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While unreliable it wouldn't be unrealistic to use wifi in densely populated areas. It looks like the pager industry is still alive, too.

by xfitm3 8y ago

delecti 8y ago
Most wifi hotspots have location information anyway, so your phone will know where it is, and then one of the many apps on your phone can report back with that information. And isn't a pager just a really simple cell phone? I'm not sure how that's a solution if cell towers can triangulate your position.
- xfitm3 8y ago
  I should have been clearer: One way pagers seem to still exist. They do not transmit.
  - pdkl95 8y ago
    Dan Geer (CISO at In-Q-Tel, has been warning about the dangers of surveillance for years) has spoken about how he uses a pager instead of a cell phone. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/08/11/why-one-of-cybersecuritys-thought-leaders-uses-a-pager-instead-of-a-smart-phone/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/08/11...
  - ghostly_s 8y ago
    Isn't this just a billing distinction though? A 'receive only' pager still needs to announce itself to the cell tower to have messages routed...pretty sure they're not just multicast across the entire global cell network?
    - pdkl95 8y ago
      > cell network Pagers do not use the cellular network. (some cellular networks do provide paging-style services, but that is a later development that is unrelated to traditional pagers) > A 'receive only' pager still needs to announce itself A traditional pager doesn't have a radio transmitter. > they're not just multicast The message is broadcast region-wide using very low-bandwidth protocols[1]. A pager will generally only work inside the region it is registered with. To compensate for the lack of ACKs, the message is usually repeated several times; it will missed if the pager is off for all of the transmissions. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLEX_%28protocol%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLEX_%28protocol%29
toufka 8y ago
I wonder if even an old iPod Touch withought a cellular chip would actually be a useful decice for this kind of wi-fi-only connectivity.

While unreliable it wouldn't be unrealistic to use wifi in densely populated areas. It looks like the pager industry is still alive, too.

by xfitm3 8y ago

While unreliable it wouldn't be unrealistic to use wifi in densely populated areas. It looks like the pager industry is still alive, too.

delecti 8y ago

Most wifi hotspots have location information anyway, so your phone will know where it is, and then one of the many apps on your phone can report back with that information. And isn't a pager just a really simple cell phone? I'm not sure how that's a solution if cell towers can triangulate your position.

xfitm3 8y ago
I should have been clearer: One way pagers seem to still exist. They do not transmit.
- pdkl95 8y ago
  Dan Geer (CISO at In-Q-Tel, has been warning about the dangers of surveillance for years) has spoken about how he uses a pager instead of a cell phone. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/08/11/why-one-of-cybersecuritys-thought-leaders-uses-a-pager-instead-of-a-smart-phone/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/08/11...
- ghostly_s 8y ago
  Isn't this just a billing distinction though? A 'receive only' pager still needs to announce itself to the cell tower to have messages routed...pretty sure they're not just multicast across the entire global cell network?
  - pdkl95 8y ago
    > cell network Pagers do not use the cellular network. (some cellular networks do provide paging-style services, but that is a later development that is unrelated to traditional pagers) > A 'receive only' pager still needs to announce itself A traditional pager doesn't have a radio transmitter. > they're not just multicast The message is broadcast region-wide using very low-bandwidth protocols[1]. A pager will generally only work inside the region it is registered with. To compensate for the lack of ACKs, the message is usually repeated several times; it will missed if the pager is off for all of the transmissions. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLEX_%28protocol%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLEX_%28protocol%29

toufka 8y ago

I wonder if even an old iPod Touch withought a cellular chip would actually be a useful decice for this kind of wi-fi-only connectivity.