[Ninux-Wireless] Fwd: Wireless Mesh technology - FireChat ignites new way to communicate on phones

[Gianmaria Allisiardi]

Molto interessante.
Il 04/apr/2014 10:41 "Clauz" <clauz a ninux.org> ha scritto:

> Chat sopra mesh tra telefoni:
>
>
> FireChat ignites new way to communicate on phones
>
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/firechat-ignites-way-communicate-phones-160939070--finance.html
>
> SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A new mobile messaging application called FireChat
> is empowering nearby smartphone users to stay in touch even when there's
> no cellular service or Internet connection.
>
> In just two weeks since its release on the iPhone, FireChat already has
> provided a flicker of hope for people pining for more effective, secure
> and affordable ways to communicate. That's because the free messaging
> app harnesses a technology called wireless mesh networking, which might
> someday allow a myriad of devices to connect like links in a chain.
>
> The technique might someday be used to tie together thousands of devices
> with built-in radios and make it possible to be online without having to
> pay for the access. It could also enable online communications in remote
> areas or disaster zones without Wi-Fi or cellular signals. Furthermore,
> the conversations in these so-called "off-the-grid" networks can't be
> easily hacked into by spies and mischief makers or shut down by
> governments trying to stifle free speech.
>
> "We trying to create networks built by the people for the people," said
> Micha Benoliel, CEO of Open Garden, maker of the FireChat app.
>
> Open Garden, a San Francisco startup with just 10 employees, is taking
> another step toward its ambitious goal with Thursday's release of a
> FireChat app for Android phones.
>
> FireChat could be an even hotter commodity on Android given the
> demographic differences between that platform's user base and the
> typical iPhone owner. The app already has been installed on more than 1
> million iOS devices.
>
> Many smartphones running on Google Inc.'s free Android software are
> cheaper than Apple Inc.'s iPhone. That has made Android phones the
> top-selling mobile devices in less affluent countries, including in
> regions where Internet access is inadequate or expensive.
>
> Google is among the big Internet companies intrigued with mesh
> networking's potential to bring more of the world online.
>
> Sundar Pichai, Google's executive in charge of Android, has touted mesh
> networks as a way to connect wearable computers, such as the company's
> Glass eyewear. Mesh networks also could be used to bring a wide variety
> of everyday appliances online, helping to build an Internet of things
> instead of just websites.
>
> FireChat's reach so far is limited. When connecting off the grid, iPhone
> app users have only been able to send text and photos to other FireChat
> users within a range of 30 to 100 feet.
>
> Later this year, Open Garden plans to upgrade FireChat's iPhone app so
> off-the-grid users will be able to hopscotch through a daisy chain of
> devices to extend the reach of a local network. If this works, a
> FireChat user sitting in the right-field bleachers of a baseball game
> would be able to text with a friend on the other side of the stadium if
> enough other iPhone users in the ballpark also are on FireChat.
>
> This extended range will be available immediately on FireChat's Android
> app because Open Garden released a mesh networking app for that
> operating system nearly two years ago.
>
> FireChat's iPhone app piggybacks on an often overlooked feature called
> the Multipeer Connectivity Framework that Apple Inc. included in its
> latest mobile operating system, iOS 7, released last September. Apple
> says more than 80 percent of people using its mobile devices rely on iOS 7.
>
> For now, Android phones and iPhones with the FireChat app won't be able
> to engage in off-the-grid conversation. Open Garden, though, believes it
> will eventually be able to make mesh networking work on phones running
> on different operating systems.
>
> As the mesh networking software improved, Benoliel realized Open Garden
> needed to come up with application to demonstrate what the technology
> could do. In that practical sense, FireChat is similar to the word
> processing and spreadsheet programs that Microsoft released decades ago
> to help broaden the appeal of its Windows operating system for personal
> computers, said Christophe Daligault, Open Garden's marketing chief.
>
> FireChat's development was driven by the popularity of other mobile
> messaging apps such as Snapchat and WhatsApp that enabled smartphone
> users to text and send pictures to their friends and family without
> having to pay smartphone carriers.
>
> Like texts and photos sent on Snapchat, nothing transmitted through
> FireChat is saved. All content evaporates once the app is closed.
> FireChat also allows all its users to remain anonymous, another feature
> that is becoming popular on a variety of mobile messaging apps, such as
> Wickr and Rumr.
>
> There still aren't enough people using FireChat to ensure users will
> find someone nearby to message. To pique people's interest in the app,
> FireChat offers an "everyone" option that allows users to enter a
> digital chat room with up to 80 other random users located in the same
> country. This option requires a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
>
> Dailigault concedes FireChat's chat room isn't as high-minded as mesh
> networking.
>
> "We are finding a lot of people are using it when they are just looking
> for something to do for a few minutes," Dailigault said. "Some of the
> discussions there are turning out to be more interesting than anything
> they can find on Facebook."
>
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