Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

beeper.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

801–810 of 902 posts

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

#801

Post by rezonant »

Youden wrote: post #787
jackjeff wrote: post #759

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But EU interoperability laws are cancelled out by DMCA (aka EUCD). That’s why reading a DVD with VLC has always been “technically” illegal. If Apple is able to update the protocol in such a way that it requires some kind of signed attestation from the secure enclave (basically a DRM) they’ll get legal protection. Also. Nobody uses iMessage in the EU. It’s all WhatsApp here. Blue bubbles are an American obsession.

The recently enacted DMA requires interoperability. Unless Apple wins its case against iMessage being classified as a gatekeeper service, it'll be required to support interoperability. I'd be surprised if tricks like hardware attestation were compliant, unless Apple allowed other companies' hardware.

Furthermore some implementations cannot provide hardware attestation, so it probably couldn't be limited to implementations which can, if the EU really means "interoperable"

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

#802

Post by rezonant »

cavisne wrote: post #687
bogwog wrote: post #296

This seems like it won't last, but it's AWESOME and I really hope you survive Apple's inevitable attempts to kill this. A universal chat application would be amazing, and will maybe help bring attention to the value of standards and interoperability (hopefully by governments/regulators).

The timing is potentially clever. Apple has committed to supporting RCS next year, and will face regulatory pressure in places like Europe. Even if short lived they could onboard a lot of Android users and then use RCS once it’s supported.

I wonder if these events are connected. Imagine Apple hearing through the grapevine that someone had a proper iMessage implementation and that they planned to release it for Android. Perhaps one way to get in front of that would be to commit to RCS. One could imagine the Nothing Phone events having the same cause.

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

#803

Post by rezonant »

toastal wrote: post #754
bogwog wrote: post #296

This seems like it won't last, but it's AWESOME and I really hope you survive Apple's inevitable attempts to kill this. A universal chat application would be amazing, and will maybe help bring attention to the value of standards and interoperability (hopefully by governments/regulators).

We had universal chat applications & standards and interoperability in the 2000s. Pidgin (et al.) + libpurple allowed users to use a singular application for chat--even the proprietary protocols. We also had (& still have) XMPP from that era which many of the big boys like Google jumped on, killed, then jumped off (EEE?). Are we just repeating history ( https://ploum.net/2023-06-23-how-to-kill-decentralised-netwo...…

This was never enough for me. On paper Pidgin did the trick, but you still had to remember which of your friends preferred which platform, you had multiple "friend" entries for the same person, many used silly pseudonyms that they certainly didn't go by IRL, you had no way to tell if your friends actually were monitoring each of their accounts (I uninstalled aim months ago, have you been sending me messages on it?), you couldn't have group conversations across networks without mental gymnastics or compromise, the features offered on each platform were inconsistent, both on their native apps and the features pidgin actually implemented.

That to me is not universal chat, that's just welding 10 chat apps into one, somewhat poorly.

That being said XMPP was well on the way to becoming something universally supported, and though the protocol itself was way more complicated and crufty than I'd like, it's a shame that Google particularly abandoned it for really no reason.

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

#804

Post by DeathArrow »

bogwog wrote: post #296

This seems like it won't last, but it's AWESOME and I really hope you survive Apple's inevitable attempts to kill this. A universal chat application would be amazing, and will maybe help bring attention to the value of standards and interoperability (hopefully by governments/regulators).

>A universal chat application would be amazing Can't Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram, Viber and other chat apps be installed on both Android and iOS?

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

#805

Post by lotsofpulp »

nicolas_17 wrote: post #714
chronicsonic wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its only now just arrived in beta on the iPad.

...what is the "it" that just arrived to the iPad?

I assume they meant WhatsApp :

https://wabetainfo.com/whatsapp-beta-for-ios-23-19-1-71-what...

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

#807

Post by redserk »

rezonant wrote: post #794
omeid2 wrote: post #755

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Protocols calcify when you don't control all the endpoints, consider the case in point, iMessage, it is seems like there is some security implications for spoofing iMessage for any random number, yet, apple's recourse is very limited if it can't update all the endpoints (devices). The same is also true, say about AirDrop, if apple makes it "Open" and they have to make a breaking change for security or whatever reason…

By that logic the Outlook for Windows team should be responsible for patching Gmail for Android. This argument is silly. You could use this line of reasoning to justify why all computers should use the same OS from the same vendor. Of course then you'd have a monoculture where implementation bugs that cause vulnerabilities are universally exploitable, instead of only exploitable on machines running that vendor's soft…

This isn’t uncommon at all when dealing with development that requires interoperability.

Far from it, actually.

If a part of your user base uses another service, you’ll inevitably have to add workarounds specifically to cater to users for that service. It’s just a fact of life when multiple groups have to implement a spec. If you aren’t willing to add workarounds, users will think your software is broken when they should be blaming someone else.

For example, Firefox maintains a few workarounds for websites that ship in the browser. They aren’t the web developers responsible for the sites but someone has to make it work.

Interoperability is not free.

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

#808

Post by rock_artist »

> We currently offer a 7 day free trial, afterwards there is a $1.99 per month subscription. Beeper Mini is available to download today with no waitlist.

> Our business model is simple - we build a great app and earn money from those who find value in it. We feel that this business model aligns our success with your goals. No ads. Complete data security and privacy. Plus, we’re incentivized to continue improving the app with new features and improvements.

So... Until a fully blown beeper with multiple services. This app basically is still a subscription based reversed engineered iMessage (unofficially) compatible client.

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

#810

Post by ryukoposting »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #789
joecool1029 wrote: post #770

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>what does this mean? Moxie (Signal's founder) has thrown fits in the past over the existence of third-party clients using their servers: https://github.com/libresignal/libresignal/issues/37#issueco...

By calling that a “fit” it sounds like you’ve an axe to grind. That was pretty damn polite for a heated mailing list discussion.

I use my own personal fork of the official Signal app (I absolutely despise the idea of going back to having a separate SMS app), so I do. Sort of.
Post reply on HN