You might remember that Nothing who makes some interesting phones came out with an iMessage on Android app called Nothing Chats late last year. That was really an app that was made by company called Sunbird and it was pulled very quickly after launch when it was discovered that it was a security nightmare. Then Sunbird itself was shut down, likely because of the bad press.
Today it seems that Sunbird has risen from the grave:
Sunbird Messaging today announced the relaunch of its beta app. The relaunch is the culmination of comprehensive enhancements to Sunbird’s backend infrastructure following an exhaustive evaluation, a process detailed in a recent update on the company’s website, which can be found here.
And they also take a few shots at Apple over their shutdown of another iMessage on Android app:
Apple’s decision in December to shut down a different unified messaging app brought to light security and privacy concerns stemming from their unauthorized access to iMessage. The app shut down by Apple was reverse engineering the iMessage protocol to disguise itself as a genuine iMessage client, a method that significantly differs from Sunbird’s approach. Instead, Sunbird’s platform provides a bridge between Android and Apple users, enabling secure communication within Apple’s ecosystem.
Beyond differentiating itself from a technical standpoint, Sunbird also addresses broader social and regulatory challenges. The app helps resolve antitrust scrutiny faced by tech giants, creating an inclusive ecosystem that welcomes millions of Android users to the Apple network in a safe and secure way. This expansion not only benefits consumers by breaking down communication barriers but also supports Apple in demonstrating its commitment to interoperability and competition.
In case you’re wondering, that app that they are referring to is Beeper. Here’s a link to catch up on that drama. But in any case, Sunbird put out a technical explanation of what happened with their app and how they fixed it. If you have some time to kill, you can read that here. And the Sunbird app is only available to those on their waitlist which if you really must join it, can be found here. But frankly it’s not worth your time to join this waitlist. I say that because every iMessage on Android solution has been a dumpster fire that Apple shuts down shortly after its launched. And quite honestly, if you’re an Android user, and you really want to use iMessage, my advice to you is to bite the bullet and buy an iPhone. Because even though the US Justice Department is suing Apple for anti trust reasons, buying an iPhone is the only way you’re going to get iMessage. Besides, every single one of these iMessage on Android apps is a security risk to some degree or another. Do you really want to be part of that?
Bell Fibe TV PVR Storage Cut To 60 Days…. WTF?
Posted in Commentary with tags Bell on April 7, 2024 by itnerdIt’s almost as if Bell wants to anger its customers rather than keep them. I say that because Bell is going to cut the amount of time that Bell Fibe TV customers get to store recordings in Bell’s Cloud PVR service. It used to be one year which for comparisons sake was the same as competitor Rogers does. But now according to this, it’s going to 60 days. And here’s what someone from Bell had to say about that:
A representative says the company anticipates “minimal impact” to customers since viewing of “nearly all” recordings takes place within 60 days
I bet that while Rogers in the same Toronto Star article said that they have no plans to change what they do, you can bet that they’ll be watching to see what sort of blow back that Bell gets. If it’s none, Rogers will copy what Bell does and go from one year to 60 days. If there’s significant blow back from Bell customers, they will laugh as Bell takes the heat. But I’m digressing here. The fact is that Bell is really making themselves harder and harder to chose as a telco. Sure their fibre technology, if you can get it, is top shelf. But their customer service frankly sucks, and then to top it off they do stuff like this. At some point this will come back to bite them at some point. The question in my mind, is when will that happen.
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