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Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

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Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

#391

Post by immibis »

SamPatt wrote: post #376
sneak wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meshtastic barely works. There are only a few hundred nodes in Las Vegas and already the main public channels are at high utilization with almost no real end user traffic on it. I love the project and participate, but people mentioning stuff like this in response to buzzwords irritates me. Like ipfs it is a buzzword-driven curiosity, not a real solution to real problems that anyone has. Additionally, the meshtastic e…

IPFS used to be a real solution, we used it as the base layer for the decentralized marketplace OpenBazaar and it worked fairly well for that. I haven’t followed it in a few years though. IPNS, on the other hand...

I think of IPFS as a cross between HTTP and BitTorrent. Like BitTorrent it can seek a given dataset by some kind of hash, no matter where it's hosted; like HTTP it's more suitable for collections of small files.

In practice, it takes upwards of a whole minute to locate a file it's never seen before, so it's not terribly useful. It's better than nothing, but it's not terribly useful.

It's still cool that someone tried. IPFS is one in a long line of ideas that didn't really work. Occasionally some of these ideas have massive success, like the Internet, and Bitcoin.

Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

#393

Post by [deleted] »

subscribed wrote: post #370
toast0 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite likely, but then you need to carry that radio. And probably still carry a phone in case you split up and want to communicate.

You raised reliability issue, you've got a solution, now you're moving a goalpost and raising a convenience argument. Decide which one is it. PS Motorola talkabout T62 or T42 - small, light, reliable. Retevis h777: sturdy, reliable. You can just drop them in the bag.

[deleted]

Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

#394

Post by rtkwe »

molszanski wrote: post #202

I've tried a couple of apps like that with use case of communicating during festivals with next-to-none wifi/cell service with a big group of people. None of them worked. Fingers crossed for this one

Checkout Meshtastic nodes you can get them pretty cheaply at 30-40 USD each and get way better ranges than BTLE.

Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

#397

Post by bigyabai »

conqueso wrote: post #359
bigyabai wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the damage will be somewhat limited if it can't use private APIs. That's a runtime feature, it has nothing to do with the App Store.

App Store only allows apps not using those runtime features

...which is enforced at a system level. The App Store is not mandatory for giving users control over app entitlements.

Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

#398

Post by davidhyde »

subscribed wrote: post #364
driverdan wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd guess you're not getting downloads because you're not marketing it to people who want it. You mention a few use cases at the end of the short description and that's it. For example, this completes with motorcycle communicators such as Sena. That dedicated hardware can be over $400. If your app is as easy to use as a Sena device and you market it to bikers looking for a cheaper alternative you'll get users.

LOL, no. You can't even hear a ok quality music further than 20 metres away. Class 2 devices (smartphones) have maximum theoretical range of 30 metres with 2.4mW (4dBm). Sena or Cardo work in 2.4 Ghz (ISM) range as well, but as a class 1 devices, which with 100mW (20 dBm), they can allow for maximum range in excess of 1 mile . I'd use Walkie - talkies (PMR 446 MHz, about half of a mile of the range in the town) befor…

Bluetooth LE which most smartphones support today is quite a bit different from Bluetooth classic. It typically runs at 1 or 2 Mbps and can trade bandwidth for error correction to get some impressive range. For example, this guy got 1.6 miles at 8dbm transmission power. https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nordic-blog/b/blog/pos...

The audio codec on ble is more modern too.

> “You can't even hear a ok quality music further than 20 metres away” That smells like the SBC codec running on Bluetooth classic to me. Very different tech.

Re: Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

#400

Post by immibis »

apetresc wrote: post #368
__MatrixMan__ wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you're at a protest and the government shuts off the internet in response to the protest. It's happening right now in Togo, has been for ten days ( https://pulse.internetsociety.org/en/shutdowns/ ).

I dunno, that still sounds like a perfect use case for a third-party app like the one this post is about. I'm not sure government crackdowns are a core enough experience that it needs a first-party app from Apple.

They happen regularly in the USA and Europe now.
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