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Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

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Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#131

Post by smitty1110 »

eertami wrote: post #8
bmitc wrote: post #4

Having switched back to Android, it can be infuriating dealing with iPhone users. I get slammed with "messages" when someone reacts to a message and oftentimes, messages just don't show up or messages go to my iPad and not my phone. Apple makes this extremely confusing. The iPhone users never know of their message goes through or what they're actually sending to (my iCloud account or my phone number).

Having lived all over the world, but not the US, I don't think I've sent or received an SMS/text message once in the last decade (except for bad 2FA implementations). Apple's weird and semi-transparent (to the user) hybrid system of mixing a proprietary web protocol and SMS in the same app is obviously problematic, and the rest of the world moved on to other messaging services, but it's weird that the US is still stu…

A lot of people have forgotten that iMessage was really the original killer app for the iPhone, as a side effect of how terrible US carriers were in the late 00's early 10's. You used to get a handful of txt messages a month, basically no MMS messages a month, and if you went over you got an overage fee, and still had to buy the 20 message package. MMS messages were more than a dollar each! But WiFi had become common both in the office and at home, and there wer unlimited data plans (with no SMS or MMS) that could be bought for reasonable prices.

iMessage bypassed the carrier tax, It's that simple. That's why it became popular, and that's why the network effects working against Whats App, Signal, and others are so strong. And it's why there's skepticism towards the standards that Google and carriers are pushing for, because a lot of people don't remember the carriers' business practices very fondly.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#132

Post by frosted-flakes »

Longhanks wrote: post #123
foepys wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This will improve once the EU's Digital Markets Act takes full effect on 2024-03-06 and will force Apple to cooperate with other chat providers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Markets_Act

Ah, just like the famous EU cookie policy suddenly made the internet a better place, right? Just like websites, which have become a pain in the ass, making the opt-out just painful enough so that 99% of users just click "track me anyway", this will have exactly zero positive influence. The EU just doesn’t "get" the internet. Even worse, most websites now even have explicit consent to actually track visitors. Apple is…

Are you really complaining about GDPR? The cookie law is a farce, but the protections that GDPR provides to consumers are by no means onerous to businesses.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#133

Post by smoldesu »

rootusrootus wrote: post #70
015a wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Refusing to implement a closed-box proprietary connection like CarPlay, and experiencing a degradation of service because the service provider limits the capabilities of cheaper, simpler, and more open protocols, isn't a Tesla problem; its an Apple problem. Imagine if Google suddenly started forcing people to use the Gmail app to send multi-recipient emails, such that the Apple Mail app over IMAP could only send to o…

My frustrations with the Tesla app are 100% about the poor UI and voice interaction, not the inability to send multi-recipient text messages from the car. The degradation has nothing to do with any limitation by Apple or its API, but rather Tesla's choice to lock users out of two well-established mobile platforms. Why do you feel like Tesla is the good guy here, they have the smallest, most exclusive, least open gard…

> degradation has nothing to do with any limitation by Apple or its API, but rather Tesla's choice to lock users out of two well-established mobile platforms

Tesla made no such choice. They built their own platform, and now Apple doesn't want to work with them. You can decide for yourself whether that's right or not, but that's the side-effect of reinforcing walled gardens. It's no different than Apple forcing developers to work with them proactively.

> Why do you feel like Tesla is the good guy here

Because Apple is the bigger company, but they still act like the little guy. I'll never buy a Tesla out of principle, but it's your fault for backing yourself into a situation where you see corporations as good guys and bad guys. Both Apple and Tesla worship the same dollar, there is no lesser evil to speak of here.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#134

Post by scarface74 »

withinrafael wrote: post #110
scarface74 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes because all other messaging protocols allow any random third party to attach to their service. Microsoft is using an 8 year old documented iOS API.

Which API? (Genuinely curious, thanks in advance!)

I just know there is one that smartwatches used before the Apple Watch was introduced. It allows third party watches to receive notifications.

