Category: Wireless
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Firechat Enables Private Off-The-Internet (P2P) Messaging Using Mobile Phones
Continue Reading: Firechat Enables Private Off-The-Internet (P2P) Messaging Using Mobile PhonesThere was a fascinating article posted on Medium this week by the CTO of messaging app Firechat:
In the text he outlines how they do decentralized “off-the-grid” private messaging using an ad hoc mesh network established between users of the Firechat app. It sounds like the app instances join together into some kind of peer-to-peer (P2P) network and then do normal “store-and-forward” messaging.
Of note, the apps do NOT need an Internet connection, or even a cellular network connection – instead they can use the Bluetooth and WiFi radios in the mobile phones to create a private mesh network and connect to other users of the Firechat app.
Naturally, having spent some time exploring P2P networks back when I was playing around with P2P SIP and distributed hash tables (DHTs) and other technologies, I immediately jump into the techie questions:
- How are they routing messages from one user to another?
- How is the “directory” of users in P2P mesh maintained?
- What addresses are they using for the communication? Is this still happening over IP addresses? Or are they using some other kind of…
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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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WhatsApp Calling Arrives on iOS – More Telecom Disruption Ahead!
Continue Reading: WhatsApp Calling Arrives on iOS – More Telecom Disruption Ahead!As I checked my AppStore updates on my iPhone this week I was surprised but pleased to see that WhatsApp now includes “WhatsApp Calling”. As it says:“Call your friends and family using WhatsApp for free, even if they’re in another country. WhatsApp calls use your phone’s Internet connection rather than your cellular plan’s voice minutes. Data charges may apply.
How many ways can you spell “disruption”?
(Hint: w – h – a – t – s – a – p – p)Sure, there have been a zillion mobile apps providing Over-The-Top (OTT) voice services, many of which I’ve written about here on this site.
But this is WhatsApp!
This is the application that just passed 800 million monthly active users! (Techmeme link) With projections to hit 1 billion monthly active users by the end of the year.
Oh, and it’s owned by Facebook! 🙂
Now, I personally don’t use WhatsApp that much right now. The people who I want to message are primarily using iMessage, Facebook Messenger or Wire. (And every once in a great while I’ll fire up Skype on my iPhone.)
But obviously there are 800 million people who do use WhatsApp each month… and…
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To No Surprise, Indian Telcos Want to Block WhatsApp OTT VoIP
Continue Reading: To No Surprise, Indian Telcos Want to Block WhatsApp OTT VoIPTo the surprise of absolutely no one, telcos in India are objecting to plans for WhatsApp to launch VoIP and complaining about it to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). So reports The Hindu Business Line that includes this glorious quote from a representative of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI):“Allowing the use of VoIP/ Internet telephony at such massive scale without licensing regime would lead to a significant disruption in the existing business of TSPs and can substantially derail their investment capability”
Gee… allowing a new innovative entrant into the market would lead to “significant disruption in the existing business” of the existing telcos.
Yes. Exactly.
And the representative further pointed out that this could lead to a “significant loss of revenues” for the government in the form of taxes.
Yes. Exactly.
This is the nature of Over-The-Top (OTT) applications and services. In providing better services for customers they very often DO cause “significant disruption” to existing businesses.
This is the nature of innovation.
This is the value of the “permissionless innovation” that has made the Internet the amazing tool for communication, collaboration and creation that it is today.
The folks at WhatsApp don’t need to…
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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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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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Talko Looks Very Cool, But Needed A Firewall Change To Work
Continue Reading: Talko Looks Very Cool, But Needed A Firewall Change To WorkThe big telecom story today certainly seems to the be launch of Ray Ozzie’s new “Talko” application for iOS. Tons of attention in the tech media, and many of my friends on social media have been trying it out. There’s a brilliant article posted on Medium about the “Brave New Phone Call” along with a great blog post from Ray Ozzie about how this new app will revolutionize the voice experience.I think Talko has great potential to do so, particularly after using it.
But…
… I had to change my firewall rules in order to make Talko work. 🙁
And I don’t know how long it will continue to work.
Perhaps worse than that… it wasn’t clear initially that I had a firewall problem. Frequent testing partner Jim Courtney sent me a message and after installing the Talko app on my iPhone I tried to talk to him, but all I seemed to be able to do was send him a voice message or a text message.
Subsequently I tried connecting to Tim Panton and again could only send voice messages. It made for a very asynchronous “walkie-talkie” style of communication that clearly seemed to not be what…
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What is “5G” Wireless Technology? Watch LIVE in 2 hours to learn more…
Continue Reading: What is “5G” Wireless Technology? Watch LIVE in 2 hours to learn more…What is “fifth-generation” (5G) wireless technology? In about 2 hours at 12noon EDT (16:00 UTC) today, July 24, 2014, there will be a live video stream of a presentation happening at IETF 90 in Toronto, Canada. You can watch the live video on the IETF Google+ Page and also embedded in this blog post below (but check the Google+ page for any updates). The session description is:Discussions on fifth generation (5g) wireless access has rapidly intensified during the latest two years. 5G wireless access is seen as the long-term enabler of the overall networked society, not only providing enhanced mobile broadband access but being a tool to provide wireless connectivity for any kind of application.
This speech will provide an overview of the state of 5G efforts around the world. We will discuss the specific requirements and challenges being identified for 5G wireless access and the different technology components and alternatives being considered. We will also outline possible time schedule for 5G in ITU and 3GPP.
Given that so many people are getting their Internet access through mobile networks (and increasingly will be doing so in the future), I think it’s extremely important to understand where these mobile technologies…
