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Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

toot.kuba-orlik.name

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Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#151

Post by romwell »

solarkraft wrote: post #54
mojuba wrote: post #9

There's an (unverified) myth that retention on mobile apps is better. This is one of those things that marketing people keep telling each other without ever verifying the facts. (Unless you deliberately make the web version inferior, of course.) The reasoning behind it is that you should take real estate on the user's home screen at all costs, because your app's icon will serve as a reminder and people will allegedly…

I personally stop browsing Reddit and Twitter when their fuck-you-banners appear. I have accounts with both, but installing the app or logging in is usually more friction than accessing the content is worth. ... So thanks for keeping my periods of distraction very short! Maybe they just care about their users' mental health and are sacrificing their engagement for it :)

>I personally stop browsing Reddit and Twitter when their fuck-you-banners appears

That's what https://old.reddit.com is for. Simply prepending "old." to the reddit link makes everything work better.

Works on mobile and desktop, just as it always had.

And no fuck-you banners.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#152

Post by stavros »

hakfoo wrote: post #148
stavros wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before it arrives, you mean? That's still not something that a web page can't easily do.

Why not? You have a page with a piece of JavaScript on it. Every 30 seconds it pings back "What's the status of request 12345678?" and updates a div. If Domino's can display "your order has been handed to Steve for delivery", then a taxi service can say "Tom is stuck on the 405."

I agree, it was a double negative.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#153

Post by iamsaitam »

kuba-orlik wrote: post #36
current_thing wrote: post #17

> we, the users, are compliant with such abuse of monopoly. But Bolt is not a monopoly. There are many taxi services in Riga. > I invite you to boycott any company that forces (or coerces) you to install an app... I do not think I will boycott Bolt just because you hacked their product and somehow become outraged. Bolt rides are cheaper than the alternative and .. the app works. The alternative mainstream taxi app ne…

> But Bolt is not a monopoly. There are many taxi services in Riga. My experience is that if you don't speak Latvian, Bolt is basically the only choice to order a ride in Riga. Oh trust me, how I've tried. I never use those ride hailing services unless there's no other option left. > No thanks I will not boycott Bolt because you chose to violate some ToS and hack their product and somehow become outraged. Well, I'm n…

Which control are they taking away from you? You choose to use their service and yet you complaint because they don't allow you to use it as you see fit. As far as you know, the web client is not as well developed and maintained. I can't fathom where this sense of entitlement comes from.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#154

Post by manigandham »

yellowapple wrote: post #146
manigandham wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This thread is about web vs apps in general. I don't know why Bolt does what they do, but generally it's a lot of effort to maintain both interfaces for mobile users, often with entirely different teams, frameworks, language stacks, deployment models and more just to end up in the same place.

Like I said: it's understandable when it's actually a native mobile app. It's far less understandable when it's something like Uber or Facebook or Reddit that's very obviously just an HTML/CSS/JS site in a "native app" wrapper.

Uber and Facebook are not HTML apps in a wrapper.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#155

Post by yellowapple »

manigandham wrote: post #154
yellowapple wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like I said: it's understandable when it's actually a native mobile app. It's far less understandable when it's something like Uber or Facebook or Reddit that's very obviously just an HTML/CSS/JS site in a "native app" wrapper.

Uber and Facebook are not HTML apps in a wrapper.

Ah, right, forgot that Facebook invented React Native... in which case my point still stands, since one of the very selling points of React Native is to use the same code for both "native" and web.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#156

Post by marssaxman »

romwell wrote: post #151
solarkraft wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally stop browsing Reddit and Twitter when their fuck-you-banners appear. I have accounts with both, but installing the app or logging in is usually more friction than accessing the content is worth. ... So thanks for keeping my periods of distraction very short! Maybe they just care about their users' mental health and are sacrificing their engagement for it :)

>I personally stop browsing Reddit and Twitter when their fuck-you-banners appears That's what https://old.reddit.com is for. Simply prepending "old." to the reddit link makes everything work better. Works on mobile and desktop, just as it always had. And no fuck-you banners.

There's also https://i.reddit.com/ for mobile devices.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#157

Post by pixl97 »

hakfoo wrote: post #148
stavros wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before it arrives, you mean? That's still not something that a web page can't easily do.

Why not? You have a page with a piece of JavaScript on it. Every 30 seconds it pings back "What's the status of request 12345678?" and updates a div. If Domino's can display "your order has been handed to Steve for delivery", then a taxi service can say "Tom is stuck on the 405."

You mean the same Javascript that gets paused when you go to another tab?

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#158

Post by kuba-orlik »

dangus wrote: post #132
gtirloni wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd just have installed the app and got on with my life. But I admire the effort.

Same. If there's a problem, it's not this particular app, it's the status quo of Apple and Google's ecosystem. I think there are really obvious reasons for ridesharing and taxi apps to exclusively use apps. Notifications are very important to the experience (which you can't do on iOS Safari). Having persistent location access like a navigation app is another key part of the system. Don't like it? Put your arm up and…

> Don't like it? Put your arm up and hail a cab or call the dispatch office to request a ride, that's what we had to do not even 20 years ago.

I usually do this and call taxis by phone whenever I can, but in Riga this was exceptionally difficult due to language constraints

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