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posted by martyb on Tuesday May 26 2015, @07:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the bridging-the-air-gap dept.

As digital devices have multiplied, so has the complexity of coordinating them and moving stuff between them. Tone grew out of the idea that while digital communication methods like email and chat have made it infinitely easier, cheaper, and faster to share things with people across the globe, they've actually made it more complicated to share things with the people standing right next to you. Tone aims to make sharing digital things with nearby people as easy as talking to them.

[…] Tone provides an easy-to-understand broadcast mechanism that behaves like the human voice — it doesn't pass through walls like radio or require pairing or addressing. … Because it's audio based, Tone behaves like speech in interesting ways. The orientation of laptops relative to each other, the acoustic characteristics of the space, the particular speaker volume and mic sensitivity, and even where you're standing will all affect Tone's reliability. Not every nearby machine will always receive every broadcast, just like not everyone will always hear every word someone says. But resending is painless and debugging generally just requires raising the volume.

[…] To get started, first install the Tone extension for Chrome. Then simply open a tab with the URL you want to share, make sure your volume is on, and press the Tone button. Your machine will then emit a short sequence of beeps. Nearby machines receive a clickable notification that will open the same tab. Getting everyone on the same page has never been so easy!"


[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]

 
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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by frojack on Tuesday May 26 2015, @08:46PM

    by frojack (1554) on Tuesday May 26 2015, @08:46PM (#188266) Journal

    Exactly who wanted this?
    You've got two or more computers connected to the net, right?
    So how hard would it be to get a URL from on to the other?

    I suspect there are far more BAD uses for such software than good, especially if any part of it continues to be beyond the range of human hearing, and plugins are available for mobile devices.

    Audio could affect every device within ear/micshot. All developers have to do is sneak this technology into some popular app or browser.
    A network based hack at least requires some penetration of the network and getting the target to connect to your network.

    I guess the next demand people will want is an indicator to know when their mic is being used.

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  • (Score: 1) by Placenta on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:16PM

    by Placenta (5264) on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:16PM (#188317)

    It gets rid of a cable. That makes it valuable.

    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:50PM

      by frojack (1554) on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:50PM (#188338) Journal

      Why would there be a cable involved just to send a url between computers that are already connected to the net?

      And if they weren't connected to the net why would they need to send a url?

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:49PM (#188337)

    Could be useful for when bluetooth isn't working right.. so basically for Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1.1, Windows 10, Windows 8 talking to Windows 7...

    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:51PM

      by frojack (1554) on Tuesday May 26 2015, @10:51PM (#188339) Journal

      But they are both on the net.....!
      Why else would you need to sent them a url?

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 1) by KGIII on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:46AM

      by KGIII (5261) on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:46AM (#188419) Journal

      You missed Vista. Missing Vista is like skipping over Windows ME. I won't go as far as to say that this is a bad thing, though. It is probably best that you missed it. (Actually, post SP1, it was not AS bad.)

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:29AM

    by captain normal (2205) on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:29AM (#188407)

    Google says that you want this. What with their algorithms and projections, they know what you want even if you don't yet know it.

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