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Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

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Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#701

Post by canada_dry »

dylan604 wrote: post #516
chatmasta wrote: post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the finer legal points matter too much. If Apple wants to sue them, they'll sue them, regardless of legal merit. And I suspect Beeper is betting they can make their case from a more philosophical angle, such that it's irrelevant what grounds Apple cites when suing them. Beeper will fight it either way. I'm an Apple user who has no need for this app. But I really appreciate that Beeper has the balls to r…

>Beeper will fight it either way. That sounds nice and all, but what happens when the first bill comes due from their legal team?

The Streisand effect will certainly boost enrollment if Apple sues.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#702

Post by captn3m0 »

sneak wrote: post #662
graphe wrote: post #661

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was tried by apple. https://www.engadget.com/apple-drops-its-lawsuit-against-a-m...

Emulation software isn’t wholly original as it needs firmware and software from the device so emulated. An iPhone emulator with no bootrom and no iOS isn’t very useful. An open source client for an API need not include any non-original works.

There is a very useful iPhone emulator with no bootrom and no iOS: https://touchhle.org/

It targets games, so manages to be useful without having to emulate or re-implement the majority of the OS.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#704

Post by mardef »

brokencode wrote: post #568
Domenic_S wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iMessage is just too important to modern text communication to be as locked down as it is. What do you mean; if a private company creates something, and enough people buy/use it, at some point it becomes a common good? I like the idea of iMessage being open, but I don't like the idea of forcing Apple under government threat to open it

I don’t know what you mean by “common good” in this context, but if a company has a dominant market position and uses its power to cripple competition, then it falls within antitrust laws. iMessage is so important today, especially to young Americans, that its exclusivity to iOS has become a significant barrier to Android or other operating systems from being competitive. It’s up to regulators and the court system to…

I feel so old. What is it that I'm missing out in iMessage that is so important?

Honest question, I've been texting since t9 and have never owned an Apple device.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#705

Post by __MatrixMan__ »

sneak wrote: post #643
smashah wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever received C&D for your work? There's a big problem of OSS projects being TOS-trolled by billion dollar companies and having to shut down out of fear.

What would they demand they cease doing? Publishing software? If the use of this software is against their rights in some way, the end users running it would be the ones in violation. Publishing original software is protected expression.

Tell that to Alexey Pertsev.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#706

Post by lxgr »

sneak wrote: post #643
smashah wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever received C&D for your work? There's a big problem of OSS projects being TOS-trolled by billion dollar companies and having to shut down out of fear.

What would they demand they cease doing? Publishing software? If the use of this software is against their rights in some way, the end users running it would be the ones in violation. Publishing original software is protected expression.

One prominent counterexample to this thesis is DRM circumvention software, which regularly gets taken down via DMCA notices. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple even invokes that particular law.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#708

Post by lxgr »

sneak wrote: post #662
graphe wrote: post #661

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was tried by apple. https://www.engadget.com/apple-drops-its-lawsuit-against-a-m...

Emulation software isn’t wholly original as it needs firmware and software from the device so emulated. An iPhone emulator with no bootrom and no iOS isn’t very useful. An open source client for an API need not include any non-original works.

Depends on whether you consider a private key an "original work": https://github.com/JJTech0130/pypush/blob/main/albert.py#L16

The situation seems very similar to the AACS key leak back in the day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACS_encryption_key_controvers...

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#709

Post by lelandbatey »

rootusrootus wrote: post #261
jpalawaga wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not weird. It might be weird in your eyes, but given how much exclusionary behaviour I've seen based on bubble colour, it's not weird in the slightest. I'd like to believe that apple supporting RCS will magically fix the whole 'green bubble/blue bubble' thing but I'm bearish as it seems to be more a cult thing than anything to do with functionality (I say this as an iMessage user). And please, spare me the trite…

> And please, spare me the trite 'get new friends' comment. Wow, okay then. Anyway, I'd argue that the bubble color serves a useful purpose. At this point I definitely want to know whether someone I'm talking to is SMS or iMessage, because there's a meaningful difference in capability that will affect choices I make (like how to get pictures or video to them). Whether it's colored bubbles or something else, it's goin…

I mean, the way everyone else solves this problem is by having an SMS app and a "proprietary messaging platform". Cramming them together in order to increase adoption of the proprietary thing is definitely a... choice.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#710

Post by reiichiroh »

andygeorge wrote: post #443
solardev wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Apple needs an even blue-r bubble to set apart the super attested users from the mere blue bubble peasants

they could call it "apple blue" and charge a few bucks a month for it. People love that stuff

I’d pay for a blue Apple checkmark!
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