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iMessage, explained

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Re: iMessage, explained

#51

Post by selykg »

ianlevesque wrote: post #49
jowea wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get it and it may be true in this case that Apple can too easily pull the plug, adversarial interoperability has a long history: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interopera...

The messaging space also had the amazing Adium client during the last round of messaging wars, and less amazing Trillian as reverse engineered clients distributed or sold. I for one am excited to see this space heating back up.

Trillian used to be amazing. It is up there in my memory as about as life changing as Winamp was for me personally.

Re: iMessage, explained

#52

Post by dmz73 »

bobchadwick wrote: post #15
beretguy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A much more major issue with Macs is planned obsolescence. It’s the only reason I am not buying any Macs.

My late-2013 MacBook Pro recently gave up the ghost. I'd used it daily in the ten years it worked. Are there other PC manufacturers who make laptops that are still useable after ten years?

Apple hardware is mediocre at best. 2020 MacBook Air with i5 is unbearably slow. I have Samsung ATIV 700T with i5 from 2014 and it feels much faster than 2020 i5 MacBook. You can now say that it is the problem with Intel and that M1-2-3 are so much better but I have some Intel i7 laptops from 2016 and 2021 and they also blow Intel Mac away in speed and reliability and are comparable in speed with M2 that is sitting next to 2020 Mac. 2 other older MacBooks are falling apart (2009 and G4) wheres even older Dells and comparable HPs are still feeling robust...and are used more than decrepit Apple hardware.

Re: iMessage, explained

#54

Post by Longhanks »

xg15 wrote: post #40

> When making an IDS registration request, a binary blob called “validation data” is required. This is essentially Apple’s verification mechanism to make sure that non-Apple devices cannot use iMessage. I wonder, will this be in violation of the EU's DSA and/or DMA once they are in force?

DSA and DMA do not magically grant you the permission to do whatever you want with Apple's servers, nor force they Apple into having to serve any particular valid response to the requests you make.

In whatever way Apple is going to comply with DSA and DMA, this ain't it.

Re: iMessage, explained

#55

Post by dinobones »

Reverse engineering iMessage has been touted as some holy grail meme for what... 10+ years now?

So proud that a high school student was the one to finally figure it out.

In a world of 100s of thousands of software engineers, "Cybersecurtiy professionals", and so on.

A kid with almost no credentials out-innovates everyone because they have talent and focus. Literally HackerNews! My favorite kind of news.

Re: iMessage, explained

#58

Post by panzi »

ianlevesque wrote: post #49
jowea wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get it and it may be true in this case that Apple can too easily pull the plug, adversarial interoperability has a long history: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interopera...

The messaging space also had the amazing Adium client during the last round of messaging wars, and less amazing Trillian as reverse engineered clients distributed or sold. I for one am excited to see this space heating back up.

And Miranda and Kopete and more. Might have used them all at some point.

Re: iMessage, explained

#59

Post by [deleted] »

dinobones wrote: post #55

Reverse engineering iMessage has been touted as some holy grail meme for what... 10+ years now? So proud that a high school student was the one to finally figure it out. In a world of 100s of thousands of software engineers, "Cybersecurtiy professionals", and so on. A kid with almost no credentials out-innovates everyone because they have talent and focus. Literally Hacker News! My favorite kind of news.

[deleted]

Re: iMessage, explained

#60

Post by xg15 »

Longhanks wrote: post #54
xg15 wrote: post #40

> When making an IDS registration request, a binary blob called “validation data” is required. This is essentially Apple’s verification mechanism to make sure that non-Apple devices cannot use iMessage. I wonder, will this be in violation of the EU's DSA and/or DMA once they are in force?

DSA and DMA do not magically grant you the permission to do whatever you want with Apple's servers, nor force they Apple into having to serve any particular valid response to the requests you make. In whatever way Apple is going to comply with DSA and DMA, this ain't it.

I don't know the legal text, but improving interop specifically between messaging services seems to be a goal of the DMA, according to the EU parliament [1]:

> Interoperability between messaging platforms will improve - users of small or big platforms will be able to exchange messages, send files or make video calls across messaging apps.

Lock-in mechanisms like the above would at least run counter to that goal.

I also think that enforcing device restrictions on a messaging service is more problematic than on some random API: Messengers are subject to the network effect and usually you can't freely choose which messenger you want to use - it depends on which one the people you want to talk with are on.

In an extreme case, some person or business could choose to exclusively communicate using iMessage. Then you'd have to buy an iPhone just to be able to reach them. This seems like exactly the kind of interop problem the EU is concerned about.

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/202...

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