Basic Digital Literacy, including Web vs Mobile Apps, File Transfers (USB, File Sharing, Document Services).

1. Digital Literacy Series
Digital Literacy
Session 2 - Web vs Mobile Apps, File Transfers
Prepared by Bill Condo

2. Digital Literacy Series
What We’re Covering
!
• Mobile Applications (Native Apps) vs Web Applications (HTML)
• File Transfer Options, and choosing the best tool for the job

3. Digital Literacy Series
What’s the Difference?
!
• Native Applications are those that are written for a platform (iOS,
Android, etc) in the native programming language (Obj-C, Java), and
are downloadable via the platform’s store or directory.
• Web Applications are those that are written for the web (HTML,
Javascript), and can be accessed within a browser.

4. Digital Literacy Series
#1 Immediacy
• Must first be downloaded in an
App Store and installed.
• May require the user to enter
in the device’s account
password before installing.
• Can be accessed directly from
a URL within a browser.
• No password is required to use
the app.
Native Web

5. Digital Literacy Series
#2 Design, UI, Experience
• Can be finely tuned with high
quality graphics, animations,
and custom elements.
• The experience can be built
from the ground up to work in
nearly any manner.
• Graphics, defined animations,
and customization rules must
be loaded from the web server,
limited the total file size.
• The experience is typically web
like, and may limit the available
design options.
Native Web

6. Digital Literacy Series
#3 Find-ability
• Finding a Native App within a
heavily populated App Store
can be difficult, especially for
the most saturated categories,
like games and utilities.
• Search functionally is limited to
the associated App Store.
• Web Apps have the flexibility to
be directly linked from any web
source, such as recommended
app lists, association sites, and
app databases.
• Easily use affiliate and referral
programs to increase visibility.
Native Web

7. Digital Literacy Series
#4 Compatibility
• Individual device compatibility
can be greater, however the
compatibility across platforms
can be lower.
• Because of the distinct
differences in iOS, Android,
Windows Phone, etc.,
troubleshooting is difficult.
• Because all modern phones
have good HTML support, and
increasingly HTML5 support,
you can write once and be
available for all platforms.
• Web apps can usually be
debugged from other devices,
making the process easier.
Native Web

8. Digital Literacy Series
#5 Update-ability
• Because each update must go
through App Store approval,
updates can be significantly
slowed, and will force the
concurrent support of multiple
versions of the application.
• Web Apps can be updated by
pushing out changes to the
web server, which removes the
previous version immediately.
• Web Apps can be updated
more rapidly, multiple times per
day during heavy development
cycles, or for rapid response.
Native Web

9. Digital Literacy Series
#6 Index-ability
• Native-only Apps can’t be
Google’d or indexed in search
engines.
• Websites for a Native App can
help in indexing, but require
additional effort.
• Web Apps will be indexed by
search engines to some extent,
depending on how it’s built.
• Being indexed and assessable
helps in marketing efforts.
Native Web

10. Digital Literacy Series
#7 Approve-ability
• Native Apps, especially iOS,
may have a lengthy, multiple
round approval process to pass
though.
• Approval processes may
dictate release date availability
late in the process, and may
force unexpected changes.
• Web Apps don’t have an
approval process to go through,
allowing for release dates to be
set far in advance.
• Web Apps are typically easier
to plan the deployment and
marketing strategy for.
Native Web

11. Digital Literacy Series
#8 Budget
• Native Apps may be slightly
cheaper for a single platform,
but is usually much more
expensive when targeting
multiple platforms.
• There is a smaller pool of
developers for each platform
compared to web developers.
• Web Apps can be easily bid
from a list of trusted devs,
bringing the project cost down.
• When targeting multiple
platforms, Web Apps provide a
greater ROI by being available
on all devices with modern
HTML support.
Native Web

12. Digital Literacy Series
#9 LifeCycle
• Native Apps can create legacy
costs as an application ages, by
requiring older libraries and
environments.
• Native Apps require updates as
newer OS versions are
released and APIs are changed.
• Web Apps require referenced
assets to continue to be
available at their URLs, which
may require ongoing hosting
and/or bandwidth charges.
• Web Apps typically work on
new devices without updating.
Native Web

