I wanted to send a text message today. I know this is an unusual occurance; my usage patterns of mobile phones could be measured in geological timescales. When I thought of sending the message, I wanted to type it on my familiar and comfy keyboard instead of the hard and, more importantly, small number pad of my phone. First stop netsoc‘s free SMS message system. No dice. They only send to Vodafone and O2 (still mislabeled as 087 and 086 – why can’t people keep up?).
It seemed I’d have to brave the corporate registration process at O2.ie. I gritted my teeth and assured myself that it would pay for itself in the long run. So I started to fill out the forms, the usual stuff: name, six phone numbers, two email addresses, family history traced to the famine, internal rectal radius. Then a surprise.
Hello, registration worked (yes, on your browser). It seems we haven’t given you any free money in a while and you bought that credit back in January 2003. Have another €40. No, wait. €60.
At my current rate of phone spending, I’ll need to buy more credit in February.