R13 000 bill for Windows update

Can you imagine if this guy was roaming what the bill would be - at R50 a MB....
 
I have setup my Vista to NOT do downloads. You just point your browser to windows update, and it tells you how many megs (and updates) are needed.

Google had the same problem with their Desktop Search (google it). It would synch with google database, breaks etc. 1 Gig later...
 
milomak said:
ironically if you ignored the post there was more chance of the thread not turning into a linux v windows debate.
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I just thought we could be rational about this and not turn it into a fanatical Windows vs. Linux circlejerk.

Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately "Use Linux" is not a viable suggestion to most PC users out there, and it won't be until enterprise adoption of Linux on the desktop becomes the norm rather than the exception.

It is possible to control which updates to install on Windows XP, just as it is with Linux, in fact I do just that with my MTN data bundle and I've never had a problem. People do just need to be careful when it comes to the high telecommunications costs in South Africa.
 
While Vodacom says it has in place a policy to contact users with extraordinarily high usage, it is often the case that the bandwidth has already been used before processes to contact them take effect.
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Extraordinarily high usage? So they regard R13000 as the starting point?

Here is my problem with this. IMO extraordinarily high usage would be say R2000 max. This story begs the question, how can Vodacom warrant charges that are so high one can be charged R13000 for service in a month? Imagine what a standard user (and I'm talking about proper users..not the 10meg e-mail and browser types only) would be charged on a regular basis for a service that could so easily rack up R13000.

Once again am I just being stupid here or what? Hell if I owed R13000 right now I would be so broke I would make "Pursuit of Happiness" look childish.
 
R6000 for 10gb! R600/gb! Not much of a concession from Vodacom, is it?

The gap between in-bundle rates and out-of-bundle rates, as charged by the cell operators, is nothing short of criminal.
 
Jonny Two Shoes said:
Extraordinarily high usage? So they regard R13000 as the starting point?

Here is my problem with this. IMO extraordinarily high usage would be say R2000 max. This story begs the question, how can Vodacom warrant charges that are so high one can be charged R13000 for service in a month? Imagine what a standard user (and I'm talking about proper users..not the 10meg e-mail and browser types only) would be charged on a regular basis for a service that could so easily rack up R13000.

Once again am I just being stupid here or what? Hell if I owed R13000 right now I would be so broke I would make "Pursuit of Happiness" look childish.
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VC and the likes need to make a hard cap policy the default.
I will not go near any of their offerings until I can set a max of, say, R500 a month.
 
This is definitely not a MS vs Unix issue as much as we love to hate M$.

I've seen automatic downloads fail (and automatically restart) on Windows (as per the article) on virus software and Saturday on my eeePC running Xandros Linux.

It's more an issue of the danger of relying on automated processes that might fail and trying to recover automatically without user intervention.

On all the above systems, it's possible to switch updates to manual.

I also use programs (like Netlimiter) to restrict certain sites / protocols depending on my network connection, i.e. updates will only happen when I'm connected to the office LAN but won't run over 3G.
 
Suffice to say that shortly I will no longer be a Vodacom data customer. Perhaps some good will come of my misfortune, and some protective systems will be implemented to stop this from happening in the future....

vodacom3g, you really are a credit to the company.

Probably the lesson here is that we do not have broadband yet. One can see that all of the automated updates etc. on both Windows and Linux systems are written from an assumption that the computer is connected to an always on, unlimited internet account. Even a modest Ubuntu update (to Hardy 8.04) chewed up more than 50MB of data and it was released 2 weeks ago.

The whole thing is just a useless waste........I am also swallowing bile right now because Vodacom debited the entire R13000, and I am quite badly out of pocket right now, since it takes 21 working days to pass the credit.

The range of emotions:

Disbelief, denial, anger, resignation and finally, grudging acceptance....

so: :mad: :( :eek: :sick: :confused: allrolled into one
 
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It doesn't seem to me that any of the 3 parties involved are free of blame.

- The user should have automatic updates disabled (this should be common sense in this country)
- Vodacom is to blame for stupidly priced packages and the poor connection that resulted in the restarts.
- Microsoft is to blame for poor coding that led to the downloads needing to be restarted instead of resumed.
 
rpm said:
Well done Vodacom for at least easing the pain somewhat (the user can be happy he is not with some other providers :D). If MS is indeed to blame they should really do the noble thing and cover the cost…
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Despite the fact that Micosoft updates can rake up the bill, I still don't agree with the kudos to Vodacom... this kind of situation clearly shows that our broadband in this country is WAYYY overpriced... and dangerous to leave unattended... the same will happen if you end up with a worm virus on your machine... dangerous and costly.... imagine 'always on' broadband where you have to switch it off when you're not using it to prevent high bills. Thats what we have here...
 
Iwojima said:
It doesn't seem to me that any of the 3 parties involved are free of blame.

- The user should have automatic updates disabled (this should be common sense in this country)
- Vodacom is to blame for stupidly priced packages and the poor connection that resulted in the restarts.
- Microsoft is to blame for poor coding that led to the downloads needing to be restarted instead of resumed.
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I agree with points 2 and 3, but one is not common sense - most folk don't know that... it's mostly the geeks who differ. Also, turning off updates is not safe unless you manually update which alot of people don't.
 
windoze have always had the problem of stopping and starting downloads.
 
Iwojima said:
- The user should have automatic updates disabled (this should be common sense in this country).
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I don't agree, allot of people are not experience computer users.
The same thing happened to my father his windows updated by itself and his bill for this month was +- R4000.

He only needs internet for e-mails and browsing thus getting a 50mb account from vodacom. He can do basic stuff on the pc but allot of ppl that are 55+ old know only the basic stuff (MSword, exel, emails). I showed him now how to switch of the automatic updates.

@ AK65: what process did you follow to report this, any help will be appreciated
 
Windows updates: I've set my XP to alert me when updates are available, but not to download or install them automatically. This way I don't miss out on urgent/breaking updates, but can still manage the bandwidth usage. If you want to do the same, right-click on My Computer on your desktop or in Windows Explorer, choose Properties. Go to the Automatic Updates tab and select the option that reads "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them". Then keep a lookout for the yellow shield icon that will appear in the tray area from time to time.

It saved my bacon recently when it alerted me to the fact the Win XP SP3 was available for download, at an estimated 365MB! I declined, having already obtained the SP from the office but having installed it yet...

If you're in charge of a Windows network at the office, you should seriously consider implementing Windows Server Update Services. This will download all updates once to a central point. You then configure your Windows clients to obtain their updates from your own server, and not from Microsoft directly.
In this way you only incur the bandwidth hit for each update once for the company, and not once per workstation...
 
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Vercogen said:
@ AK65: what process did you follow to report this, any help will be appreciated
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I phoned 082111 and asked them what the hell was going on....initially I did not believe that a bill like that was possible.....

But do the maths: at 5MB/min, multiply by 60 and then by 24 and the number is truly scary.

The girl at the helpdesk wasn't much use - she escalated the query to the data people for a full report and some time later they showed that and then offered to chop the bill in half as a once-off gesture of goodwill....

...which will ease the pain somewhat, but not enough to keep me as a customer...
 
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