1 comment
Read more