Hit-Mob.com

Google is helping me bring them back!  Hold on tight, it’ll happen over the next 24 hours!

It seems the app description had issues so I while I’m updating the code, I’ll need to bring it back down so I can go over the text when they contact me to make sure everything is kosher.

Background: As you probably know, the Pro version was pulled from the Market on 10/12/2011.  Since my Lite version was pulled earlier, I obviously have not figured out what Google was unhappy with.

I was tired and defeated.  Try to fix it again and risk being banned.  Don’t do anything and watch 3 years of hard work slip away.

Since my earlier attempts to contact Google for help did not work, I decided it was time to reach out to the press, blogs, forums, websites, news sites, podcasts and anyone I could contact for help.  My goal was to make enough noise to get someone at Google to help.

Within an hour, OMG!Droid reached out to me and offered to write a post.  Just speaking with Chris helped.  He really cared and wanted to write a balanced story.  I breathed a little better.

What happened next really surprised me.  A kind sole, who doesn’t know me (but I’ve seen him at multiple conferences from a distance), read my email and forwarded it to someone at Google who started the ball rolling.

These 2 gentleman are large in the tech world and the fact that they took some time to help a stranger in need, made me tear up (embarrassing since I was at the PayPal X Conference).  Did I mention I’m a Rackspace customer. 8^)

So now, I’m waiting for Google to contact me and hopefully get this thing straighten out once and for all.

Update:

Well, the upper managment mean well and tried but the market support folks must work out of the old KGB offices. I only have the ONE extra email hinting at the app description and which gave my app back.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for that but it would have been good to know *what* text was the issue so I can avoid it from happening *again*.

So, I’ve edited the app description to a minimum, removed all web links to my website for help or device support, and removed the list of brands supported (except for some major brands).

Look at the description here. It’s so bland, I don’t know what else it could be (email me if you find an issue: robert[dot]chou[at]gmail[dot]com).

Now, it’s cross your fingers, toes, and pray time…

Finally, IP Cam Viewer v4.1.2 has a new Recording Playback screen to search and playback recordings made in Record Mode.

In addition, v4.1.5 has a new Convert to Video File screen to extract recorded data as a single video clip.

Use Windows Media Player or RockPlayer Lite for Android to playback recording.

As for a good android tablet for Record Mode, I use the Acer Iconia A500.  It’s cheap and has a full USB port.  I bought a 500GB 2.5 in laptop hd for $50, put it into a $10 enclosure, formatted it to FAT32 using “fat32format.exe“.  Connect it and change the record path in my app to “/mnt/usb_storage/IpCamViewer/Record”.  That should cover 6 cameras, at 24×7 recording, for ~30 days.

Thanks,
Rob

IP Cam Viewer Lite, has received Best Software Award 2011 in Utilities category!

http://www.handster.com/awards_2011.php

Also, here’s a video of another company, AirLinkWiFi, using my app:

Here’s another set of videos by Celius using IP Cam Viewer.

Argh… No specific reason given but my free version of IP Cam Viewer got pulled today from the Android Market by Google, after 1.3 million plus downloads and a 4+ start rating. I supported it day and night to get 9000+ reviews. All gone.

For existing and new users, the free version is available for download from here. Until Google replies with a reason, I can’t release another free version on the market.  It will always be available directly from me so this method is better anyway.

This version also let’s you upgrade through paypal (no market dependencies). Just send $3.99 to “robertchou@gmail.com” using paypal and I’ll send you an unlock code (the pulled free version used Google’s in-app purchase for upgrade).

Google, please email developers with an explanation prior to pulling apps. Good developers will fix whatever the issue may be. Your rules come from Dilbert land and are evil:

1) wait for developer to spend tons of time building apps for your market and answering user questions regarding the crappy market bugs/issues.

2) reject, up to 3 years later, without giving any explanation.

3) count as developer *guesses* wrong with new releases, and on count of 3, wipe out entire account removing ALL other apps.

Brilliant.  Brilliantly evil!

On a personal note, I’m sadden to see the lose of this app. I launched it back in late 2008, when the market first opened (since day one). Lots of users have helped me build it to this point and I cared for it almost like a child.

Rob 8^(

ps. Still no response from Google. They talk good, but with a bad track record, I now see them as a heartless/sole-less data-mining machine. Oh well, there’s other markets and other opportunities to explore.

ps.ps. I’m guessing they pulled it because of the app description where I list the brands of devices that are supported. I worked hard over 3 years to build that support and it’s what people are searching for. For a search company, this is really a stupid reason.

Just finished updating the online help to match version “3.9.7″.

http://hit-mob.com/ip-cam-viewer-android/help/

I made a tablet stand for my Acer Honeycomb tablet using a Makerbot, and make the design available under the Creative Commons license at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9163

http://hit-mob.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=617&p=2356&hilit=record+mode#p2251

Now that recording is actually taking place in IP Cam Viewer for Android, here’s what I have planned for future releases regarding Record Mode:

- on/off schedules per camera
- record mode icon in status bar
- embed web server for HTML5 playback interface so you can access it from anywhere, just like a networked dvr.
- provide live API for all cameras in record mode, turning app into a simple “universal” translator for all supported cameras into one interface for integration with websites or other systems.
- motion detection option on the record mode device to save space, also allowing for efficient alerting of the phone client (all the work is done on the record device at home, phone just gets alerts, saving power and network bandwidth).

It will take some time as I’m working on 4 different platforms now but it will be done. Thanks for your patience.

Rob