Re: UKNM: RE: DIXONS - FREE SHARE

[Leigh Blue Caldwell]

> Leigh Blue Caldwell wrote:

> > 

> > > uh - it only launched on Thursday morning. Unless every single person who

> > > went through the door at any of the Dixons chain's delightful stores went

> > > home and immediately went online, that's a wee tad of a misreading of Need

> > > To Know, I'd suggest.

> > >

> > > from NTK:

> > >

> > > "With rumours saying that by Thursday, they were up to 12,000 accounts with

> > > 10 joining every *second*, Energis/Planet's apparent over-spec for 250,000

> > > users by Christmas better stand up to the strain."

> > 

> > I didn't read NTK last week, but my trusty Mental Arithmetic Device

> > (not trademarked, patent not pending) indicates the following:

> >   10 per second * 86,400 seconds per day = 864,000 users per day

> > By 9 am Friday, this would be already 3.5 times the "by Christmas"

> > figure.  By now, there would be 3.75 million users and the UK Internet

> > population would either be about doubled, or every one of them in

> > possession of a spare account.

> > 

> > Is it at all possible that this NTK item, unlike all the others, was

> > intended in a vaguely humorous, ironic, exaggerated or tongue-in-cheek

> > manner?  No, silly idea.

> 

> 10/sec = peak, not average, probably.


But...but...but...it says _every_ second.  well, 'every *second*'.

Maybe in traditional regexp style, that represents one second followed

by an arbitrary number of others [stops making unix jokes].


I agree that 10/sec peak is entirely possible.


In any case, regardless of these silly numbers, it clearly has the

potential to be a pretty important development - certainly more than

"free accounts for Citibank account holders" and similarly universal

ideas.  Will PC or modem manufacturers bundle the service with their

systems to provide turnkey Internet access?  Will existing ISP

customers switch en masse as their subscriptions run out?  Will

Freeserve end up with user databases of 2 million people, only 100,000

of whom have used their accounts in the last 12 months?


More importantly, how will Freeserve leverage this market to provide

targeting capability to marketers?  Can we target for free by making

assumptions about users from freeserve.net?


> and Danny, I think this young lovely is calling you a liar. 


Oh Stefan...you are just _too_ sweet to me.  Young _and_ lovely?




Regards,

	Leigh.

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