Moved to Forum: Original Link
Just came across this on Hacker News. Could be useful for saving a buck or two while waiting at the airport.
Wireless Passwords from Airports and Lounges around The World
cryinoutloud on 03/08/2018 - 17:00
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I just saw that, what a dick move. Tells people to send passwords to him for free, then charges for said passwords
Oh really? Charges? Ok this is no deal
then charges for said passwords
Yah, that's no bueno for me. I get it - app development costs money, but the 'product'(?) he's selling is something he's getting for free. Would be better if it was like 99% of other apps and just ad-supported.
I think the first one is a problem but I don't have an issue with him charging a couple of bucks for the app considering development time, verification of passwords, and server/bandwidth charges (the app uses a central database which is downloaded to the device whenever it's updated).
What if the passwords change, you've paid, and can't use it?
With 350 airports, I'd imagine that happens quite a lot. But like all crowdsourced apps, the more people that use it and send in updated passwords, the more useful the app is. It's up to you whether you think it's worth a couple of bucks. I bought this app a while ago but I've never remembered to use it!
Convenience. User interface. Map view. Better verification system. The app stores the most recently downloaded data - every user would have to make a local copy of the doc before travelling to have the same affect (because it's most useful when you don't have data at all in a foreign country). Some people who buy apps wouldn't even know what a Google doc was. The Play Store is a good discovery mechanism for this information. How would they find the doc?
People are free to not buy it or set up their own doc is they prefer.
Should be 'share a verified password and get the app for free' kinda deal
Every time someone opens the app, the most recent password database is downloaded. The database is updated multiple times a day. Who pays for the server and all that bandwidth? A one-off payment of a couple of bucks sounds reasonable to me.
Nowadays, the most frustrating thing is trying to connect to one of many free wi-fi hotspots in airports across the world but either not getting a connection despite one hundred attempts, or, getting a message of "Connected, no internet" and finding the connection portal doesn't work.
I also feel like an idiot for having given my real contact details in some airports and getting spam as punishment for my stupidity.
Maybe it's just me, but I think this app author has ethic problem.