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Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

snapdrop.net

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Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#91
post #76

It is a shame AirDrop is not an standard across all devices. It's almost 2021 and we don't have a universal way to share files in original format. Most ways to transfer between android/iphone/mac/pc are over the internet and compressed. I guess the industry is not interested in collaboration.

only one platform of those four does not support bluetooth. Yes, it is definitely the industry who is not interested in collaboration.

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#92

Is there an audio chat equivalent of this? When I'm playing networked games with my kids from separate rooms, we often have to resort to overkill utilities like Whatsapp / Discord / etc.

Jitsi is pretty good for ad-hoc meetings

https://meet.jit.si

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#93
post #74
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False. AirDrop does discovery via bluetooth, but then sets up an ad-hoc WiFi connection directly between devices to transmit data. No network required.

> sets up an ad-hoc WiFi connection ... No network required. It does need a network, that's why it creates one using an ad-hoc WiFi connection.

The creation of this ad hoc network is seamless, invisible to the user, and doesn’t require _external_ network hardware.

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#94
post #72
post #55

It's not really an AirDrop equivalent if it requires you to be on the same network. AirDrop is really useful when you're out and about somewhere and you want to send someone a file. In those cases there's possibly not a WiFi available or in the case of visitors to your home; only you are on the network, not your friend. So I would not see the point of using this instead of AirDrop unless you have to send a file to so…

Majority of people want to use Airdrop to share file in same network in my experience.

Definitely not true for me. My most common scenario is "can you please send me all the photos of the trip/dinner/... in the original resolution" in a car park/train station/street corner.

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#95
post #76

It is a shame AirDrop is not an standard across all devices. It's almost 2021 and we don't have a universal way to share files in original format. Most ways to transfer between android/iphone/mac/pc are over the internet and compressed. I guess the industry is not interested in collaboration.

Very true. I had high hopes for Google's "nearby share" which was initially announced as a cross-platform networkless way to share files, but these ambitions seem to have been scaled back to "Android to Android only, and it sometimes uses mobile data as a fallback"...

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#96
post #55

It's not really an AirDrop equivalent if it requires you to be on the same network. AirDrop is really useful when you're out and about somewhere and you want to send someone a file. In those cases there's possibly not a WiFi available or in the case of visitors to your home; only you are on the network, not your friend. So I would not see the point of using this instead of AirDrop unless you have to send a file to so…

İ have an Android and a MBP. The number of times where İ think, "why is this so hard to get this file to that computer" is more than I'd like to admit. Cloud drives (iCloud, OneDrive, GDrive) are all too slow on bad WiFi. This should help me.

I have the reverse problem (win10 devices/iphone) and it has become enough of an issue to convince me to switch to android. Its ridiculous how Apple treats non apple devices as third-class citizens.

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#97
post #55

It's not really an AirDrop equivalent if it requires you to be on the same network. AirDrop is really useful when you're out and about somewhere and you want to send someone a file. In those cases there's possibly not a WiFi available or in the case of visitors to your home; only you are on the network, not your friend. So I would not see the point of using this instead of AirDrop unless you have to send a file to so…

To be fair, AirDrop requires you to be on the same network as well, as otherwise the devices don't have any way of communicating. If you're already on the same WiFi, it'll use WiFi but if not, it'll connect to each other via Bluetooth (eg, connecting to the same network [a network of two devices]), but the setup of the connection is automatic. Maybe Snapdrop can do something similar with the new Bluetooth Web APIs.

That Airdrop sets up its own temporary network hidden from view is not really relevant to most users though. For the user, it just works like "magic". All you need are two phones.

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#98
post #72
post #55

It's not really an AirDrop equivalent if it requires you to be on the same network. AirDrop is really useful when you're out and about somewhere and you want to send someone a file. In those cases there's possibly not a WiFi available or in the case of visitors to your home; only you are on the network, not your friend. So I would not see the point of using this instead of AirDrop unless you have to send a file to so…

Majority of people want to use Airdrop to share file in same network in my experience.

I suspect most people use AirDrop for the use case where a bunch of folks are physically somewhere together, perhaps on a trip or having coffee, and someone asks: "hey, can you quickly send me that video?". Without Airdrop that isn't always feasible: 1) a WiFi network may not be available to send using other means 2) perhaps the video is very large and would eat your data 3) no cell reception at all, as is common on adventure or hiking trips

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#99
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

İ have an Android and a MBP. The number of times where İ think, "why is this so hard to get this file to that computer" is more than I'd like to admit. Cloud drives (iCloud, OneDrive, GDrive) are all too slow on bad WiFi. This should help me.

I have the reverse problem (win10 devices/iphone) and it has become enough of an issue to convince me to switch to android. Its ridiculous how Apple treats non apple devices as third-class citizens.

How would you send a file using Android (without access to an already existing network)? I asked someone with an Android phone the other day and apparently it's not practical.

Re: Snapdrop – AirDrop equivalent through a web browser using WebRTC

#100
post #55

It's not really an AirDrop equivalent if it requires you to be on the same network. AirDrop is really useful when you're out and about somewhere and you want to send someone a file. In those cases there's possibly not a WiFi available or in the case of visitors to your home; only you are on the network, not your friend. So I would not see the point of using this instead of AirDrop unless you have to send a file to so…

İ have an Android and a MBP. The number of times where İ think, "why is this so hard to get this file to that computer" is more than I'd like to admit. Cloud drives (iCloud, OneDrive, GDrive) are all too slow on bad WiFi. This should help me.

I use the VLC iPhone/iPad app to transfer files. There is an option to show the files on your iPhone/iPad as a webserver which works on any device that has a browser (you have to be on the same network).
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