Category: Wire
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Updated “Directory Dilemma” Article Now On CircleID…
Continue Reading: Updated “Directory Dilemma” Article Now On CircleID…Back in December, 2014, I published a post here called “The Directory Problem – The Challenge For Wire, Talko And Every Other “Skype-Killer” OTT App“. After receiving a good bit of feedback, I’ve now published a new version over on CircleID:The Directory Dilemma – Why Facebook, Google and Skype May Win the Mobile App War
I incorporated a good bit of the feedback I received and also brought in some newer numbers and statistics. Of note, I now have a section on WebRTC where I didn’t before. You’ll also notice a new emphasis in the title… I’m now talking about the potential winners versus the challengers. I also chose “Directory Dilemma” not only for the alliteration but also because the situation really isn’t as much a “problem” as it is an overall “dilemma”. It may or may not be a “problem”.
I’m not done yet.
I’m still seeking feedback. I intend to do yet another revision of this piece, but in doing so intend to:
- Change it from the informal tone at the beginning to more of a “paper” style;
- Include a bit more about potential solutions.
Comments and feedback are definitely welcome… either as comments here on…
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Wire Launches WebRTC Voice/Chat Web App For Windows, Linux, more – Includes High TLS Security
Continue Reading: Wire Launches WebRTC Voice/Chat Web App For Windows, Linux, more – Includes High TLS SecurityYesterday the team over at Wire launched a new WebRTC-based “Wire for Web” app that lets people on Windows, Linux or any other platform now communicate with people using Wire on iOS, Android or OS X. You can get to it simply at:https://app.wire.com/
If you already have an account you simply sign in with your credentials. If you don’t have an account you can easily create one.I’ve been running both the native Mac OS X client and the web client for a bit now (I was part of web beta program for Wire) and it is truly amazing how well the team has made the web experience to be seamless between the web and native client. Here’s a screenshot showing both side by side (click/tap for a larger image):
In the web view on the right you have the browser bars at the top and one of the images did not go the full width of the column, but otherwise the experience and visual display has been essentially identical between the two platforms. The synchronization between the two is nearly instantaneous and all the features work really, really well.
Notifications in the web browser (if you allow…
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Wire 1.4 on iOS Tweaks The Display And Adds Avatars To Chats
Continue Reading: Wire 1.4 on iOS Tweaks The Display And Adds Avatars To ChatsToday the team at Wire rolled out a new version 1.4 of their iOS app. As they say in the release notes visible in the AppStore, the changes are:- Added avatars and blurred background in conversations for improved readability.
- Added colored background images in the conversation list
- Improved tutorial hints
- 1Password support
- Bug fixes and improvements
More to the point, the Wire team outlined the thinking behind these changes in a blog post on February 2, 2015. At the time they indicated the changes were available right then on Android and it apparently took this long for Apple to approve the new version for iOS (depending upon when Wire did in fact submit the new version to Apple).
I’m admittedly in a bit of a mixed mind with regard to the evolution of the chat interface. Here is what a Wire chat looked like on my iPhone 5s before (left) and after (right) the upgrade to Wire 1.4 (click/tap the image for a larger view):
On the plus side, I do find the avatars helpful as visual identifiers that help you easily see who is writing what in the chat window. Particularly if people use the same avatar image as…
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Video: VUC 528 Provides An Update On Matrix.org And Wire
Continue Reading: Video: VUC 528 Provides An Update On Matrix.org And WireLast Friday’s VUC conference call / podcast / hangout provided some interesting updates about the ongoing work at Matrix.org to build services for scalable, distributed and federated collaboration systems as well as some discussion of Wire, the app I’ve written about here. Guests included Matthew Hodgson and Amandine Le Pape from Matrix.org, as well as the usual cast of characters and a couple of live demonstrations, too.
You can view the episode web page and listen to the show here:
I joined the show about mid-way through and naturally wound up talking about IPv6, the Internet of Things (IoT), ICANN, DNS and other topics.
FYI, some good info about Matrix.org can be found in their FAQ. Back in November 2014, there was also another VUC episode focused around Matrix.org.
It was an enjoyable show and I’d encourage you to give it a listen.
If you found this post interesting or useful, please consider either:
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Congrats to the Wire Team for TNW Apps of The Year Selection
Continue Reading: Congrats to the Wire Team for TNW Apps of The Year SelectionCongratulations to the Wire.com team for having Wire be selected as one of The Next Web’s “Apps of the Year”!TNW’s Napier Lopez talks about how beautiful Wire is and how much it is a platform that he wants to use… and suddenly he is the one asking people to join him.
Many of comments mirror my own opinion of how much I enjoy using the app. It’s just a pleasure to use for communication.
Napier Lopez does, though, hit Wire’s real challenge:
Still, I mentioned earlier that I started using other messaging platforms because my friends made me, and therein lies the crux with Wire, or any new messaging platofrm, really: you need to get users on the platform.
