New Telecom Bill format file size increase

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › New Telecom Bill format file size increase

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#907730 4-Oct-2013 10:29

I agree with the OP, I don't go for the whole why do something efficiently when you can just throw more resources at it argument.

Inphinity

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#907734 4-Oct-2013 10:34

lxsw20: I agree with the OP, I don't go for the whole why do something efficiently when you can just throw more resources at it argument.

So why don't we go back to plain-text websites and such then? Because the aesthetic appeal is worth the small tradeoff, usually. The old bill format was horrible to look at, horrible to read, and even worse to follow. Now, it not only looks nice, but is much clearer in it's layout of what charges are for what etc. imo, anyway.

plambrechtsen

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#907744 4-Oct-2013 10:49

Inphinity:
lxsw20: I agree with the OP, I don't go for the whole why do something efficiently when you can just throw more resources at it argument.

So why don't we go back to plain-text websites and such then? Because the aesthetic appeal is worth the small tradeoff, usually. The old bill format was horrible to look at, horrible to read, and even worse to follow. Now, it not only looks nice, but is much clearer in it's layout of what charges are for what etc. imo, anyway.

http://lynx.isc.org/current/

:)

But in all seriousness, I am asking around if it can be removed. But so far the word is no, it is what it is (the old billing platform was on a very old mainframe that has now been decommissioned) and seeing if there is an opt-out option for the marketing pages inserted into the bill.

RockCartel

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#907755 4-Oct-2013 11:06

plambrechtsen:
Inphinity:
lxsw20: I agree with the OP, I don't go for the whole why do something efficiently when you can just throw more resources at it argument.

So why don't we go back to plain-text websites and such then? Because the aesthetic appeal is worth the small tradeoff, usually. The old bill format was horrible to look at, horrible to read, and even worse to follow. Now, it not only looks nice, but is much clearer in it's layout of what charges are for what etc. imo, anyway.

http://lynx.isc.org/current/

:)

But in all seriousness, I am asking around if it can be removed. But so far the word is no, it is what it is (the old billing platform was on a very old mainframe that has now been decommissioned) and seeing if there is an opt-out option for the marketing pages inserted into the bill.

Thanks for the effort.

And all don't get me wrong, I'm all for progress and like the new format.
Perhaps a quick win could be to reduce the image size/dpi/quality? I'm no PDF wiz but a quick look and the larger image is 2126x2008 300dpi
The few people who are going to print the PDF of the bill shouldn't mind if the promo is lower quality, so could I suggest 72dpi?

Inphinity

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#907773 4-Oct-2013 11:22

RockCartel:
Perhaps a quick win could be to reduce the image size/dpi/quality? I'm no PDF wiz but a quick look and the larger image is 2126x2008 300dpi
The few people who are going to print the PDF of the bill shouldn't mind if the promo is is lower quality, so could I suggest 72dpi?

Yeah, reducing the image resolution or quality a little seems like a reasonable compromise. I don't care if it's there or not, tbh, as long as the actual bill item layout stays in the new, makes-more-sense format :)

old3eyes

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#907851 4-Oct-2013 13:00

My last bill of 11 pages was 805K

Regards,

Old3eyes

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coffeebaron

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#907858 4-Oct-2013 13:09

A 1MB attachment is certainly not big in it's own right - but once you start getting a bill from here, photo from there, another document there; it does add up. So I agree, being size efficient is a good thing.

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#907860 4-Oct-2013 13:14

You should get VDSL, then your bill downloads and uploads will be up to 10x faster!

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getontoit99

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#907893 4-Oct-2013 14:19

From reading this post it seems that the application generating the PDF file is not optimising it for e-mail delivery.

I've just completed a 21-page magazine for the local boating club using MS Publisher, which contains 38 hi-res images. Using the Output to PDF function and 'Minimum Size' option the resulting PDF was 723KB. This was e-mailed to club members on Wednesday and the images look great.

The magazine was run out using the 'High Quality Printing' setting for a small run on the office MFD. That PDF size was 5,282KB.

None of this helps the OP but this just might...

The billing project PM and I catch up for a drink once or twice a week. I'll put this on the agenda the next time we open a bottle of Savvie:-)

reven

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#907895 4-Oct-2013 14:22

I was just about to sign up to telecom but this billing crisis has put me off, thanks for the heads up!

linw

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#907909 4-Oct-2013 14:43

Glad I'm with Orcon. My bill is only 104kb!!

On the other hand, wonder what I am missing??

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Nate001

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#907969 4-Oct-2013 15:56

I just went and checked out our old bill vs new look one. Its gone from 62KB to 697KB which I must say is a big increase. The size is noticeable even when downloading on VDSL, old bill was instant compared to the new one which took a while to load.

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#908282 5-Oct-2013 04:43

To be fair to OP a 1 MB PDF is ridiculous for a bill.

scuwp

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#908298 5-Oct-2013 08:05

Sigh...first world problems. Surely we should be focusing on something more important like those poor Aucklanders who have to mow their own berms! Poor souls.

I agree the size is too large for a few pieces of paper, but I think I can handle the pain of a few hundred kb.

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#908300 5-Oct-2013 08:13

Or Telecom could just send an email saying "You owe us $8.50" or "We owe you $8.50", followed with "If you want an invoice reply to this email."

The second is my case. I have to call their helpdesk sometime to get them to mail me a cheque seeing I don't have Telecom services anymore. Or they could use Paypal to make it completely automated...

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