FON vs. Whisher
I took a look at Whisher recently. Some of my VoIP blogging bretheren have, too.
The short version: Whisher will enter the dead pool before FON, even though FON probably has a higher burn rate with all the free routers they are giving out. The reasons:
1. FON is giving out FREE (or really cheap) WiFi routers. The hackers have figured out how to liberate the FON router, so even if FON goes south, the router will still have a useful life. What’s not to like about that? Whisher is giving us a WiFi finder/IM application. We need another one of those app like we need a hole in the head.
2. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like sharing my WiFi access point’s WEP/WPA key. In order to accomplish what Whisher does without special software on the router itself, that’s exactly what you have to do. That not only opens up an admittedly small home into your network, it also does nothing to protect your internal network from Whishers using your network. FON protects your internal network by segregating the public FON WiFi and your private WiFi network. The two networks are separate and firewalled from each other.
3. Where is Whisher’s business model? They say they are going to offer paid services later. Considering they have little to offer in the way of incentives to get this service in the first place, I just can’t see them getting to that point.
What am I missing here? Am I right that Whisher is destined for the dead pool? Share your thoughts with me.
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Comment by Mike Puchol
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your concerns about Whisher, but I believe your analysis is not accurate in some aspects. First, Whisher works on top of FON, that means, you can share your Fonera with others through Whisher. That a few hackers can open the Fonera and reflash it does -not- mean the thousands of non-technical users out there will be able to do the same.
1. Whisher is a LOT more than a WiFi finder/IM application. It offers controlled WiFi sharing, and more information about the signals present than any other application out there, such as average signal strength (useful for finding the best spot other people connected from) and availability. On top of that, file sharing over WiFi is also available, meaning you can transfer large amounts of data in very short time, and we made it as easy as drag & drop. It offers IM, of course, and this will improve over the next few weeks with some nice extra twists - but the you also get instant presence information about who is connected to the same WiFi as you are. Shall I go on?
Geolocation of your buddies, local services that can be customized on a per-hostpot basis…
2. If you don’t like to share your AP, then don’t. You can still use all the other features that Whisher offers. If you do decide to share, you can do so in a controlled fashion, either you are OK with everyone having access to your WiFi, or you share in buddies-only mode, whereby only those in your buddy list will get your key. If someone wants to have access, they just need to ask you to add them to your buddy list, it’s as simple as that. Finally, you can share in private mode, giving only your closest contacts VIP status, so not even your non-VIP buddies will be able to get in. Changing modes is basically clicking on a button - that is it, all done from the client. If you are worried about segregating your network from the public one, then just install a router with DD-WRT, which provides dual SSIDs, one you can share with Whisher in private mode, and the other in public mode. We have implemented a ‘master’ function, which is not yet available in the client, which lets you ‘pool’ access points, so that people connecting to any pooled node will join the same chatroom, have presence information, etc. about anyone connected on any of the other nodes. This way you could control both SSIDs with the client transparently. If you think FON is the only way to securely share WiFi, your analysis is not complete.
3. Our business model is based on local & premium services, advertising, and other revenue paths we have identified. We don’t plan to charge for the client, or resell access. The are many incentives for using Whisher, from the philanthropist thought of free WiFi, to wanting to create a closed network with your friends & family, and making it easy to manage.
We value all input and feedback we receive, even negative one, so please do let me know if you have any particular concerns you wish to clarify.
Regards,
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[...] Lately, it’s been interesting. Today, I am responding to Mike Puchol at Whisher on my FON vs Whisher posting: Thanks for sharing your concerns about Whisher, but I believe your analysis is not accurate in [...]