It's true, my note to Santa

[AC]

On 2015-12-27 16:36, John Ralls wrote:
> 
>> On Dec 27, 2015, at 4:25 PM, AC <gnucash at acarver.net> wrote:
>>
>> On 2015-12-27 15:52, Steve wrote:
>>> Santa hasn't gotten back to me, hoping that he and his elves are working on
>>> it.
>>>
>>> As we approach 2016, I wish someone out there, publicly or secretly, is
>>> working toward a functional mobile app running GnuCash.  The current
>>> unofficial GnuCash app just doesn't deliver the true functional experience
>>> to allow GnuCash to be incorporated as part of the daily moment to moment
>>> routine.
>>>
>>> I understand the difficulty, the challenge, the nature of open source, but
>>> boy, I sure would like to use my phone and post charges, see credits, and
>>> see balances real time, without waiting till I get home and doing the
>>> download, upload dance...and the transition to mobile is noticeable, as my
>>> desktop GnuCash application languishes but continues to beckon me...
>>>
>>> Just wishin', Santa... I'll be back next year (and the year after!)...
>>
>> You're asking for what amounts to a cloud-centered version of GnuCash
>> which means a cloud-based server somewhere has to store the financial
>> data of you and every other user in a (ideally, hopefully) secure
>> fashion (open source has nothing to do with it).  What group of
>> volunteers do you think would step up to that type of liability never
>> mind the costs involved in running it?
> 
> Really? I thought he was just asking for a full version of GnuCash that runs on his phone/tablet.
> 
> Of course if you consider Microsoft's Surface a mobile device, you're already there: GnuCash should run fine on it since it runs Win10. The UI will be pretty uncomfortable without a mouse and keyboard, but it should run.

Given the state of mobile devices it appears that what he wants would
require a cloud solution.  Consider that mobile devices currently have
very limited amount of RAM (not the storage portion, the true RAM
portion for active programs and data)[1].  It would be very difficult to
port the entirety of GnuCash over to that platform and have it run
reliably within the confines of everything else already running on the
phone.  Even most desktop machines are coming with more than 4 GB of RAM
now.

The alternate reading is that there was a desire for instant integration
between the mobile device and the desktop application which immediately
implies a cloud.  Short of installing a private VPN service back to the
home to access a database backend there's no way to get that kind of
integration without a cloud-based solution.



[1] Current specs for RAM on various recent devices for some major brands:
Phone form factor:
Apple iPhone 6: 1 GB
Apple iPhone 6S/6S Plus: 2 GB
Samsung Galaxy S5: 2 GB
Samsung Galaxy S6: 3 GB
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: 4 GB
Motorola Droid Turbo 2: 3 GB
Motorola Nexus 6: 3 GB

Tablet form factor:
Samsung Galaxy Note 5: 4 GB
Apple iPad Pro: 4 GB
Apple iPad Mini 4: 2 GB
Apple iPad Air 2: 2 GB
Apple iPad 4: 1 GB