anyone using #beeper? how do you like it? how's their storage of credentials? that's the only bit that really makes me nervous.
i'm also curious how well #matrix works for it. my general experience with matrix as an end user with "normal" people has been overall terrible, even with great projects like @element
@hobbsc@element depends, you login on the client and they scrape the session ID's and store them on their server.
But they also work on new version of the bridges, currently in Android there is a local Signal bridge where they keep the session ID locally. That was possible with SMS too once, but they didnt add that back in the 2.0 android app.
They have merged with texts.com which is fully locally so who knows what will happen there.
• I've actually had an easier time keeping up with Slack than in Slack itself
• Initially I ran clients side by side but Beeper updates just as fast and I've since stopped running most except for Discord which I use for calls
• Even so, it's great to run it in parallel to Discord, because it's easier to text chat in Beeper while in a video call
I’m excited to announce that Beeper has been acquired by Automattic. This acquisition marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we continue our mission to create the best chat app on earth.
Pour info, beeper est une app qui permet de creer facilement des ponts sur les messagerie comme telegram, signal, whatsapp, sms. Sous Element (app matrix), l'option etait un peu technique ou il faut avoir un abo sur Element One...enfin toute les étapes qu'une personne normale ne ferait pas. Beeper simplifie cela.
En tout cas, c'est un gros changement dans le paysage des tchats. Automattic (wordpress) était déjà interessé par Matrix en 2020 :
Et je me disais qu'Element allait gagner en maturité, fonctionalités et je l'avais suggéré à mon équipe pour un résultat en demi-teinte, trop tot car pas super aboutti.
Et je pense que cette acquisition va bousculer un peu le paysage, nottament pour whatsapp. Reste que matrix a encore besoin de finition.
Juste beeper permet la création de pont entre les apps plus facilement. Je suis en train de la tester. Le gros changement va etre l'appuie d'Automattic : don à ja fondation matrix + les ponts sur beeper.
Et eventuellement promotion de beeper sur wordpress. Je la teste.
Eh ben les amis, je peux vous dire que je suis HYPER CONTENTE d'avoir découvert l'application #beeper qui centralise toutes tes applis de messagerie : sms, whatsapp, signal, télégram, messenger, on peut même mettre les DM de Insta ou linkedin.
Je kiffe et pour toustes celleux qui en ont marre d'écrire sur 1000 applis différentes, je vous la recommande à 100% !
Quote from Automattic founder in @gruber writeup on Automattic buying Beeper:
"I have zero interest in fighting with Apple, I think instead it’s best to focus on messaging networks that want more engagement from power-user clients"
Good writeup, helped make sense of why this move makes sense.
Beeper is awesome. I have now all my instant messaging in the same app including Telegram, Matrix, Signal, WhatsApp, Instagram DM, LinkedIn DM and even IRC. https://www.beeper.com
"Automattic is betting that the changing regulatory environment will make people more interested in finding a unified messaging system like Beeper"
"Mr. Schneider said Beeper and Texts employees would combine their systems into a single app that worked on iPhones and Android smartphones as well as computers."
@davemark some things deserve to be easy, multi platform and free of restricting silos and this counts most communications (non-private)
I only wish I could consider Automattic a company that respects privacy more than one that might have data mining, and AI training as it’s actual goals.
A happy ending for the company who annoyed #Apple & #iMessage users everywhere.
As far as a universal messaging system goes, this has been attempted numerous times with little success. I can see #Beeper complimenting #WordPress sites, but I do not see them creating a universal standard for sending messages.
But do we need a universal messaging system when we have email‽
How do you feel about #Beeper, #Automattic and Automattic acquiring Beeper?
TBH credit is due where credit is due. Nobody can predict the real intentions of a company, least of all engineers, but Beeper has from day 1 built its product on top of #Matrix, it has made it much easier to install and configure messaging bridges (even to those less likely to go through the hassle of configuring a full Synapse server and install bridges with huge configuration files), and it has challenged Apple head-to-head with the iMessage bridge.
I feel that Beeper joining forces with Automattic will give the company both:
Stronger shoulders to defend themselves from lawsuits coming from the likes of Apple and anybody who has made it their business mission to oppose inter-operability as long as they can - Apple can’t simply take down a Github repo with a snap of their fingers if that Github repo is owned by the same company that also owns Wordpress, at least not without a lengthy legal battle on the blueprint of Epic v Apple. Moreover, sclerotic corporate scum with an outdated business model like Apple will just never understand how big of a favour they do to small companies like Beeper when they attack them. Beeper was in beta until recently. Then it got a lot of attention after Apple declared war to its iMessage bridge. Consequence: the largest company on earth suddenly put a relatively small product like Beeper under the spotlight, its user-base went up by an order of magnitude or so within a short time frame, they rushed their way out of beta, and now Automattic is acquiring them. There’s no better publicity than an aggressive rent-seeking parasite waging war against your product.
More opportunities to sit at a table with the likes of Google, Meta etc. and get them to actually build the open alternatives together, instead of reverse engineering their closed garden and play and endless catch-up game with them.
The timing of this announcement is also perfect, as the EU’s #DMA is just about to make inter-operability a requirement for messaging gatekeepers - and Beeper seems to be eager to capitalize on its opportunity of being at the right place at the right time.
Let’s keep an eye on how this product develops. I see a lot of potential for growth, and I’ll be looking for all the signals of early-exit/lock-in/enshittification.
@fabio Imo, the acquisition of Beeper by Automattic will allow Beeper to operate "independently" while benefiting from the "resources" of Automattic. overall I'm optimistic but the messaging app landscape is dynamic and the success of any acquisition depends on various factors, including user adoption, retention strategies etc.
Just installed #Beeper (now that they dropped the waiting list following the Automattic acquisition) and while it doesn’t include iMessage, it’s nice to get Signal, Telegram, Whatsapp, Discord, and Slack DMs under one roof.
The desktop app is, of course, an electron webapp. It's ok-ish – not really any worse than the other five webapps it (potentially*) replaces.
*) you still need the others for calls etc, which Beeper doesn't support yet.