Great work guys!
Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
81–90 of 109 posts
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
He's sending back html+js+css+images, not a static image.
It is not the same thing; it is a better thing.
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#83Man, you are clever. Check this. If this is based on SMS/MMS, then I should be able to text you an address and have you return the pages as MMS.
You would still need an app that could translates the MMS back into a page and open it in a browser on your end.
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#84Do you use compression at all or is it straight uncompressed HTTP via SMS? Or something else entirely? This is wonderful for it's creative (mis)use of texting...
The requests (which are just URLs, and any postdata/cookies if applicable) are sent to my server via SMS. The responses are sent back to the phone via MMS, in up to 5 (I think?) segments. I download the webpage along with all resources (stylesheets, images, etc.) and put everything in a zip file. I encode the zip file as a PNG (each RGB pixel is 3 bytes of the zip file) and send the PNG in the MMS.
Beautiful and really impressive use of technology. There are times when I'm outside the data network range of T-Mobile, I would make use of this. The app crashed while attempting to receive my first request, does Google send you the crash info when I submit that through the Android reporting system?
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
The requests (which are just URLs, and any postdata/cookies if applicable) are sent to my server via SMS. The responses are sent back to the phone via MMS, in up to 5 (I think?) segments. I download the webpage along with all resources (stylesheets, images, etc.) and put everything in a zip file. I encode the zip file as a PNG (each RGB pixel is 3 bytes of the zip file) and send the PNG in the MMS.
You really can't think outside of the box any more than that. This is so impressive.
In the 90s they had services that would send you HTTP pages and FTP files via email, for the poor schmocks that had email (e.g. via UUCP) but no FTP or WWW.
You'll be surprised about all the boxes that have been erected for people to think in, as soon as you have discovered the world outside the particular box you've grown up in.
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#86Earlier 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…
Any chance we can get it to work with things like Texty or DeskSMS? It seems that these apps grab the MMS messages and the app never receives the page, I think.
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
The recipient pays if they don't have a messaging plan. You can send an MMS to a US T-Mobile customer by emailing 1115557777@tmomail.net (if their phone number were (111) 555-7777), so that's how I do that.
> so that's how I do that. Probably not for long!
I don't know, all the carriers over here have a way to send a picture to a phone using an email address. It would be very nearly impossible to block his app: They'd probably have to block individual users for receiving too many emails. Not an attractive option I wouldn't think.
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#88Great. Now we need a way to send IP packets over a mobile voice call (using the same principles used by old-fashioned modems).
This is very difficult because the carrier can/will apply various signal processing algorithms to voice streams, these will really screw with your modulated data.
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#89I know a way to use another mobile carrier's data network without paying for any service at all. I thought about making a mobile app to exploit it, but I know they'd probably just close the hole in a couple weeks. It would make a good first attempt at an Android app, though...
Re: Show HN: Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile) - browse the web without a data plan
#90Great. Now make an app that does the opposite :)