‘Mobile Computing’.  That term has been bandied about for a few years now and it’s happening.  Make one wonder if this is the chicken & egg thing.  Would ‘mobile computing have evolved if it wasn’t talked about so much?  Doesn’t really matter, the transition from packaged software media to online purchases (soon to only be online rental cleverly disguised as aaS (Blahblah as a Service). As if they are DONG you a faour by charging you for your time but I digress a little.

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So now everyone and their dog has an ‘App Store’.  The death of the Internet aside, these online stores are missing the whole point of going digital.  The biggest cost of products today is the delivery and packaging. The actual cost of development is pretty meger compared to al the rest. This while online capitalism is killing itself fr companies who just don’t get it.  And it truely astonds me when I see a company that was born in the Internet age and would be nothing but obsolete if the Internet ended as we know it.  I’m looking at you VNC.

Case in point:

VNC is short for Virtual Network Computing. Their software allows you to remotely control another computer anywhere in the world, given a decent internet connection.

Somewhere between 1 to 2 years ago, you could go to their website, download the software and get started.  It was all free and it worked remarkably well.  It became a geks best friend as well as a beloved tool for remote computer support.  Now if you go to the site, you have to jump through all kinds of hoops ahd give up all kinds of personal information t get to the download page.  Sure, it’s easy enough to fake the details but what a pain.  Still, it’s free and works just as well.

Fast forward to mobile computing….tablets and smartphones.

All these gadgets have ‘app stores’ where you can download all kinds of ‘apps’. They aren’t as powerful as PC programs due to the limitations of hardware (relatively speaking of course. My Galaxy Tab 8.9″ has 1000s of times more power than a C64) but you don’t need them to be. There are all kinds that are free as well as paid apps. I am all for companies trying to make an income but this is where there is a MAJOR disconnect for manycompanies., like VNC.

Let’s compare the PC version to the App version. The PC version is free. The App version is almost nine bucks. Huh? They do the same but one costs and the other is free. Hell, if anything it should be the other way around because doing remote viewing on screens of a smartphone and tablets is kind of painful when you are calling down the equivalent of a 23″+ screens.

So, what does this have to do with them missing the point of modern capitalism? Remember when I said there are all kinds of free apps as well? Guess what, there is a free version of VNC made by someone else. I am pretty sure that there are some technical and legal reasons why such alternatives are available so let’s put that aside for now.

I want to show definitive proof that VNC has missed the boat. Here is a screenshot of my Android App Store showing VNC app (keeping in mind I am in South Korea, price is in Won, divde by approx 1000 to get US/CD prices):

10,000 sales. That is nice to see. That is nearly $85,000. A decent programmer won’t cost you that much in a year so safe to assume they are making OK money at this.

Now the alternative.

1,000,000 downloads! 1 freaking MILLION! Most people, if they are smart, will opt for a product made by the same company who made the PC version of their software. Obviously when said company decides to charge more than is necessary they miss the boat.

Let’s put forth a crazy idea here. Let’s say that the company understands that mobile computing is here and is stupidly powerful and popular, and actually recognized this fact (I hope I don’t need to remind you of ONE MILLION DOWNLOADS) and decided to only charge $1 for their software. Now do the math…..that’s ONE MILLION DOLLARS!! Gee, do you think tht might make them happy?

OK,OK, so maybe not all one million people will pay, regardless of any cost. I will take a VERY conservative 1%. Now do the math……that’s $100,000. Still more that what they made. 1% is MORE than a fair number.

Three words for ya. Missing. The. Boat.

But wait, there more.

Apple. They ate just as bad. I bought a $25 card t actually go throuthe process of buying from iTunes so I knew ow it worked. I was so thoroughly disgusted with the pricing I saw there I immediately left the iTunes store on my system and did something else. How the hell can they justify charging the same price as a physical DVD or Blu-Ray?! I don’t get any of Tue bonus features k none of the Easter Eggs, zero commentaries and definitely no inserts/pullouts. Fuck them.

Two years later and that credit is STILL sitting in my account.

And the corporations wonder why places like ISOhunt and The Pirate Bay not only exist but flourish with such stupidity.

Oh yeah, before you Apple Fan Boys try and point out that Apple is making money, feel free to do some research into marketing and realize that you’ve been rooked into sounding pompous for saying that “OhI just downloaded that on iTunes”. I’ll laugh when I tell you that I downloaded the same thing but got all the extras for free….actually I won’t. I’ll just not and spend my money I saved from iTunes on more important things…..like a trip to Indonesia or something.

(FYI, I implied the ownership of VNC and used the software name as opposed to the company)

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-peter-sunde-on-the-copyright-mafia-120222/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+Torrentfreak+%2528Torrentfreak%2529

I don’t know if you have been following the SOPA and ProtectIP debates going on around the Internet about the US bills that are trying to be pushed through the Gov’t. If you are of a ‘content-focused’ nature, this should be a huge interest as it will affect you directly in your business/blog/online dealings.

Here is a pretty good overview of what these entail:

GoDaddy was a huge supporter of SOPA. So much so that there was a ton of backlash from many, many of it customers. When it really started to hit their pocketbook, they made a statement that they no longer support it.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57349913-281/godaddy-bows-to-boycott-now-opposes-sopa-copyright-bill/

Being the cynic that I am, when companies do things like this, they may oppose it but when push comes to shove, they’ll cave without reservation, if the bill gets passed and some company makes its first claim to their new SOPA-powered legal rights. I just don’t trust them any more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectip
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/setting-record-straight-sopa-some-evidence-based-analysis

So I am guessing many of you are wondering what the heck a wifi router is doing on a bus.  Glad you asked.  Internet service providers and cell phone service providers offer an extended service, that being access to their wifi hotspots around town.  This includes many coffee shops and fast food places.  It’s super handy if you just want to simply extend your home service without having a data plan on your cell phone.  Or maybe the connect is just faster due to some network traffic over the 3G/HSPDA connection.  In either case, it’s another indication of how far advanced connectivity is here.

Woo-Hoo!  Did I pick the right country to move to or what?!

A project between Intel and Korea Telecom is aiming to turn South Korea into the first country with nationwide WiMax coverage.

The two companies announced today the expansion of their effort to roll out WiMax-based high-speed Internet service throughout South Korea.

Currently available in Seoul, Inchon, and Suwon, the expanded service will reach five new cities as of tomorrow–Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Ulsan–and also cover the expressways of Gyeongbu, Jungbu, Honam, and Yeongdong.

The expanded service, dubbed a “mobile wonderland” by Korea Telecom, will offer a “3W” network, so named because it will consist of WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) 3G mobile communications, wireless LAN, and Wibro (wireless broadband) high-speed Internet.

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