The main issue I have with all those services (this one, Parse, etc.) it that a large number of app require actual intelligence running on the server — in order to validate data, send emails, log some kind of analytics, trigger custom events, etc. The only service that I've seen so far which attempts something in that direction is StackMob, but they have severe limitations in other areas.
For example, when I was investigating backends services for Tehula, I initially thought I'd run with StackMob, but their HTML5 app model was a huge setback: they are geared towards single page apps, which means I couldn't do any routing on the server side. The only solution would have been to host an app somewhere else and use their REST api to talk to StackMob, which in the end I decided was far more complex than coding my own API.
The triggering of custom events is a neat idea, I hadn't thought about that. Right now Accthub is just a data store, but being able to add some backend logic would be very nice.
Reminds me of those Android apps out there were the first screen is just login/register. Nothing to draw users in at all. For some reason, tons of programmers, when writing, just immediately go - aaaand we need accounts! Quick! A lot of times the app really has no need for them yet at all and it would be better to work on free open features that can get some users coming and coming back. So I guess it is good to sell something developers want, but I'd really like to see less of this particular thing, not more.
Thank you. I wanted a way to make it dead simple to calculate your bill. I don't like the idea of being charged per HTTP call. Very easy to let those get out of hand and get a large bill.
For example, when I was investigating backends services for Tehula, I initially thought I'd run with StackMob, but their HTML5 app model was a huge setback: they are geared towards single page apps, which means I couldn't do any routing on the server side. The only solution would have been to host an app somewhere else and use their REST api to talk to StackMob, which in the end I decided was far more complex than coding my own API.