• will_a113@lemmy.ml
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    11 months ago

    Their “how it works” blog article is worth a read - they’re using a blackbox reverse engineering of the protocol (called PyPush) and re-implementing it natively in an android app, so there are no man-in-the-middle servers. It’s pretty bonkers given how difficult Apple’s spec-less tech can be to work with.

    • Drunemeton@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      And Apple will work tirelessly, and litigate endlessly, to stop this from happening.

      • thorbot@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I’ve been using Beeper for almost two years now on desktop to view my iMessages, discord, and slack all in one app, and Apple hasn’t said or done shit about it yet

        • snowe@programming.dev
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          11 months ago

          That’s not the same. Beeper mini uses reverse engineering, beeper just uses Mac minis sitting in a datacenter somewhere.

          • jo3shmoo@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Per the Beeper CTO, evidently Beeper (cloud) isn’t using the Mac minis anymore for anyone who migrated to their latest bridge. It’s using the same solution, they just didn’t make a big deal out of it at the time. I’ve actually been on the new bridge since early November and haven’t had any issues. In my case the new bridge fixed an issue I was having with SMS forwarding from my iPhone.

      • EliasChao@lemmy.one
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        11 months ago

        I read somewhere that RE for the sake of improving communications is allowed, or something along those lines.

        • accideath@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Reverse engineering for the sake of ensuring compatibility. It’s not limited to communication.

    • EliasChao@lemmy.one
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      11 months ago

      If I understand correctly, there’s some server usage implicated in the delivering of notifications, so it makes sense that it costs.

      That and the fact that it’s a for-profit company expecting to be paid for their product.

      • mmmmmsoup@lemmy.today
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        11 months ago

        I get why they want to charge money, that’s obvious. But they are charging money for another companies service - that’s not a good business plan. Especially when that other company is one of the largest in the world.

  • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    This seemed exciting to me, so I just downloaded it. The only thing you can do when you open it is sign in with Google, which throws an error:null message. Oh well! Better luck next time.

    • Spacecraft@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Give it another try. I just signed in and I have already sent blue bubbles to my iOS friends!

      • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Okay, I went through the troubleshooting and got it working. It’s pretty cool. I can edit, see iPhoners typing, reply directly to a text, add reactions to images, and edit a text. No fancy effects though, like the laser beams. I guess this is a pretty good solution until things become standardized. Thanks!

  • sayitghoul@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I was interested in Beeper until I saw that it was run by the guy who ran Pebble.

    Massive red flag for me. This’ll be abandoned just like he did Pebble…

    • BobaFuttbucker@reddthat.com
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      11 months ago

      Pebble didn’t abandon itself, it was sold to Google who killed it.

      The time to worry is if/when Beeper gets acquired.

      • Num10ck@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Pebble was bought out by Fitbit, who got bought out by Google. I had the kickstarter Pebble and felt Eric did an awesome job. But really it was the Apple watch that killed Pebble in the marketplace tbh.

        • jo3shmoo@sh.itjust.works
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          11 months ago

          I still miss my OG Pebble sometimes. My wife says her Pebble Round was superior for what she actually uses a smartwatch for vs the Apple Watch she now has. When her Round failed, support quickly - but erroneously - sent her a brand new Time Steel as a replacement. In the midst of us trying to get it swapped for a Round the company shut down. It’s always stuck with me that the customer service was so “good” that they burned through all their cash.

          I’ve been on free Beeper since the summer and it’s my primary messaging app now. Support has been personal, quick, and far and above the support I get from a lot of paid services. I just hope they don’t run out of runway, because Beeper is the happiest I’ve been with my messaging setup since Hangouts. I gladly signed up for Mini yesterday and will be happy to retire the used iPhone 8 I was using to keep my Android # active on iMessage.

          • Paul in de Emiraten@mastodon.nl
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            11 months ago

            @jo3shmoo @Num10ck tech doesn’t have an upward line per se. Off-topic, but I still miss the handwriting recognition of my Sony Ericsson P800 (?) which was 23(!) years ago, and which was superior to whatever Remarkable, and iPad et cetera are delivering now.

        • BobaFuttbucker@reddthat.com
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          11 months ago

          No, it’s selling it. The sale itself isn’t what killed it.

          Companies/IP/Products get sold to other entities all the time, many continue on. What you’re upset at is the aftermath of the sale, so until such an event happens here I don’t see any reason to be concerned.

          • TurnItOff_OnAgain@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            And, from what I recall, selling was the best option. They over extended themselves with the pebble color and steel and we’re going to go out of business anyway. I really miss my pebble though.

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Although, what’s the worst that happens if Beeper dies in a couple months? Your bubbles turn green on iOS.

      Media quality between platforms is finally getting addressed with Apple adopting RCS.

      Only real gap is cross-messaging-platform end to end encryption, which is also on the roadmap for RCS. And if you’re really worried about security, handing over your iCloud credentials to a third party probably isn’t a great idea anyway.

  • Electricdoggo@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    So, question of if they’re safe or not will come down to HOW they did the reverse engineering. If the same engineers that delved into the jailbroken iOS devices are the ones that wrote the code (which seems likely given the prototype came from a single person), they’re going to be in trouble. If they implemented a “clean room” reverse engineering though, then they’re likely safe from being sued over copyright violations. See Wiki

    • Franklin@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I had to search it up in the Google Play store “Beeper: Mini” is the name

      Just a heads up though it’s a paid service for $2 USD a month (7 day free trial)

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I got the same error.

      Edit: I just read the article you linked. Why do we need to sign in with Google at all? Granting an unknown publisher access to my Google account, which knows pretty much everything about me, including financial information, seems unwise.