Live data from Hacker News

OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

github.com

111–120 of 231 posts

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#111
post #35

Interestingly the article on the bottom links to a Usenix 2019 (held Aug 14 - 16) paper with the title "A Billion Open Interfaces for Eve and Mallory: MitM, DoS, and Tracking Attacks on iOS and macOS Through Apple Wireless Direct Link" Abstract: "Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) is a key protocol in Apple's ecosystem used by over one billion iOS and macOS devices for device-to-device communications. AWDL is a propri…

FOSS may have downsides, for instance it's free, but doesn't have iTunes built in. I consider both of these advantages, but some users don't. I consider the benefits of open source far exceeds the perceived benefits of Apple's Ecosystem. Maybe as developers it's important to teach our Apple Peers the problems they perpetuate by paying for walled gardens.

What about your apple peer developers, who have made a deliberate and conscious choice to use Apple devices in their day to day life, and stable open source solutions in production / deployment environments?

Some of us used to live in the FOSS garden, and decided to trade extra money in exchange for receiving a lot of time back and a shiny finish. Everyones values vary.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#112
post #103
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, Apple's market share is around 11%, so only 89%(ish) of smartphones. Not 100%, and doesn't include desktops / laptops / etc. Still, about 8x better than AirDrop!

Anything that excludes 11% of the market isn't universal at all though, which was the OP's original request.

Especially when that 11% is a particularly vocal and active part of the market.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rather than the google solution suggested by a sibling comment, I’d suggest a look at send.firefox.com.

I just wish they'd hurry up and make the android app useable. I signed up for the beta and was pretty disappointed as my uploads were cancelled if my screen locked or, horribly enough, rotated ...

I never understood coders who don't separate UI threads and network calls - which is exactly what it sounds like is happening, here.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#114
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rather than the google solution suggested by a sibling comment, I’d suggest a look at send.firefox.com.

Send.firefox.com sends files over the internet, not peer-to-peer. If you're somewhere with poor (or no) network connectivity you can still use Google Files or AirDrop (I believe, not 100% sure on AirDrop).

That is correct, AirDrop works without Internet. It's unfortunate that Google and Apple have created these respective systems with no cross-compatibility. There's really no technological reason for it, but an obvious business reason.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#115
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rather than the google solution suggested by a sibling comment, I’d suggest a look at send.firefox.com.

Send.firefox.com sends files over the internet, not peer-to-peer. If you're somewhere with poor (or no) network connectivity you can still use Google Files or AirDrop (I believe, not 100% sure on AirDrop).

I used AirDrop on an airplane at cruising altitude over the ocean, with no onboard wifi available. It worked just as perfectly as it did at home.

The pilot had taken a video of the Falcon 9 second stage separating from the first on its first launch that docked with the ISS. He then walked through the cabin sharing with anyone that was interested.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#116
post #14

Could this technology be used to create a "shadow" internet/network/messaging service where devices connect and communicate directly with each other. This way governments can't just block internet access or services during demonstrations.

> this technology XMPP over Zeroconf ( https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0174.html ) has already existed for many years and at least previously has been trivial to enable on Ubuntu (I haven't tried it recently).

Requires an underlying network infrastructure to communicate over. Not quite the same as disparate peer to peer wireless mesh.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#117
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Send.firefox.com sends files over the internet, not peer-to-peer. If you're somewhere with poor (or no) network connectivity you can still use Google Files or AirDrop (I believe, not 100% sure on AirDrop).

I used AirDrop on an airplane at cruising altitude over the ocean, with no onboard wifi available. It worked just as perfectly as it did at home. The pilot had taken a video of the Falcon 9 second stage separating from the first on its first launch that docked with the ISS. He then walked through the cabin sharing with anyone that was interested.

That's awesome!

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#118
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t hep but think that these seemingly numerous security flaws are a product of proprietary software development. There is the old “many eyes” idea for software bugs, but even on a standards level. Did Apple not send out an RFC? Isn’t this type of architectural level screw up exactly what you want to avoid with an RFC? I’m glad Apple are taking the privacy issue to heart, but for every inch we’ve won in privacy,…

The “many eyes” hypothesis is routinely debunked when severe security bugs are found in things like the Linux kernel that have been there for years. The same is true for standards that end up being fundamentally broken at later dates. In the end software and hardware is so overly complicated that we cannot currently build secure systems.

Complexity counteracts the many eyes principle. That doesn't invalidate it. A large codebase that is difficult for one person to read will bury a bug for the same reason being open source reveals it.

What you're falling to is the selection bias because bugs in open source software are more often publicised than when a private team discovers something and patches it without telling anyone. Same as an open source bug being fixed quietly. Like the so-called VLC vulnerability that turned out to be the fault of the tester's out of date system library that had already been fixed upstream.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#119
post #39

I'm guessing someone will take a $10 esp32 chip and put this code on it and just drop the esp32 in some hidden location and it just sending images to any open airdrop that passes by.

I had it a couple times in trains that people tried airdropping me porn when I forgot to turn it off

Good things never happen to me.

Re: OpenDrop: An Open Source AirDrop Implementation

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to make it more obvious: You don’t have to self host it, there is a free (no registration) Version deployed at https://sharedrop.io Works perfect between IOS, Android, Linux, MacOS and Windows.

Why does it need firebase? That doesn't seem to tic the "not-google" box. :-)

FilePizza also uses WebRTC without Firebase - https://file.pizza/
Post reply on HN