3 ms·

So airdrop… Not sure why this needs to be a service. Or why data needs to go through their servers.

givemeethekeys 1y ago
It looks like this lets you share files with people using a different operating system than MacOS. Does AirDrop let you do that?
- subarctic 1y ago
  His point is about it being a service vs just a peer to peer app
  - kjksf 1y ago
    So you run the app. The other person runs the app. How do those 2 programs find out about each other? Well, they need to use some server that will connect all users, allow you to find the other person in order to send them a file. Even BitTorrent needs tracker servers to connect downloaders to uploaders. Now, you could try to make it run without a company behind it, like BitTorrent. I guess it's an exercise for the reader. Someone still needs to run those connecting servers out of the goodness of their heart. You would need to degrade the usability (the first thing a user would need to do is to configure the app with the address of at least one connecting server). BitTorrent is anonymous but for sending files you need to connect to a person you know. If you enable contacting via the protocol, it'll be a phishing nightmare. So you'll have to degrade usability some more and use a side channel (e.g. an email) to exchange identities with people you want to send file to (or receive files from). By having a service and a company behind it, they are able to perfect the UX and run the necessary servers to implement that UX.
    - BoredPositron 1y ago
      Universities, the Debian Foundation, Nvidia, the ccc, hell even Microsoft run magic-wormhole relays... the only thing new here is the subscription and the hipster gui client.
      - givemeethekeys 1y ago
        This is classic critique. Dropbox was criticized in the same way when it was announced years ago. Magic Wormhole is cool (I just learned about it! Thanks! :)), but most people don't use nor care about the command line, and are probably afraid of it.
        BoredPositron 1y ago
        I am more in critique of the shameless subscription for services like this. US$25 /user/month for what? Certainly not the traffic.
        unquietwiki 1y ago
        I think that might be billed on the sender vs the receiver. So if you're a solo creative person sharing stuff with clients, this can be one way of doing that. Also potentially useful for small businesses without an enterprise file sharing solution.
abcd_f 1y ago
It appears that the data is relayed as a fallback, if there's no p2p connection possible. This is a classic transfer model for mediated transfers.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
otterley 1y ago
AirDrop only works on local networks, not over the Internet.

It looks like this lets you share files with people using a different operating system than MacOS. Does AirDrop let you do that?

subarctic 1y ago
His point is about it being a service vs just a peer to peer app
- kjksf 1y ago
  So you run the app. The other person runs the app. How do those 2 programs find out about each other? Well, they need to use some server that will connect all users, allow you to find the other person in order to send them a file. Even BitTorrent needs tracker servers to connect downloaders to uploaders. Now, you could try to make it run without a company behind it, like BitTorrent. I guess it's an exercise for the reader. Someone still needs to run those connecting servers out of the goodness of their heart. You would need to degrade the usability (the first thing a user would need to do is to configure the app with the address of at least one connecting server). BitTorrent is anonymous but for sending files you need to connect to a person you know. If you enable contacting via the protocol, it'll be a phishing nightmare. So you'll have to degrade usability some more and use a side channel (e.g. an email) to exchange identities with people you want to send file to (or receive files from). By having a service and a company behind it, they are able to perfect the UX and run the necessary servers to implement that UX.
  - BoredPositron 1y ago
    Universities, the Debian Foundation, Nvidia, the ccc, hell even Microsoft run magic-wormhole relays... the only thing new here is the subscription and the hipster gui client.
    - givemeethekeys 1y ago
      This is classic critique. Dropbox was criticized in the same way when it was announced years ago. Magic Wormhole is cool (I just learned about it! Thanks! :)), but most people don't use nor care about the command line, and are probably afraid of it.
      - BoredPositron 1y ago
        I am more in critique of the shameless subscription for services like this. US$25 /user/month for what? Certainly not the traffic.
        unquietwiki 1y ago
        I think that might be billed on the sender vs the receiver. So if you're a solo creative person sharing stuff with clients, this can be one way of doing that. Also potentially useful for small businesses without an enterprise file sharing solution.

abcd_f 1y ago

It appears that the data is relayed as a fallback, if there's no p2p connection possible. This is a classic transfer model for mediated transfers.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

otterley 1y ago

AirDrop only works on local networks, not over the Internet.