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It's crazy to me that people will run non-free software on something that is designed to capture biometrics... but then again I've been looking for a decent ope

by kache_ 6y ago

It's crazy to me that people will run non-free software on something that is designed to capture biometrics... but then again I've been looking for a decent open source alternative and there is nothing out there.

smolder 6y ago
I would be happy with a commercial product that simply stored data in a place of your choosing, like to a PC, in a parseable format. I don't think a product that was completely self-managed (no cloud) could be competitive anymore, so that's pretty much left up to OSS. I really miss software that didn't require internet connectivity being the norm.
- jschwartzi 6y ago
  You can do that with the data/charging cable that comes with Garmin watches. It exports the data on a USB-MSD. I don't recall whether it's a CSV or some other format but they make no effort to obscure it.
  - smolder 6y ago
    Good to know, thanks!
- jakear 6y ago
  An "open data store" as a standardized service could be interesting... a good chunk of backends are just "add this item", "get all items since X", etc. If there was a service that gave you an endpoint that you could distribute to other services to do just that (one endpoint per service, keep things isolated), or alternatively host your own and give that endpoint to services... it'd be cool. The tricky part is getting other companies to agree to use your common API.
thinkharderdev 6y ago
In this case I think the multi-device syncing capability is the thing that adds value. Or at least being able to sync the data gathered by the device to the cloud so you can access it through a separate interface. If that is the case then whether you prefer a Google solution to a open source solution depends very much on your threat model. Google may use that data to target ads but running your own solution you risk losing the raw data to a security flaw in the open source code or infrastructure. At least with Google you get world class infosec to protect your data (from everyone except Google...)
threatofrain 6y ago
The idea of open source software is not anywhere near the public consciousness.
shadowgovt 6y ago
That's the plight of open-source for biometrics. Wait around for something to show and it never comes, and you have to be an expert in the space to DIY something that will compete.

by kache_ 6y ago

smolder 6y ago

I would be happy with a commercial product that simply stored data in a place of your choosing, like to a PC, in a parseable format. I don't think a product that was completely self-managed (no cloud) could be competitive anymore, so that's pretty much left up to OSS. I really miss software that didn't require internet connectivity being the norm.

jschwartzi 6y ago
You can do that with the data/charging cable that comes with Garmin watches. It exports the data on a USB-MSD. I don't recall whether it's a CSV or some other format but they make no effort to obscure it.
- smolder 6y ago
  Good to know, thanks!
jakear 6y ago
An "open data store" as a standardized service could be interesting... a good chunk of backends are just "add this item", "get all items since X", etc. If there was a service that gave you an endpoint that you could distribute to other services to do just that (one endpoint per service, keep things isolated), or alternatively host your own and give that endpoint to services... it'd be cool. The tricky part is getting other companies to agree to use your common API.

thinkharderdev 6y ago

In this case I think the multi-device syncing capability is the thing that adds value. Or at least being able to sync the data gathered by the device to the cloud so you can access it through a separate interface. If that is the case then whether you prefer a Google solution to a open source solution depends very much on your threat model. Google may use that data to target ads but running your own solution you risk losing the raw data to a security flaw in the open source code or infrastructure. At least with Google you get world class infosec to protect your data (from everyone except Google...)

threatofrain 6y ago

The idea of open source software is not anywhere near the public consciousness.

shadowgovt 6y ago

That's the plight of open-source for biometrics. Wait around for something to show and it never comes, and you have to be an expert in the space to DIY something that will compete.