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Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

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Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#61

Post by FaceKicker »

keeperofdakeys wrote: post #59
FaceKicker wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't have a "don't send passwords" warning. I should definitely add some kind of warning/disclaimer page that pops up when you boot the app. I display a warning when the user tries to navigate to an HTTPS URL that messages sent to/from Smozzy aren't encrypted and it's not recommended that you proceed. I had a general idea for an encryption scheme (hardcode Smozzy's certificate's public key into the application…

You could try this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffie%E2%80%93Hellman_key_exch... Although, it would depend on finding a pre-existing implementation (remember it is a bad idea to implement your own crypto). Is there are trust-worthy source of random characters available?

Well, Diffie-Hellman wouldn't work very well for this since any conversation between my server and the client would take a long time, unless I'm misunderstanding what you're suggesting.

The motivation behind the scheme I came up with is that it could be done with no pre-communication, hence why my RSA public key would be hardcoded into the client.

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#62

Post by jurjenh »

vladoh wrote: post #58

A cool idea :) This reminds me of that joke: Never underestimate the bandwidth of a truck loaded with hard disks :)

Funny thing is, I just transferred 1TB of data from work to home (offsite backup) in just 5 minutes today... via bicycle even! Didn't even think of that until just now. Guess the saying still holds true then!

Although to be fair, doing the backups took considerably more time - a usb external hard disk doesn't copy 1TB that quickly...

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#63

Post by luckyisgood »

Impressed with your resourcefulness!

Now, if only people at US T-Mobile saw your app the way I see it - an alternative way of accessing and browsing the web in cases of emergency - not only would you not get shut down, but you'd be given extra resources to develop this further, public praise on creative use of their services and so on.

Of course, if I was Verizon - whose service you say did not work - I wouldn't wait for T-Mobile to get their hands on you first. I'd contact you immediately and I would make sure Verizon's network worked like a charm.

There's ton of completely free PR to be gained here.

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#66

Post by andrewparker »

SwellJoe wrote: post #5

One of these days, the network providers are going to stop putting arbitrary labels on their data, as though "voice", "text" and "data" are not all travelling through the same towers and pipes.

Cell network providers have only recently been dealing with this problem. Landline and Cable providers have been reselling the same pipe through "voice", "data" and "tv" channels for a lot longer, and they continue to get away with it.

Carriers will not voluntarily give up this incremental revenue. I live in Boston, when my choice of cable carrier are Comcast and errr... ummm.. Comcast.

Until there are more competing vendors, I think this transition away from arbitrary labels to one single dumb pipe will be much slower that we all hope.

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#67

Post by qjz »

FaceKicker wrote: post #47
psychotik wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice. I hope the app has a "don't send passwords" warning in there ;) Also, how do you (do you?) handle SSL operations, specially POSTs?

It doesn't have a "don't send passwords" warning. I should definitely add some kind of warning/disclaimer page that pops up when you boot the app. I display a warning when the user tries to navigate to an HTTPS URL that messages sent to/from Smozzy aren't encrypted and it's not recommended that you proceed. I had a general idea for an encryption scheme (hardcode Smozzy's certificate's public key into the application…

What User-Agent string are you using? It's a clever hack, but I can't allow my users to access sensitive information via your proxy. It sounds like you might be changing or adding hosts as you gain users, so blocking based on User-Agent will be a good start (unless, of course, you choose to use your powers for evil, in which case I'll have to resort to my own clever devices).

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#68

Post by Iv »

SwellJoe wrote: post #5

One of these days, the network providers are going to stop putting arbitrary labels on their data, as though "voice", "text" and "data" are not all travelling through the same towers and pipes.

It is called network neutrality and to them it is as evil as communist conspiracies.

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#69

Post by shawn-butler »

FaceKicker wrote: post #18
Garbage wrote: post #11

HP Labs India has created similar (same?) technology called SiteonMobile some time before. http://www.siteonmobile.com/ http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/hp_launches_siteonmobil...

I saw this when I was googling around to see if anyone had already done this, but I was kind of confused by what exactly it is. I don't think it's the same thing.

It is the same thing. I created a similar tool for use on s60 (symbian) on several carriers in africa. Sitonmobile "packages" up the interactions with a web server into a series of compressed images and delivers it via mms where it can be replayed. It is obviously less interactive but works fairly well for web 1.0 content.

Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan

#70

Post by FaceKicker »

luckyisgood wrote: post #63

Impressed with your resourcefulness! Now, if only people at US T-Mobile saw your app the way I see it - an alternative way of accessing and browsing the web in cases of emergency - not only would you not get shut down, but you'd be given extra resources to develop this further, public praise on creative use of their services and so on. Of course, if I was Verizon - whose service you say did not work - I wouldn't wait…

Thanks very much for the praise!

However, unfortunately I don't think emergency use when data services aren't up is a legit use case, since webpages are sent from my server to your phone via MMS and I think MMSes are downloaded via a data connection.

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