MSGID: 2:221/1.58@fidonet ec02c778   
   REPLY: 2:280/464 5fee0d89   
   PID: OpenXP/5.0.48 (Win32)   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   TZUTC: -0500   
   Hello Wilfred!   
      
   ** On Thursday 31.12.20 - 18:07, Wilfred van Velzen wrote to August Abolins:   
      
    AA>> WhatsApp is owned by FB now, isn't it?  If so, I'd drop it.   
      
    WvV> Afaik it is. And would be something I would avoid as much   
    WvV> as possible. Except I have no real choic in the matter,   
    WvV> because I'm required to have it on my (company) phone...   
      
   Ah.. then that's a different story.  But why can't your company     
   [1] influence a move to the less evasive Telegram or Signal for     
   example? They could broadcast an annoucement that a phase-over to     
   one of the other apps is encouraged and a full migration is     
   expected to take by a specif date.. OR.. [2] introduce new policy     
   to use Telegram/Signal for its new customers/clients?   
      
   But the whole thing is probably one of those situations were the     
   1st-use scenario wins. Therefore, why bother with the tedious     
   hassle of installing something else and have to reestablish the     
   contacts from another app - especially for exisiting customers.   
      
      
    WvV> I think privacy awareness is getting better. But people   
    WvV> still choose the easy way. Instead of trying to convince   
    WvV> others to use the better option, they just use what's   
    WvV> already available/installed/used by most people.   
      
   That reminds me when the various chat programs like ICQ, Jabber,     
   iChat, Pidgin, AIM, etc.. were all present and different people     
   chose to use a specific chat program for specific reasons they     
   had. I encountered the same split of different chat programs with     
   select contacts. But I think it was Pidgin that helped to     
   consolidate the other chat accounts into one program. That was   
   sweet.   
      
      
    AA>> I have roped in one family friend onto Telegram.  We both feel it   
    AA>> is a better platform than FB's messenger..   
      
    WvV> Me and my 2 brothers use it to communicate amongst   
    WvV> eachother. There are some coworkers that have it available,   
    WvV> but most of the time still use whatsapp to start a   
    WvV> conversation. I try to stear that to Telegram sometimes,   
    WvV> but not with great success... :-/   
      
   That means, they probably have other contacts that only have     
   whatsapp and don't wish to switch between running apps too often.   
      
   It's an app clutter nightmare.   
      
      
    AA>> Does Signal have a desktop app similar to what Telegram   
    AA>> offers?   
      
    WvV> I had to look it up myself. There are clients for several   
    WvV> platforms: windows, mac, linux (only debian based). For my   
    WvV> distribution the client is in the application repositories,   
    WvV> but not for the older version I'm currently using. So not   
    WvV> as good as Telegram, but almost as good...   
      
   Thank you. I eventually visited the Signal pages too. Unlike     
   Telegram, it forces the user to install the app on a phone first     
   before you can use the service.   
      
   I thought Telegram's approach was better: install any app (even     
   desktop version, which I did) that you want, and the registration     
   takes place with an SMS to a cellphone number that you have     
   handy. Later, I used the webby version from my Blackberry, and     
   then later after that, I installed the app for the phone.   
      
   The latter step made me wonder "How did I do that?" ..I mean, I     
   can't use GooglePlay to get the app - so how did I manage to     
   install that thing?  (GooglePlay used to work BTW but some     
   upgrade to the core shopping app broke something). Then I     
   remembered..  I simply fetched the .APK version from another pc,     
   sent the file to the Blackberry, and "launched" the installation     
   that way.   
      
   It's same install issue with Signal. Since I have to install it     
   on the phone to even qualify to try it, I need to have the .APK     
   version.  I think I found the legit file as version 5.0.8 here:   
      
   https://signal.org/android/apk/   
      
      ..but the SHA256 that I get doesn't match what they report on     
   the site:   
      
   "You can verify the signing certificate on the APK matches this     
   SHA256 fingerprint:   
      
   29:F3:4E:5F:27:F2:11:B4:24:BC:5B:F9:D6:71:62:C0   
   EA:FB:A2:DA:35:AF:35:C1:64:16:FC:44:62:76:BA:26   
      
   But I guess the SHA256 above is for the "certificate", not the     
   file itself?   
      
   Why can't everyone just stick with MD5 or SHA256 for the "files"     
   and avoid having us to find other apps to read certificates!   
      
   Meanwhie, it would seem that I have to install the whole Android     
   APK Developer kit *just* to be able to check the certificate of     
   an app.   
      
      
    AA>> (I wouldn't ask that if I had internet access at this time.   
    AA>> But I have to wait until Jan 4 to get my mobile data back..   
      
    WvV> So you sent this message from the shop?   
      
   It turns out that there was a problem with the mobile servers.      
   Before that, I checked my data usage (from a DSL connected pc)     
   and I still had about 200MB data left. That would be plenty for     
   nntp/FTN messaging. Usually, the mobile service sends me a     
   reminder via SMS that I am out of data - but I wasn't getting     
   that message!   
      
   But, later that night, I *did* get "out of data" reminder and the     
   usual option to top up - which I did.  So.. for $5, I have the     
   privilege of having 200MB until I need more.   
      
   But another problem persists. The $5 top up + 200MB is supposed     
   to allow me to cruise at 3G speeds.  But the best that I am     
   getting now is 36Kbps!   
      
   This shit is way overpriced.   
      
      
    AA>> I like Telegram's offerings across ALL devices, especially   
    AA>> the desktop. The desktop version permits much better   
    AA>> editing performance.   
      
    WvV> I like it too!   
      
   It's especially nice to be able to adjust the colours and the     
   backgrounds. Does Signal have that?   
      
      
    WvV> I only have a fake FB account to be able to view links to   
    WvV> FB you sometimes get. I have never used it to communicate   
    WvV> with anyone I know.   
      
   That is smart.  I actually have another FB presence too. But that     
   only happened in the early days when I didn't know what I was     
   going to do with FB. Later, flipping between the accounts had     
   some advantages.  ;)   
      
      
    AA>> Never heard of Wire.  I'm a bit curious.  I will have to   
    AA>> try and remember to research that - after Jan 4 ofcourse.   
    AA>> :(   
      
    WvV> On their frontpage they claim: "The most secure   
    WvV> collaboration platform"... And clicking further you can   
    WvV> read:   
      
   [snip]   
      
    WvV> But they also seem to be a commercial platform now. Didn't   
    WvV> know that, maybe that has changed...?   
      
   Thanks for that.  I took a visit to wire.com  The pricing menu     
   doesn't describe a free option.  .: it seems to be purely     
   commercial. Seems to be intended for privacy between business     
   clients or teams. Too much $ for the average independent.   
      
   The wiki write-up was interesting.. "previous Skype employees,     
   ..developed from Signal protocols"   
      
   Enough for now and upload this fine message at 36Kbps speeds! LOL   
   --   
     ../|ug   
      
   --- OpenXP 5.0.48   
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