This is indeed the “user directory problem” that I wrote about at great length. And I, too, hope that the Wire team – and we all as Wire users – can find ways to help bring people to the platform.
Meanwhile, congrats to the Wire team for this recognition – and I look forward to seeing what may be coming up next in the app!
P.S. I notice a version 1.2 for iOS just appeared in the AppStore and it…
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The Directory Problem – The Challenge For Wire, Talko And Every Other “Skype-Killer” OTT App
Continue Reading: The Directory Problem – The Challenge For Wire, Talko And Every Other “Skype-Killer” OTT AppAs much as I am enjoying the new Wire app, there is a fundamental problem that Wire faces… as well as Talko, Firefox Hello and every other Over-The-Top (OTT) or WebRTC application that is seeking to become THE way that we communicate via voice, chat and/or video from our mobile phones and desktops. That is:How do they gather the “directory” of people that others want to talk to?
The fundamental challenge all of these applications face is this:
People will only USE a communication application if the people they want to talk to are using the application.
And where I say “talk” it could also be “chat” or “message” or… pick your communication verb.
It’s all about the “directory” of users.
There’s a war out there right now… and it’s a war for the future of our communications between each other. It’s a war for messaging… and it’s also a war for voice and video.
And it all comes back to… which communications application or service can provide the most comprehensive directory of users?
Which communications tool will be the one that people use the most? Will any of them replace the default communications of the mobile phone? NOTE:…
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How To Add An Emoji Character To Your Name In The Wire App
Continue Reading: How To Add An Emoji Character To Your Name In The Wire AppBecause I keep getting asked…. here is how you can add an emoji / emoticon to your name inside the new Wire app on Mac OS X / iOS / Android. (The Wire app that I wrote about yesterday and the day before.)
Many people have been asking why some names have a symbol after them inside of Wire, such as Olle’s:
Or these:
The answer about how to do this is simple…
YOU JUST ADD AN EMOJI CHARACTER TO YOUR NAME!
Yep… that’s it!
Adding an Emoji On Mac OS X
In the Mac OS X client, you click on your name, and then the pencil next to your name:
When you are then in the edit box, you can type the magic Mac OS X keystroke to bring up the emoji panel:
Control + Command + Space
Ta da! All the emoji you could ever want…
Adding an Emoji on iOS
Similarly, you just go into the Wire app on iOS and click on your name at the top of your list of contacts. You should now be in edit mode:
Then you just add an emoji. Now, there may be easier ways to do this, but I…
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More Observations About The “Wire” App
Continue Reading: More Observations About The “Wire” AppAfter yesterday’s launch of Wire, I continued to use it a bit today and am writing these notes, mostly for my own memory.Group Chats ARE Persistent
In my post yesterday I said that it seemed like Wire group chats were “persistent” (something I’d previously written about with regard to Skype). Today I can confirm that they ARE persistent. When I fired up the Wire app this morning I received all the messages that had been posted into the group chat overnight while I’d been offline.
Further, when I went to add someone to the group chat, I received this message:
The Wire team also deserves credit for how smoothly they make the scrolling back through the chat history. Works very well!
No IPv6… yet
Friends tested Wire in an IPv6-only network and confirmed that it unfortunately does not yet work. In reaching out to someone at Wire the word was that they are definitely investigating this to see what can be done. The issue is that the Wire app connects to Amazon EC2 servers – so it’s really an issue of Amazon’s capabilities.
I will say again that Wire at the very least deserves credit for coming out with…
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Initial Thoughts On “Wire”, The New Communication App From Ex-Skypers
Continue Reading: Initial Thoughts On “Wire”, The New Communication App From Ex-SkypersAnother remarkable day in Internet communications! Today brought the launch of “Wire“, a “modern communications network” that runs on iOS, Android, Mac OS X and soon in WebRTC-equipped web browsers.My first thought was naturally – do we really need YET-another-OTT-communication app?
After all, my iPhone is littered with the dead carcasses of so many other apps that have launched trying to be THE communication platform we all want to use. (And indeed I’ve written about many of them here on this site.)
But what makes Wire different for me from so many other similar apps that have launched (and faded) is really the PEOPLE involved. The news announcement mentions, of course, Skype co-founder Janus Friis as one of the big names behind Wire. Jonathan Christensen is also the co-founder and CEO of Wire. The news post says this:
The company’s team comprises former product and technology leaders from Apple, Skype, Nokia, and Microsoft. Christensen held leadership roles at Microsoft and Skype, and was co-founder and CEO at Camino Networks. Along with Christensen, founders include Alan Duric, Wire’s CTO, a co-founder of Telio (Oslo exchange TELIO) and co-founder of Camino (acquired by eBay/Skype); and Priidu Zilmer, Wire’s head…
