Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

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ChrisGreaves
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Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Guardian Tech Weekly
"This week on Tech Weekly with Aleks Krotoski, we hear about an innovative messaging system that works even if WiFi and cellular networks are down. The app is called Firechat and its creator Micha Benoliel tells us about this game-changing communication tool for Android & iOS, and why - despite all evidence to the contrary - it may actually be good for telephone companies."

It is a 50 minute podcast; tune in around the 32m 30s mark and listen to the end.

See a brief description at http://firebase.github.io/firechat/
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Claude
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by Claude »

The reviews in the play store aren't too encouraging. Looks like it's worth waiting for a while.
Cheers, Claude.

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Claude wrote:The reviews in the play store aren't too encouraging. Looks like it's worth waiting for a while.
I haven't looked that far, but the idea appealed to me. A low-cost (for users) way of piggy-backing on anonymous phones to stay in touch.
A bit like the earthquake-detector system proposed by tapping into laptops movement-sensitivity devices.
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viking33
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by viking33 »

When WiFi and cell is down.....relax, enjoy the peace and quiet. Read one of those things called books. Take an uninterrupted snooze. Take a walk and enjoy the scenery and all those old fashioned pleasures that today's populace seems to have completely forgotten. :brainwash: :joy: :read: :snore:
BOB
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Rudi
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by Rudi »

viking33 wrote:When WiFi and cell is down.....relax, enjoy the peace and quiet. Read one of those things called books. Take an uninterrupted snooze. Take a walk and enjoy the scenery and all those old fashioned pleasures that today's populace seems to have completely forgotten. :brainwash: :joy: :read: :snore:
Hallelujah....

Bob, you have just brought a small measure of sanity back into this fast-paced and busy world.
Love the advice. :thumbup: :chocciebar:

Chris, no reflection on your post...just happen to agree with Bob's reply. :smile:
Regards,
Rudi

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HansV
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by HansV »

Bob has a good point, of course, but Firechat could also be used to let people communicate in regions where the authorities keep a tight rein on mobile communications and the internet, or even restrict its use.
Best wishes,
Hans

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Claude
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by Claude »

I think the idea of Firechat is very sound, alas, the comments here convinced me to wait for a while before installing it.
Cheers, Claude.

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down

Post by ChrisGreaves »

viking33 wrote:When WiFi and cell is down.....relax, enjoy the peace and quiet....
Agreed, and you may have noticed (I hope!) that I'm doing more of that these past few years.
Still and all, for those who are still in the rat-race, it seems like a good idea.

More than that, it fits in so nicely with my passion for A Second Use For Everything.
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bureau.jacques
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by bureau.jacques »

Very useful at school, to communicate with friends in the classroom and possibly to cheat during compositions!

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HansV
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by HansV »

According to the Wikipedia article on Firechat:
FireChat is now discontinued. The official URL is a 404 error page, and apps have not been updated since 2018.
Best wishes,
Hans

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

HansV wrote:
15 Nov 2020, 14:36
According to the Wikipedia article on Firechat:
FireChat is now discontinued. The official URL is a 404 error page, and apps have not been updated since 2018.
OK.
Since FireChat is no longer supported, I have to ask my question here.

This thread was started over six years ago, before the first of my two return trips to the Île de France.
I can see that bureau.jacques revived the thread (for a reason I do not question), but Hans, how the hex in the name of all that is binary does that prompt you to dig up a back-reference in Wikipedia?

I mean, if you were using FireChat I could see that, but I don't believe that you have enough time on your hands to do that. (A conspiracy theory running around a while ago postulated that you had a twin, or even two-thirds of a set of triplets, but I pretty quickly shut down that theory.)

If you had started the thread I could see that bureau.jacques's response might trigger a neuron or an axon or two in a quiet corner of your memory, but ***I*** started the thread, and had I been asked, I would have denied all knowledge of such a package.
I mean!

Are you matching a massive file of Eileen's Lounge keywords against recent Wikipedia Articles?
Are you matching a massive file of Wikipedia keywords against recent Eileen's Lounge threads?
Is your memory recall better than mine? (No, disregard that; too obvious).

A two, or at most three-line explanation would satisfy my curiosity for now.

Thanks ever so
Chris
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HansV
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by HansV »

None of the above.

I simply searched Google for Firechat. The Wikipedia article was the first search result. :grin:
Best wishes,
Hans

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John Gray
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by John Gray »

Next, Chris advocates the use of the quill pen, not realising that it has been superseded for quite some time... :rofl:
John Gray

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Firechat - messaging system ...if WiFi and cell are down.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

John Gray wrote:
16 Nov 2020, 16:40
Next, Chris advocates the use of the quill pen, not realising that it has been superseded for quite some time... :rofl:
And you, Sir, will be pleased to hear that my communication skills have advanced beyond the quill.
I am now au fait with the current trend in devices!
20201116_152957_HDR.jpg
Sincerely Yours
Chris
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