Now someone build it on the AT protocol and call it bitchAT
Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
271–280 of 457 posts
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#272A bit different, as it's mainly for voice - but I made an app 'Murmur : Bluetooth Group Calls' - that lets you hold group voice calls and message via a mesh of Bluetooth LE connections. It's available on Android and iOS. https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/murmur-bluetooth-group-calls/i... Doesn't really get any downloads, so not sure there's much demand for this - but I use it with some shokz bone conducting headphones fo…
Cool technology, but what is the usecase? I can imagine traveling abroad without a sim and using it as described. But is it any better than using the cellular network (when you have access to it)?
Cardo uses a similar tech for a dynamic mesh network, using Bluetooth I think, in their helmet comms. So if you are out on motorcycles or ATVs you can still talk without needing a cellular network. It makes things a lot more stable and not use any data. In these scenarios you'd struggle to talk face to face wearing helmets without some sort of comm.
So if you can remove the need to buy a specialized comm device to do it, sounds great.
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your country shuts off Internet access for demonstrations this would work great.
I guess it depends on the authoritarian government, but a sufficiently powerful one will get the app taken down or get the bluetooth features it relies on disabled (like for airdrop in China) :/ I would say that the underlying issue is that people do not really "own" their devices and the corporations that do are vulnerable to (or complicit in) state coercion. You cannot truly have freedom on a non-free device, you c…
wait timeout... airdrop is disabled in china?!
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#274I’ve been toying with a concept inspired by Apple’s Find My network: Imagine a decentralized, delay-tolerant messaging system where messages hop device-to-device (e.g., via Bluetooth, UWB, Wi-Fi Direct), similar to how “Find My” relays location via nearby iPhones. Now add a twist: • Senders pay a small fee to send a message. • Relaying devices earn a micro-payment (could be tokens, sats, etc.) for carrying the messag…
that was basically Rumble an app I developped 10 years ago:
https://github.com/Marlinski/Rumble
I worked the field both academic and startup, I even made one of the first implementation of the Bundle protocol for store carry and forward (IETF transport protocol for the deep space network RFC9171).
Turns out the Mobile OS are making this kind of communication nearly impossible. To work well, it basically needs background job (automatic scan of nearby ble/wifi/radio) and automatic connection without user interaction (imagine being prompted to accept a connection every time you pass by someone), both have been basically made impossible (especially after covid).
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#275I’ve been toying with a concept inspired by Apple’s Find My network: Imagine a decentralized, delay-tolerant messaging system where messages hop device-to-device (e.g., via Bluetooth, UWB, Wi-Fi Direct), similar to how “Find My” relays location via nearby iPhones. Now add a twist: • Senders pay a small fee to send a message. • Relaying devices earn a micro-payment (could be tokens, sats, etc.) for carrying the messag…
I once saw a paper showing that if you don't mind hours of latency, and your nodes are mobile, then a network like that scales linearly with the number of nodes. So at least you won't have to worry about congestion.
(The paper was linked from internet co-inventor David Reed's open spectrum site, which appears to be gone now.)
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#276hope this does well. We see people trying again and again like FireChat or Berty it seems that it works for a bit with some devices but then Apple & Google make updates and the app dies.
In general mobile app development seems to be very maintanence heavy
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#277Looks like we have a new mesh comms solution every two weeks or so.
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
To claim payment for services too. You've created a new problem that does nothing to solve the original problem.
I gather you aren’t familiar very well with smart contracts, are you?
More familiar than you can imagine. The fact that you think smart contracts are what are needed to solve a decentralized communications problem suggests that you've learnt a new hammer and everything now looks like a nail to you.
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is already mostly done. Participate in the development of Reticulum. Install the app Sideband on your Smartphone or other device. Sideband is a chat app that uses LXMF. LXMF is a messaging protocol based on Reticulum. Reticulum is a full network stack that is decentralized and transport layer agnostic. What we need for your vision is LoRa modems integrated in our phones. Or just a bluetooth mesh interface for Re…
exactly! using your phone which knows when you are going to toilet, and shares that with advertisers, for "super secret communications" ? makes no sense. (YES APPLE DOES THAT TOO)
USA is in war with china right now. Companies and governments have different priorities in war.
Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks
#280Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I think it would be interesting if someone could invent a stable coin cryptocurrency with low overhead Like the US dollar and Postgres? For like $200 anyone can start a business entity in the US with a tax ID and a bank, I’m still yet to understand how crypto is better other than for circumventing regulators
Cryptocurrency transfers are irreversible, publicly verifiable and pseudonymous. For a privacy focused application, these attributes make crypto a better choice than USD and the traditional banking system.
Only pseudonymous so far as you never accidentally link yourself to a wallet then everyone can know your entire transfer/spending history. It gets people all the time just look at the investigations into various alt coin rug pulls or other fraud.
Irreversible is also not a good thing just ask anyone who had their NFTs stolen during that craze. If someone hacks my bank account or skims my card and transfers the money out the bank can reverse a lot of those transactions. Irreversibility wipes out decades of consumer protection advances.