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Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

payload.app

11–20 of 33 posts

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#11
Looks awesome! But I have to ask, if all file transfers are being done locally, why the end to end encryption?

A user would have much bigger problems if their LAN has been compromised. I assume turning off the encryption would speed up the transfers, especially if moving things between rusty disks.

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#12

Looks awesome! But I have to ask, if all file transfers are being done locally, why the end to end encryption? A user would have much bigger problems if their LAN has been compromised. I assume turning off the encryption would speed up the transfers, especially if moving things between rusty disks.

Maybe it's good for public places like cafes and offices?

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#15

Sounds like a handy utility, even in an all-Mac household. I'm fed up with this Mac mysteriously not being able to see that one on the same router when browsing the network with Finder... despite the fact that THAT one can see THIS one.

I'm having the exact same problem, AirDrop used to be so reliable now I can't see one device from the other one most of the time

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#16
post #8
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Short answer: ease of use. Setting up shared folders cross-platform is non-trivial for the average person. The long answer is that transfers and shared storage are fundamentally different use-cases (imo). Shared storage usually means you grant and revoke access to a subdir (ACLs), which are (1) often overly permissive and (2) exposes a file structure that isn't necessary for the other side. Transfers OTOH is an ephem…

> Setting up shared folders cross-platform is non-trivial for the average person It's nontrivial for me either. Until Windows got a native SSH client, it was the same problem every time: do I install like an FTP server somewhere and use Explorer, or set up a samba server on my linux box or how even do I copy more than a few megabytes... I don't understand how normal people can do this if even I have trouble, especial…

Device to device (PCs, tablets, phones) file sharing within the Apple ecosystem is relatively easy, even with strangers if you set your airdrop to ‘everyone’.

I’m not aware of a Windows version of this that “just works”. SMB has a lot of weird error edge cases, especially when firewalls are involved. I’ve used the Win10+ OpenSSH service to transfer files a number of times, myself.

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#17

Sounds like a handy utility, even in an all-Mac household. I'm fed up with this Mac mysteriously not being able to see that one on the same router when browsing the network with Finder... despite the fact that THAT one can see THIS one.

I'm having the exact same problem, AirDrop used to be so reliable now I can't see one device from the other one most of the time

Matches my experiences too, airdrop has been quite flaky but I'm not sure exactly why. (Of course that could happen with payload too but so far it's been reliable in all home LANs I've tested in.)

Another feature that you may enjoy is if you close the lid or have to rush out in the middle of a large transfer, payload resumes automatically. You can also queue a transfer to an offline device. I'm also planning to add system sleep prevention during transfers.

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#18

Looks awesome! But I have to ask, if all file transfers are being done locally, why the end to end encryption? A user would have much bigger problems if their LAN has been compromised. I assume turning off the encryption would speed up the transfers, especially if moving things between rusty disks.

Rusty disks are slower than any modern symmetric encryption.

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#19

Looks awesome! But I have to ask, if all file transfers are being done locally, why the end to end encryption? A user would have much bigger problems if their LAN has been compromised. I assume turning off the encryption would speed up the transfers, especially if moving things between rusty disks.

Thank you!

Encryption shouldn't bottleneck a CPU (I think), and why would disk performance matter? Only the transmission is encrypted.

Anyway.. Your point still stands. The true answer is a combination of "why not" and I'd like to extend outside of LANs in the future.

Re: Show HN: Payload – Cross-platform desktop app for LAN file transfers

#20
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks a ton for trying out! I get >100 MB/s between my M1 and Windows machine (with significantly worse specs than yours) so this was a cold shower. Can I ask: - Did you transfer a large e.g. a large directory (I haven't optimized for large amount of files) or just a single file? If so, was that file large enough to let the speed ramp up? - Did you happen to notice high CPU or memory usage during the transfer? Expec…

Why use QUIC in LAN?

Good Q. I wanted to have QUIC for future NAT traversal plans, so I put it in the net stack to keep my architecture in check and not overfit to TCP. Today, Quic is just a fallback though.
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