[wirelesstoronto-discuss] App idea

[Gabe Sawhney]

This project sounds fun, and would appeal to a bunch of people even beyond
the Wireless Toronto community.  My hunch is that you'd need to use some
code that Apple considers verboten, so you'd be limited to the market of
jailbroken phones.  (Apple must approve any app that you want to distribute
through the App Store, and will reject an app that does stuff that apps
aren't supposed to be able to do, like what you're suggesting.)  Sorry I
can't help more than that.  You might be able to build it as an official
Android or Nokia or Blackberry or WinMo app.

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating: Wireless Toronto has *
nothing* to do with the iPhone app called "Wireless Toronto".  (It was
written by someone else; the app simply lists our hotspots by proximity, and
can open a map and directions by kicking out to Google Maps.  It grabs the
xml hotspot listing off our website.)  It's *very* important that we all be
clear about this, because that app was launched and marketed in a truly
painful way.  It could be a case study in what not to do.

Gabe


On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 4:08 PM, M. Al-Nuaimy <mo at alnuaimy.com> wrote:

>
>
> Specifically, there are a number of applications that will turn an iphone
> into an ad-hoc wifi router, using 3g as the backhaul. This got me wondering
> if there as any utility in creating a similar app that could be configured
> to use either 3g/edge or a neighbouring closed wifi hotspot (such as second
> cup or starbucks) and repeat a wireless Toronto open hotspot.
>
> Brilliant, I love it! Can you write it?
>
>
>
> *[Mo:] Sadly, no. I’m not really a programmer (I just play one on small
> underfunded projects). The coding element of something like this would
> definitely be above my skill level.*
>
> * *
>
> *[Mo:] On the other hand, I’m reasonably handy at project design, proposal
> writing, project management and usability design, so if there was a source
> of funding I’d be happy to chase after it. Michele, is this something MIEC
> could help us find?*
>
>
>
> Also, how does one release an app on the App Store, so people needn't
> (necessarily) jailbreak?
>
> * *
>
> *[Mo:] This sounds like a question for Gabe. How was working with the App
> Store people when you released the current Wireless Toronto app?*
>
>
>
> Is this the sort of thing that could be cobbled together from existing open
> source technology, or would it be a major programming challenge? If it’s the
> former, iot might be worth creating versions for WinMo and Android, and
> unleash a legion of ad-hoc hotspots.
>
> I like the sound of that. I can't use real VoIP on the iPhone?  Fine.  I'll
> use the iPhone's 3G as a backhaul for a mobile hotspot, and use the real
> VoIP on the netbook in my backpack instead.  Eat it, Rogers.
>
> * *
>
> *[Mo:] Actually, if you have a jailbroken phone there’s a handy app called
> iPhone Unrestricor that tricks apps into thinking they’re still on Wifi. It
> works with skype.*
>
> * *
>
> Also, are there legal implications we should be worried about?
>
>  Probably not.  But once people realize the implications of someone giving
> away an app like this, expect the fearmongering to start.
>
>
>
> I think this is when we may find out that the capped data plans, even the
> big ones, are the real problem after all.
>
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