The gaff - 5th October 2018
on: 05/10/2018 | 18:00
The gaff banner by: brulaw
5th October 2018/Issue #286
giffgaff Happenings
by bluemoonbaz
2017 Annual Report and Accounts
The members helped giffgaff grow the business again and another strong set of results for 2017. 261,000 more members and giffgaff's revenue grew by 16% to £407m. Which? recommended provider as well as uSwitch Network of the Year for the 5th year running. Our focus on our Community and our members continues to show that that the giffgaff way is a better way to do mobile. Click here to read the full report.
Helper's refresh session: Right to be forgotten
We have some important new from @h_henna: The right to be forgotten is also known as the right to erasure. It gives members the right to request the erasure of their personal data under data protection law. It is not an absolute right and giffgaff may continue to hold certain personal data where there is a continued use justification. This can be to meet legal obligations required of us and/or for legitimate business reasons (i.e we cannot erase your data in all cases if you are still partaking of giffgaff products and services). If this is something that you feel needs to be addressed, pop over here and have a read.
Step-by-step guide on how to do this:
1. Load giffgaff.com
2. From the nav, hover over help and use the 'Ask a giffgaff Agent' Link: https://support2.giffgaff.com/app/ask
3. Click the 'show more' link
4. Click the GDPR Rights box
5.Click 'Right to get your data deleted' box
6. Click the 'No, I still need help' button
7. Fill out the form and submit it
8. An agent will respond and ask the member to prove identity and account ownership
Lab Highlights
by as7861
Updates
@fadlur_f posted some figures for ideas that are reviewed
- In September there were 418 received.
- There were 153 ideas still in the queue to be reviewed.
- Ideas that were reviewed by the lab team came up to a grand total of 266.
- 11 ideas went live. You can view them here.
- Ideas reviewed that were already suggested came to a total of 177.
New / Old / Amazing Ideas (written by ijustcantdoit)
- Encourage users to buy goodybags without adding credit first by @harrrrrrrry. This looks like a great idea and has lots of support already... Why not have look and cast your vote.
- giffgaff sim and smartcard recycling by @thunderdragon. This is so giffgaff but would it just be a gimmick, or is it a feasible idea?
- Unsolved button by @sophie26413. Would this help our members who need more help?
High-Tech Highlights
by jammydodge
Netflix viewing eats up world's data
Video streaming service Netflix is the world's most data-hungry application, consuming 15% of global net traffic, according to research from bandwidth management company Sandvine. Video in general accounts for more than half of net traffic, it suggests. Other media streaming such as embedded video on websites accounts for 13.1%, YouTube, 11.4% and web browsing, 7.8%. The report also found that gaming and file-sharing are becoming a significant force in traffic volume. Video accounts for 58% of the total volume of downstream traffic on the internet, followed by web browsing (17%), gaming (7.8%) and social media (5.1%), according to the report. That is putting huge pressure on networks around the world and that pressure is likely to get worse, according to Sandvine's Global Internet Phenomena Report.
"The numbers for video are going to get higher as more and more content goes high definition and users turn more to 4K," said vice-president of marketing Cam Cullen. During peak evening hours, when networks are under "the most stress", Netflix can be accounting for 40% of all download traffic in the US, according to the report. However, the encoding technology used by the video streaming service makes it the most efficient video provider on the net.
Gaming is also adding to the growing traffic jam online, with the rise of streaming via services such as Twitch and games being purchased via download rather than a physical disc. For example, a downloaded copy of Call of Duty Black Ops uses up to 101GB of data, the equivalent of 14 hours of 4K video. People are also playing games for longer as the rise of professional gaming leagues tempts gamers to perfect their skills, "Some now see gaming as a craft, not just a hobby," said Mr Cullen.
The report also found regional variations in the type of content preferred. In the Asia-Pacific region, HTTP media streams (embedded video on websites) were most popular, followed by Facebook, with Netflix in third place. While in Europe, the top spot went to YouTube, followed by Netflix, HTTP media streams and Amazon Prime. In America, however, Amazon Prime was more popular than YouTube. According to the research, most traffic on the internet is now encrypted. While this is good news for consumers, because it means their data cannot be "read" by anyone gaining access to network traffic, it does not protect them from hacks or data breaches. The data used for the report was compiled from more than 150 service providers around the world, representing 2.1 billion subscribers.
Source: bbc.co.uk
Photo Of The Week
by brulaw
This week's featured photo is Sunsetting In London by @bobrobinson. Some of the comments included: "You've got a better view from your bathroom window than I have from mine" (themrbarso), "That seems you live on a top flat" (chand311), "Cracking skyline London view" (the_bookie), "Wow I see what you mean, it does look on fire" (frenchielove), "What a lovely photo Bob, cheers" (yvonnearmstrong).
Click here to see the original post. Thank you to everyone who submitted pictures, they have been brilliant as always. Thanks for sharing and please keep them coming.
Tech Developments
by revilo10
Pixel 3 - Summary | Story Source: The Verge
A few weeks back I covered some key details about a leak that occurred from Google about its upcoming Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones, well this week, more details have been uncovered and so I've brought all the key features together here.
Smart Camera - The Pixel 3 and XL will come with Google's recognition software, Google Lens, and whenever you have the camera open, Lens will always be scanning for recognisable objects (QR codes, books, news etc) and display information as it finds them.
Wireless Charging - Whilst it is not clear to the specifics of this charger, e.g whether it will come with the phone, at this point we can be relatively sure a wireless charger will come with the Pixel 3 and the XL. Whilst it is charging, the phone will enable a smart GUI that brings together calls, messages, events, music and a few other features.
Processor - The Processor is expected to be a Snapdragon, running with 4GB.
Other features, including earphones, live wallpapers and dual selfie camera, are also expected to be in the new phone, but we will see, as the launch event edges closer.
Previous Edition | Next Edition (12th October 2018)
on: 05/10/2018 | 18:49
TEAM GIFFGAFF and everyone👏
It doesn't matter what time you read the gaff it's always full of great information👍
And well done to @bobrobinson for his lovely photo
Cheers everyone and have a great weekend
Yvonne
on: 05/10/2018 | 18:52
thanks for this weeks gaff
i only watch netfix on wifi so i`m not clogging up the data 
on: 05/10/2018 | 19:02
261,000 new activations up to 2017
Must be doing something right.
on: 05/10/2018 | 19:03
Hi and a very big thank you to all The gaff team for this weeks The gaff. 
@willp789, @bluemoonbaz, @as7861, @jammydodge, @kathleen414, @brulaw and @revilo10
As always you smash it and bring us a great edition of The gaff, always a very interesting and informative read.
A very warm welcome to our new giffgaff members: @jenni46626, @mandl96 and @joek1973
I hope you are enjoying giffaff.
Congratlations to @bobrobinson for this weeks photo of the week, a great photo of a lovely sunset.
Thanks again everyone, I hope you all have a great weekend.
Kind Regards
a1antman