13. Digital Literacy Series
#10 Native Functionality
• Native Apps have full access to
the device’s components such
as: microphone, camera, GPS,
and contacts.
• Full support for UI features,
such as swiping, tilting, and
shaking.
• Web Apps have access to a
subset of functionality only
through third-party application
wrappers such as Phonegap.
Native Web

14. Digital Literacy Series
#11 Gaming
• Native Apps provide the best
experience for games. The
frame rate, lag, and
responsiveness can’t be
matched by Web Apps for fast
moving games.
• Web Apps open up access for
a game on multiple platforms,
and reduces the effort required
for cross platform talk.
• Since Web Apps operate within
the browser, their performance
is often limited.
Native Web

15. Digital Literacy Series
#12 Offline Access
• Native Apps often hold
information locally, allowing for
at least partial use offline.
• Native Apps can check for
connectivity and open more
features if available.
• Web Apps require an Internet
connection and their
performance will be dictated in
part by the connection speed
and quality.
• Web Apps that will be used in
remote locations can be
problematic.
Native Web

16. Digital Literacy Series
#13 Support
• Supporting Native Applications
is constant from OS updates,
and the ongoing flow of new
devices being released.
• The best support information
usually comes from third-party
services, which require a
subscription to be active.
• Supporting Web Applications is
constant from the newer
devices, and their updated
browsers and feature support.
• Older device/browser support
can be removed easily when
it’s no longer in use.
Native Web

17. Digital Literacy Series
Now, Fully Evaluate.
17

18. Digital Literacy Series
Transfer Options
!
• Directly with email or drives/disks
• With a service (FTP/Secure FTP)
• File/cloud services (Dropbox, Google Drive, Droplr)

19. Digital Literacy Series
Direct Transfer
• “Sneaker net” (Flash Drives, USB
Harddrives) can be used for large
files within the office.
• Local server file sharing can be
used for larger files or for archiving.
• Email Attachments can be used for
text based documents (.doc, .pdf)
since they’re relatively small.
Flash / USB Drives
Flash Drives ~ 8GB - 64GB
USB Drives ~ 250GB - 2TB
Local File Share
Windows and OSX both allow
for easy file sharing
between clients and servers.
Email Attachment
Small files can be attached to
an email (<2MB), while large
files should be avoided.

20. Digital Literacy Series
Servers
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP/SFTP)
in commonly used by companies
that share large files both
internally and externally.
• FTP requires that a server be
setup with accounts, and have
hard drive space available.
FileZilla Server
Free
http://filezilla-project.org
Both Windows and OSX Servers
have an FTP server built in.
Rumpus Standard
$295.00
http://www.maxum.com/Rumpus

21. Digital Literacy Series
File/Cloud Services
• File Syncing can be used to
automatic share a folder across
locations and companies.
• Document Collaboration is good
for multiple authors, or providing
combined feedback.
• File Sending is useful for sending
one-off files across companies.
Dropbox
Services like Dropbox allow for a
local folder to be synced to
multiple devices and/or people
Google Drive
Document sharing services like
Google Drive allow for concurrent
editing on documents, and sharing.
Hightail
File sending services like Hightail
allow you to upload a document
that can be retrieved by a 3rd party.

22. Digital Literacy Series
Recommendations
• Use email attachments sparingly, and primarily for final text
documents (.doc, .pdf). Many people have email attached to their
phones and it’s troublesome to have large files delivered to non-
desktops. Email servers typically reject files larger than 2MB-10MB.
• When sharing early stage concepts, utilize local file sharing (server)
and flash/usb drives. This is often the fastest local option too.
• Sharing via Dropbox (or similar) is great with third-parties, as all of
the documents automatically stay up to date.

23. Digital Literacy Series
Additional Resources
• Native vs Web Apps
• http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/29/native-v-web-chart/
• http://www.hswsolutions.com/services/mobile-web-development/mobile-website-vs-apps/
• FileTransfer
• http://readwrite.com/2014/03/17/file-sharing-services
• http://www.techhive.com/article/259715/top_cloud_services_for_file_sharing_and_syncing.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_hosting_services
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSH_File_Transfer_Protocol

24. Digital Literacy Series
I think we’re having fun.
I think out customers really like our products.
And we’re always trying to do better.
- Steve Jobs