ubuntu-phone team mailing list archive

[Ian Santopietro <isantop@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Would NFC be able to help quickly pair devices that aren't necessarily> 'friends', similar to how Nintendo 3DS works? If i'm not mistaken it> exchanges profile information with people passing on the street.

This sounds like a good idea, but I wanted to correct a technical item
in your post. The 3DS uses WiFi to do this, and uses a mode that
automatically scans for and connects to open Wireless networks. I
would think something similar to WiFi direct is being implemented
here, and I believe this would be a better idea in the long run.
On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 06:14, Callum Saunders <dancemeep@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> With regards to setting up sync, i was thinking that U1 would benefit from
> having a 'Friends' feature, not only would it make sharing current U1
> services easier it would help us make multiple Ubuntu devices 'social' with
> each other, so that it would just be a case of sending a request to pair the
> devices.
> Would NFC be able to help quickly pair devices that aren't necessarily
> 'friends', similar to how Nintendo 3DS works? If i'm not mistaken it
> exchanges profile information with people passing on the street. I'm not
> saying that's how Ubuntu should work, but it sounds like an easy way to set
> up sync services between 2 Ubuntu devices where NFC is available, without
> having to scan a network (which might not necessarily be available) or be
> 'friends'.
>
> Another way it could be taken is to be able to create groups or circles of
> friends i.e. production team. So you can easily invite a predetermined group
> of people for multi-device collaborative fun. I can see this being a great
> benefit for business and production use.
> On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 4:54 AM, David Jordan <djordan2@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> I think using a real-time synchronized database is probably the best way
>> to provide these sorts of seamless multiscreen applications.
>> The way it works in Novacut, each system keeps a synchronized copy of the
>> database.  Each application using the database communicates only through
>> changes in the database, so when the user makes a change with one client,
>> the client makes the appropriate change in the database.  These changes are
>> then replicated to any remote databases in real-time.  The changes feed is
>> sent to each application, which update themselves based on the new changes.
>> This actually has a couple of benefits. If you implement this sort of
>> architecture, you essentially get real-time collaboration almost for free.
>> It also makes it much easier to make sure the backend and frontend
>> components are loosely coupled and enforces a consistent data model, which
>> makes creating stable, robust applications much easier.
>> Now the database behind this needs to have properties fairly similar to
>> couchdb: It needs to be document oriented, and in terms of sync it should
>> probably work fairly similarly to how couchdb _rev works.
>> In terms of how the user interacts with applications on the TV, having a
>> set of documents in the database for each state you want to control.  Then
>> have a client on the tablet or phone that makes changes to the document.  In
>> terms of what the user sees, they would press some buttons in a GUI on their
>> tablet or phone and the client on the TV would respond.  You might setup
>> general controls for the system the same way.
>> Setting up Synchronization:
>> Initially you would need some way to pair devices, which would amount to
>> finding the remote device, handling authorization as needed, and setting up
>> synchronization.
>> We could use something like Avahi to make discovery easy on the local
>> network.  Some way to control access to the device owner is probably a good
>> idea.  Something like a captcha or qrcode displayed on the screen during
>> pairing with an optional password to allow the device access to the
>> database.  At this point the two databases should be able to synchronize any
>> time they can see each other.  Synchronization over the local network is
>> great for low-latency input and for letting friends pair their devices with
>> your system while they're over.  One could perform similar synchronization
>> via a service like Ubuntu One if it supported real-time sync.
>> David Jordan
>
>
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Ian Santopietro

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