After ten years of service, LogMeIn has abruptly terminated their free tier of remote access. And my pal Janice speaks for many of us when she says, “That sound is parental tech support reps everywhere imploding at their desks.” Of course we don’t fault the company for wanting to make money and I’ve always been somewhat skeptical of the “freemium” model (and suspect its limitations are why Evernote now sells socks) – it’s the communication we take issue with.
Those who’ve purchased the $30 LogMeIn Ignition app for iOS and Android are being comped 6 months of Pro service, after which point we can move on or receive 50% off an annual two-computer plan for $49. Everyone else has 7 days after their next login to upgrade to a paid plan. As infrequent users, many of us will abstain… and are left wondering what else is out there.
As for me, I’ve seen a number of Team Viewer mentions come across my desk. Although, like LogMeIn, who knows if they may one day change-up their business model. Which is why I’ve gone straight to the Chrome screen sharing route. Google already knows pretty much everything I do and, as a Chromebook owner and regular user of their browser, this fits pretty seamlessly into my workflow – with mobile apps are on the way. Plus there’s native OS X screensharing via Messages for the times I need to tune up my Mom’s Mac. What about you?