[aprssig] APRS Mobile 1.0 Released for iPhone/iPad

[Georg Lukas]

* Steve Dimse <steve at dimse.com> [2014-09-23 02:07]:
> As I say, it is possible to build a new network to parallel the APRS
> IS, but unless there is a reason that compels all users to participate
> most won't, and all you get is a fractured APRS. "new services" is a
> nice phrase, but what services do you have in mind that would make
> users want to use it? And who is going to build this?

SSL certificates can be used to login into HamNet, and they could be
used for any kind of online services for radio amateurs (think echolink,
think aprs.fi).

> Yes. But making something more complex and fracturing something that
> works well, is not what I call innovation.

The additional complexity is low, SSL/TLS has been around for decades
and there is a plethora of libraries available.

Also, I can not agree that APRS-IS is "working well". The manual
approval of passcodes by the program author, as required by the APRS-IS
specification, is a tedious (and totally useless, because insecure)
procedure which does not scale well. Users complain because they can not
immediately use their application; it is a significant workload that
takes away time from doing useful things, and any evildoer can just
google up "passcode generator" or install one of the Linux applications
that bundle a generator tool.

The aprs2net ML is currently discussing issues with a large number of CB
stations that crept up on the T2 network, so the problem is real.

The issuing of certificates can be scaled much better, alone by the fact
that you can use one certificate for multiple different amateur radio
Internet services. It has been built and tested, and more applications
and services need to jump up on the wagon.

Once SSL authentication is introduced as an access mechanism and
implemented, at least for end users, it is possible to limit passcode
based authentication step by step, and to turn it off eventually.

It is a separate issue how to handle the core network, and there are
ideas there that do not require a separate next-generation APRS-IS
network.


Georg
-- 
APRSdroid - Open Source APRS Client for Android | http://aprsdroid.org/m
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.aprsdroid.app | @APRSdroid
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