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Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

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Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#101

Post by tjohns »

darksim905 wrote: post #91
tjohns wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Messages send quickly and reliably, even under poor and sometimes hostile network conditions. Telegram just seems to work even when other chat apps struggle. - Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement. - You can have the client open on essentially unlimited devices simultaneously, including a web app if you need…

- Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement. --- What? When you register, I'm pretty sure it requires putting in a phone number that preferably isn't a VoIP line and not a username. It's been that way any time I've tried to use the service on mobile. Scheduled messages have been a thing for a long time on Signal, b…

Yes, you need to register with a phone number, but publicly you'll show up as your @username and that's how most people will interact with you.

And I agree, I think yours is an accurate assessment. Telegram is indeed much more community centric.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#102

Post by victorbjorklund »

wronex wrote: post #50
Peanuts99 wrote: post #46

The more I learn about telegram, the sketchier it seems.

Agreed. I don’t see the appeal compared to Signal. Although, Signal is also sketchy with an operating cost in the tens of millions of dollars per year. Where does the money come from?

1) more users 2) bots

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#103

Post by MC995 »

darksim905 wrote: post #91
tjohns wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Messages send quickly and reliably, even under poor and sometimes hostile network conditions. Telegram just seems to work even when other chat apps struggle. - Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement. - You can have the client open on essentially unlimited devices simultaneously, including a web app if you need…

- Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement. --- What? When you register, I'm pretty sure it requires putting in a phone number that preferably isn't a VoIP line and not a username. It's been that way any time I've tried to use the service on mobile. Scheduled messages have been a thing for a long time on Signal, b…

Signing up for an account requires a phone number, but you can keep that hidden from other uses and use the username for everything.

It lets you keep your number private from everyone else you're chatting with.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#104

Post by tapland »

darksim905 wrote: post #90
mdasen wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll add: - Telegram had usernames in 2014 before Signal added them a decade later, allowing people to chat without sharing their phone number - Telegram has unencrypted chats which allow for giant chat rooms of 200,000+ and channels with millions of subscribers. Signal warns about performance issues when you have more than 150 people in a group. Telegram isn't just a messenger - it's often used as a social publishin…

I can't say that I've ever seen genuine uses like this that you mention unless it's a 'community' for adult content or sketchy content. Is this that common?

It's usually where i get news about custom LineageOS builds for various devices

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#105

Post by Aachen »

Aachen wrote: post #67
wronex wrote: post #49

Are people still using Telegram? What is the upside compared to Signal?

Calling/ringing works reliably. My gf usually calls via Telegram to notify me and then we call via Signal Signal can't do live location sharing Code blocks (let alone syntax highlighting) was the first thing my friend ran into after switching last week In general, formatting on Telegram is a lot more versatile with >quote blocks that show up formatted as quotes and inline links without needing to have a giant message…

Hah, literally seconds after the edit window ran out, I thought of an advantage of Signal's, edited it in, and HN rejected it due to post age. It is: Signal lets you add any emoji reaction you want without paying for premium

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#106

Post by Aachen »

Perz1val wrote: post #36
hkpack wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does heavily encrypted even mean? Fully encrypted? Slightly encrypted? Encrypted enough to call it “heavily encrypted” but not enough to be protected from whoever is interested?

Heavily means the key is large so it takes longer to crack, but also longer to encrypt/decrypt, so the service is more costly to run and slower. At least I've seen it used that way

It's not slow though so that's clearly not it. It's just a marketing intensifier here

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#107

Post by Aachen »

overallduka wrote: post #22
hhh wrote: post #6

something smells suspicious about this kind of data routing

The Lex Fridman podcast episode with Pavel Durov is worth listening to. Their servers are built to be very secure — of course, it would be different for others, and they use some clever tricks

Very secure but not investing in rolling out this mtproto they went through so much trouble to invent, nor making it usable by implementing device sync or all the other features normal chats have. Why does it smell like fish all of a sudden?

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#108

Post by Krasnol »

econ wrote: post #73
Krasnol wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds more like your personal problem. I live in Germany and use both. None do that and as I'm "the IT guy" for many people at work an din private, I'd have heard about it. Hell, the whole continent would have heard about it as whatsapp is widely used. My Signal also doesn't do that.

Since the whatsapp cliënt on desktop was replaced by a web wrapper it's even worse. I don't even remember how the previous cliënt did it but my spelling suggestions are in English (as is the OS) but my chats are all in Dutch. Most words have a red underline. It recently gave up downloading images. Turned out it was no longer allowed to write to its own folder. Not sure if this should be blamed on MS but from the (man…

I agree on all the content related things but your argument was about speed.

I use whatsapp web every day at work. The page. In my Firefox browser. It's almost constantly open. Never had any issues with that. The phone app just does what it's supposed to do and even on my Pixel6, it's just fast. I mean there is always faster but it's not even a second.

I use Whatsapp only because I have to. Privately, I prefer Signal. Works also great. Same with the windows app. Been using both since day 1. On a Pixel7Pro....

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#109

Post by Krasnol »

opem wrote: post #85
Krasnol wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds more like your personal problem. I live in Germany and use both. None do that and as I'm "the IT guy" for many people at work an din private, I'd have heard about it. Hell, the whole continent would have heard about it as whatsapp is widely used. My Signal also doesn't do that.

Not at all, telegram clients in every platform are much much faster than whatsapp, signal etc. on the same platform. Although, this is more visible on older devices and on poor network conditions, I clearly see a difference in my newer devices too.

Could you give me one for Android which is really fast? I'd try that out on a phone with whatsapp and signal.

Also, what does "fast" mean? Fast on start?

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