Comments on: videotron’s *online* hour restrictions http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/ publishing, technology, media, philosophy, a bit of politics. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:02:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Hugh http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2142 Hugh Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:47:18 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2142 thinking about it more, i guess their account management system is tacked onto their old system for cable (predating massive web useage... ie 10 yrs old!) ... ISP service is newer, wireless newest. still. come on. re: wireless phones, yes been happy with them. i believe they just repackage rogers' system. thinking about it more, i guess their account management system is tacked onto their old system for cable (predating massive web useage… ie 10 yrs old!) … ISP service is newer, wireless newest. still. come on.

re: wireless phones, yes been happy with them. i believe they just repackage rogers’ system.

]]> By: jeremy clare http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2093 jeremy clare Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:12:00 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2093 excellent point hugh, regardless of whether they MUST replicate data (in which my solution would help a lot in terms of making it sane) or could avoid it (very likely if they weren't being noobs, as boris points out), having a static version that says "accurate up to 24 hours" should be well within their abilities. I didn't know that they did cellphones, do you find the service good (other than this?). It should be noted that while fido doesn't have this particular problem, their website is horrendous, and so hard to use that the effect is you pretty much never get the information you want. excellent point hugh, regardless of whether they MUST replicate data (in which my solution would help a lot in terms of making it sane) or could avoid it (very likely if they weren’t being noobs, as boris points out), having a static version that says “accurate up to 24 hours” should be well within their abilities.

I didn’t know that they did cellphones, do you find the service good (other than this?). It should be noted that while fido doesn’t have this particular problem, their website is horrendous, and so hard to use that the effect is you pretty much never get the information you want.

]]> By: Boris Anthony http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2082 Boris Anthony Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:34:43 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2082 I think Julien was being sarcastic too. ;) but yeah, you'll find this kind of weird experience with any old/legacy institutions/organizations who made some wrong decisions on how to get online, and their clients suffer for it. Banks are just now slowly getting slightly less bad. I remember yelling at BMO back in '97... "C'mon you fuckers! What is IBM selling you Jesus H!?" Anyways, flipping out won't help. They prolly know... and you know what happens to big megalithic (neolithic?) organisms that cannot adapt, right? I think Julien was being sarcastic too. ;)

but yeah, you’ll find this kind of weird experience with any old/legacy institutions/organizations who made some wrong decisions on how to get online, and their clients suffer for it. Banks are just now slowly getting slightly less bad. I remember yelling at BMO back in ’97… “C’mon you fuckers! What is IBM selling you Jesus H!?”

Anyways, flipping out won’t help. They prolly know… and you know what happens to big megalithic (neolithic?) organisms that cannot adapt, right?

]]> By: Hugh http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2081 Hugh Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:24:47 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2081 ok not sure who is being ironic/sarcastic and who isn't ... but for the record: "dan, you’re such a dreamer. show me one online account management system that works that way! if it was that easy everyone would do it like that." ...was snotty sarcasm, because i have never heard of any other company with online account management where they have to go offline for 5 hours everyday to replicate data (as boris explains above). it is crazy, and videotron is crazy. and while banks shut down, their online services are 24h, that's the whole point. banks shut down because paying people to stay in a building is expensive. and just further, if it's REALLY necessary to shut down changes to my account for 5 hours every day, at least let me see a static/non-changeable version of my account. I wanted to see what long-d plan i have on my mobile, to check how much calling home would cost. and I could not see that. it's nuts. ok not sure who is being ironic/sarcastic and who isn’t … but for the record:
“dan, you’re such a dreamer. show me one online account management system that works that way! if it was that easy everyone would do it like that.”

…was snotty sarcasm, because i have never heard of any other company with online account management where they have to go offline for 5 hours everyday to replicate data (as boris explains above). it is crazy, and videotron is crazy. and while banks shut down, their online services are 24h, that’s the whole point. banks shut down because paying people to stay in a building is expensive.

and just further, if it’s REALLY necessary to shut down changes to my account for 5 hours every day, at least let me see a static/non-changeable version of my account. I wanted to see what long-d plan i have on my mobile, to check how much calling home would cost. and I could not see that. it’s nuts.

]]> By: julien http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2076 julien Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:45:20 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2076 yeah, it just isn't that easy man. banks shut down after like 6 hours of open time FOR A REASON, MAN. yeah, it just isn’t that easy man. banks shut down after like 6 hours of open time FOR A REASON, MAN.

]]> By: Hugh http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2067 Hugh Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:24:34 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2067 dan, you're such a dreamer. show me one online account management system that works that way! if it was that easy everyone would do it like that. dan, you’re such a dreamer. show me one online account management system that works that way! if it was that easy everyone would do it like that.

]]> By: Boris Anthony http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2065 Boris Anthony Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:55:51 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2065 not lazy programming (programmers in such organizations just do what they are told), but rather bad planning and architecture, possibly caused by budgetary restrictions, bureaucracy, maybe even security fears and FUD. Basically, they built their system in such a way that the info on the website is decoupled from the main database, i.e.: data duplication. always a bad idea. Who ever spec'ed this out thought "hey, no one expects service at night, we cna use that window to synchronize databases!" Synchronization is also always a bad idea. (So Jer your solution doesn't really solve anything, it just moves execution time around a bit, and that is not as trivial as you may think.) Heh, I just saved a major news gathering corporation from making that very mistake... not lazy programming (programmers in such organizations just do what they are told), but rather bad planning and architecture, possibly caused by budgetary restrictions, bureaucracy, maybe even security fears and FUD.

Basically, they built their system in such a way that the info on the website is decoupled from the main database, i.e.: data duplication. always a bad idea. Who ever spec’ed this out thought “hey, no one expects service at night, we cna use that window to synchronize databases!” Synchronization is also always a bad idea.
(So Jer your solution doesn’t really solve anything, it just moves execution time around a bit, and that is not as trivial as you may think.)

Heh, I just saved a major news gathering corporation from making that very mistake…

]]> By: Dan Parsons http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2064 Dan Parsons Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:49:08 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2064 Um, why not update the info in real time? Like, when Hugh changes his address, it goes into their db immediately? Is there something wrong with that? :) Um, why not update the info in real time? Like, when Hugh changes his address, it goes into their db immediately? Is there something wrong with that? :)

]]> By: Hugh http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2061 Hugh Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:23:16 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2061 agreed. agreed.

]]> By: jeremy clare http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/comment-page-1/#comment-2060 jeremy clare Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:21:45 +0000 http://hughmcguire.net/2007/11/08/videotrons-online-hour-restrictions/#comment-2060 Sounds like hella lazy programming to my ears. They have to bring the entire system offline for 5 hours while they run their update code? That's so stupid it hurts. IF it really takes a long time to update the web database with data from the service's database (which could be complicated and take a few minutes), then each persons account should be unnavailable for a random five minutes at some point during the day. Otherwise, they should do blocks throughout the day where certain users can't access their accounts. Doing it all in one go during night is crazy, someone should be fired. Sheesh. Sounds like hella lazy programming to my ears. They have to bring the entire system offline for 5 hours while they run their update code? That’s so stupid it hurts. IF it really takes a long time to update the web database with data from the service’s database (which could be complicated and take a few minutes), then each persons account should be unnavailable for a random five minutes at some point during the day. Otherwise, they should do blocks throughout the day where certain users can’t access their accounts. Doing it all in one go during night is crazy, someone should be fired.

Sheesh.

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