Others are thinking MS is just using the standard BT profile for messages that all modern cellphones support

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#135

Post by philistine »

WorldMaker wrote: post #78
Steltek wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't see them loosening access to iMessage willingly. It's like the App Store: a moat to keep users confined to the Apple ecosystem. Allowing users choice and freedom is anathema to Apple's business model.

Apple seems to be on friendlier terms with Windows these days. Their apps are getting better on Windows, and they are looking to support their PassKey infrastructure on Windows. With paid subscription services like Apple TV and Apple Music they have an increasing reason to support all of a user's devices and mixed ecosystem devices are statistically the norm. iMessage is not its own subscription service yet , but the…

The strongest arugement I heard that Apple will not open iMessage to other platforms at this point is spam-prevention. When was the last time you received a spam iMessage compared to an SMS? That spam prevention hinges on real Apple hardware.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#137

Post by tomatocracy »

dixie_land wrote: post #28
delta_p_delta_x wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lots of iPhones in the US because of high incomes, and high iPhone availability The US is not the only country with a wealthy populace which tends to use mostly iPhones. The UK, Germany, Switzerland, the Baltics, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan are all roughly equally as wealthy (if not more so) per capita. However, in literally everywhere else but the US , people almost exclusively use third-party apps l…

One of reasons WeChat and WhatsApp became popular in low income countries first, was that in those countries SMS were/are charged PER MESSAGE

International SMS charges and ability to send photos without very high MMS charges were also a big driver of WhatsApp uptake - in the UK individual SMS charges had basically gone before WhatsApp came along but those two reasons were why my friendship group moved to it.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#138

Post by piperswe »

Longhanks wrote: post #125
015a wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Refusing to implement a closed-box proprietary connection like CarPlay, and experiencing a degradation of service because the service provider limits the capabilities of cheaper, simpler, and more open protocols, isn't a Tesla problem; its an Apple problem. Imagine if Google suddenly started forcing people to use the Gmail app to send multi-recipient emails, such that the Apple Mail app over IMAP could only send to o…

Maybe, perhaps Tesla‘s infotainment is actually usable, I haven’t touched a Tesla, so I can’t tell. But for all infotainment systems I have touched, which is most VW, BMW, Mercedes and Audi systems, CarPlay is a godsend, and I refuse to even consider recommending any car that does not ship it.

I don't have the best opinion of Teslas as a whole after owning one for a year, but I will say the infotainment system is one of the most usable of any I've tried. I didn't really find myself wishing I had CarPlay too much.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#139

Post by WorldMaker »

philistine wrote: post #135
WorldMaker wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple seems to be on friendlier terms with Windows these days. Their apps are getting better on Windows, and they are looking to support their PassKey infrastructure on Windows. With paid subscription services like Apple TV and Apple Music they have an increasing reason to support all of a user's devices and mixed ecosystem devices are statistically the norm. iMessage is not its own subscription service yet , but the…

The strongest arugement I heard that Apple will not open iMessage to other platforms at this point is spam-prevention. When was the last time you received a spam iMessage compared to an SMS? That spam prevention hinges on real Apple hardware.

Outside of political spam, I receive far more iMessage spam than SMS spam.

Re: Microsoft somehow brings iMessage to Windows – will it last?

#140

Post by piperswe »

philistine wrote: post #135
WorldMaker wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple seems to be on friendlier terms with Windows these days. Their apps are getting better on Windows, and they are looking to support their PassKey infrastructure on Windows. With paid subscription services like Apple TV and Apple Music they have an increasing reason to support all of a user's devices and mixed ecosystem devices are statistically the norm. iMessage is not its own subscription service yet , but the…

The strongest arugement I heard that Apple will not open iMessage to other platforms at this point is spam-prevention. When was the last time you received a spam iMessage compared to an SMS? That spam prevention hinges on real Apple hardware.

I would at least be content with Apple allowing an iPhone to be tethered to a Windows iMessage app through an official channel, similar to how Signal Desktop works.
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