-- This is kind of ranty... Just FYI...
Does anyone have any clue as to why companies continually get people locked into services (cloud SaaS stuff), then drop them?
Is it idiocy, incompetence, attraction to risk, laziness, or what?
You know how your phone or computer comes with some service subscription, e.g. .me, .mac, HTCsense.com, or whatever, and they seem to get cancelled very often.
I just got an email from HTC:
Dear HTCSense.com customer,
HTCSense.com is undergoing a renovation to improve the services and value we deliver to customers like you.
Until the new services are ready, features previously available on HTCSense.com will be shutting down. If you have been using HTCSense.com to sync your Contacts, Messages, Footprints or Call History, you can download your data through April 30, 2012. After April 30, your data will no longer be accessible and will be deleted.
Download your .zip file by following these steps:
• Visit http://htcsense.com
• Log in with your HTCSense.com username and password
• Click the 'Download' button in the Account Overview section
• A .zip file containing your data will download to your computer for easy viewing
If you would like phone location or backup services for your device, please visit Google Play (formerly Android Market) and download an application that best meets your needs.
If you need additional assistance, please contact HTC Customer Service.
We apologize for any inconvenience. You'll be among the first to know when the new and improved services are ready.
Thank you,
HTC
Like, even in that email where they're cancelling services, "Android Market" is now "Google Play". Like JFC... Can't these guys friggin' get it right the first time? Why muck around with rebranding and all this stuff...
They're almost as bad as Blackwater/Xe Services/Academi/something else tomorrow... Sheesh..
This whole cloud push is just idiotic.
You're pretty much guaranteed that the service will be cancelled.
You're also about guaranteed that the service will be renamed.
So even if you know what service you have, it's been cancelled by a different name...
How can anyone put any kind of faith in this stuff?
God knows the Apple fanbois have been burned numerous times on this. MS hesitates to burn people, but still does. HTC is burning people now. I could tell you about some Samsung stuff that would likely blow your mind...
Seriously, I just don't get it. Desktop/server software will always be more reliable than any "SaaS cloud mumbo-jumbo" because you can actually exert a degree of control over it.
Luckily I don't use any of that HTC stuff there, so I am in no fear of being burned. But what about all the other poor suckers that did fall for this "service" model?
Why can't companies set up the service as another company, give that away for free, then if it doesn't pan out, they have an excuse? Yeah, it's just passing the buck, but it could open the market to other service providers that actually give a crap about the business and don't just use it as an additional selling point that they can ditch later.
Anyways, like I said... A bit ranty...
