This used to be a lot more common with Pocket PCs and feature phones. Opera Mini was very popular for devices that couldn't render a page on their own, or wanted to save on bandwidth. I guess there's still a market for this on low-spec devices.
They're going for the niche of people who want to do serious web browsing on mobile, don't have 100$ to buy a half-decent mobile device, but are still willing to pay for a service?
It might not be a whole lot faster on modern high end phones in a good coverage area, but on super cheap androids that can barely render websites its way quicker. These kinds of browsers gets alot of free speed gains from stripping advertisements out as well.
Oof, it's one thing to complain about people "abusing" your service by using it excessively and a whole another to use dehumanizing language for these users by calling them "parasites".
>95% of the free users are good users. 5% of the free users are bad users because they are "parasites". Parasite users think they are "entitled" to unlimited free usage. People with "parasite syndrome" are those who are on welfare with free handouts for so long that they expect the free handouts will last for the rest of their lives.
edit: Welfare is bad but redistribution of wealth (server resources) is good?
>Daily quota is very effective to curb abuse so server resources are distributed more fairly to all users. In a zero-sum game, for one to get more, others must get less. Some users think they are special and should get much more than the others, but they do not realize they are just the others.
From a response to a user review complaining by the developer (CloudMosa Inc):
"95% of the free users are good users. 5% of the free users are bad users because they are ‘parasites’. Parasite users think they are ‘entitled’ to unlimited free usage. People with ‘parasite syndrome’ are those who are on welfare with free handouts for so long that they expect the free handouts will last for the rest of their lives."
For context, it looks like Puffin web browser's architecture is to run on the server side and render in a virtual appliance -- something like a "remote desktop". This would be a category of apps called "DaaS" or "Desktop as a Service":
https://www.google.com/search?q=daas+%22desktop+as+a+service...
So, resource limits like cpu would be inevitable because Puffin's servers are the ones running Javascript, etc. The remaining question is how Puffin is communicating those limits to potential users. Instead of being hidden, you have to be transparent about it to discourage unreasonable users from signing up and leaving complaints.
Interesting that the blurb on the app's description says: "* Users can pay a subscription for unlimited use."
With dangling that "unlimited" feature to encourage people to pay, Puffin set themselves up for so-called "abusers". Companies never seem to learn their lesson on advertising "unlimited" features.
I have never seen an app developer berate a customer for saying that ads are disgusting, but that changed today. From one of the review's replies"
"You, instead of Puffin, are disgusting. You are OK to pay for the phone. You are OK to pay for the mobile data. You are NOT willing to pay for the app that you use extensively. You need to fix yourself for not being disgusting."
What a bizarre business and marketing strategy. The free level is meant to attract paid subscribers. It is understandable to put reasonable limitations, but insulting the users it hopes to attract leaves a bad taste. Even for the "non-abusers". It looks like their business has reached desperation level, because a deep bitterness is showing in their acid comments.
31 comments
[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 82.1 ms ] thread(Remember when linking to specific content on a webpage wasn’t such a nightmare?)
Weird. Is this really faster than downloading html/css/js and rendering in browser?
Seems also time limited and with ads.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudmosa....
>95% of the free users are good users. 5% of the free users are bad users because they are "parasites". Parasite users think they are "entitled" to unlimited free usage. People with "parasite syndrome" are those who are on welfare with free handouts for so long that they expect the free handouts will last for the rest of their lives.
edit: Welfare is bad but redistribution of wealth (server resources) is good?
>Daily quota is very effective to curb abuse so server resources are distributed more fairly to all users. In a zero-sum game, for one to get more, others must get less. Some users think they are special and should get much more than the others, but they do not realize they are just the others.
"95% of the free users are good users. 5% of the free users are bad users because they are ‘parasites’. Parasite users think they are ‘entitled’ to unlimited free usage. People with ‘parasite syndrome’ are those who are on welfare with free handouts for so long that they expect the free handouts will last for the rest of their lives."
Well... that escalated quickly.
So, resource limits like cpu would be inevitable because Puffin's servers are the ones running Javascript, etc. The remaining question is how Puffin is communicating those limits to potential users. Instead of being hidden, you have to be transparent about it to discourage unreasonable users from signing up and leaving complaints.
Interesting that the blurb on the app's description says: "* Users can pay a subscription for unlimited use."
With dangling that "unlimited" feature to encourage people to pay, Puffin set themselves up for so-called "abusers". Companies never seem to learn their lesson on advertising "unlimited" features.
"You, instead of Puffin, are disgusting. You are OK to pay for the phone. You are OK to pay for the mobile data. You are NOT willing to pay for the app that you use extensively. You need to fix yourself for not being disgusting."
Image link with reviewer's name blocked out: https://i.imgur.com/gxmEmLu.png
What a strange world we live in…
There are two approaches:
- charge by usage (premium is not unlimited and then charge for extra)
- just ban abusers
You need both. Because abusers might be doing something which is illegal or you do not want to associate your service with certain users/usage.