Outernet: Creating a two-way network using a one-way network service

[Unity+]

So, the company making the Outernet is providing a service that is only a one-way service(which means that it can only send information, not receive it). They plan to do a two-way communication in the future, but they stated it won't be any time soon. However, I have a design in mind that might work(or not, depends).

 

The company is giving out source code to what is known as The Pillar, which is a device that gets the info from their satellite and has a raspberry pi download that info and send it to wifi recipients. Of course, again, the one-way communication doesn't allow sharing of data by other users. Here is my solution to that.

 

What I was thinking of is a one-way communication system with an imitation of a two-way communication. This involves two types of data that would be shared by the pillar: major data and minor data. Major data is the website data that is sent one-way from the satellite and to the pillar, which is viewable by all users. The minor data is the data that is retrieved from devices using the wifi and sent back to the pillar, which is then associated with a particular ID of major data.

 

 

What do you think of the idea? Worthy to invest time into?

[Roamer]

What do you think of the idea? Worthy to invest time into?

 

No, what would be the use of sending data back ?

Let's say i used the outernet to send this reply, the outernet doesn't own this website, merely keeps a copy of it, chances are you would never read my reply because you're only accessing the original version of this site.

[Unity+]

 

No, what would be the use of sending data back ?

Let's say i used the outernet to send this reply, the outernet doesn't own this website, merely keeps a copy of it, chances are you would never read my reply because you're only accessing the original version of this site.

I don't think you understood the concept. In the pillar, there is the minor data. Your post would be minor data that would exist on the server in the pillar. When retrieving a particular site, the data associated with that site would also be sent to the device requesting the information.

[Roamer]

That could work.

Would be a lot of programming though(different sites using different protocols).

At the same time it could slowly turn into a second internet, so pretty much any party with an interest in the current internet may feel threatened and take steps.

[Unity+]

That could work.

Would be a lot of programming though(different sites using different protocols).

At the same time it could slowly turn into a second internet, so pretty much any party with an interest in the current internet may feel threatened and take steps.

I don't see why they would feel threatened. If you are talking about ISPs feeling threatened, I don't see how. It just provides a second way for people to get access to the Internet at maybe even a faster speed.

[Endy0816]

Are you talking about creating a sub-network or sending data back to the wider internet?

[Unity+]

Are you talking about creating a sub-network or sending data back to the wider internet?

It's about making sub-networks that interact with the wider internet through the Outernet.

[Outernet]

Hi. I'm the founder of Outernet--happy to answer any questions.

 

Your idea makes sense and I believe does solve a need. Our roadmap includes the incorporation of mesh networking software so that Pillars can talk to each other (as outlined above) and also share connections back to the internet. The last mile through wifi is inherently bidirectional. One way to think about what was described above is like a branch of a git repo. When no connection exisits, everything stays local. When an internet connection does exisit somehwere on the mesh, then all of the changes are merged back in to the original website.

 

We have absolutely no idea how this would work right now, but don't let that stop you from thinking through the details. You may also want to review the works of others in this space, such as PirateBox and Commotion Wireless (you may get an ssl-warning for Commotion).

 

http://piratebox.cc/

https://www.commotionwireless.net/

 

We expect mesh networking to eventually play a significant role in Outernet, but we want to first focus on global content delivery.

[Unity+]

Hi. I'm the founder of Outernet--happy to answer any questions.

 

Your idea makes sense and I believe does solve a need. Our roadmap includes the incorporation of mesh networking software so that Pillars can talk to each other (as outlined above) and also share connections back to the internet. The last mile through wifi is inherently bidirectional. One way to think about what was described above is like a branch of a git repo. When no connection exisits, everything stays local. When an internet connection does exisit somehwere on the mesh, then all of the changes are merged back in to the original website.

 

We have absolutely no idea how this would work right now, but don't let that stop you from thinking through the details. You may also want to review the works of others in this space, such as PirateBox and Commotion Wireless (you may get an ssl-warning for Commotion).

 

http://piratebox.cc/

https://www.commotionwireless.net/

 

We expect mesh networking to eventually play a significant role in Outernet, but we want to first focus on global content delivery.

Nice to see you on the Science Forums!

 

Here is a diagram to layout some more detail into the minor data and major data interaction:

 

 

Some issues I am going to work on for the concept is security to make sure users wouldn't be able to send phony requests that could harm other files.

[Unity+]

I am adding onto the concept by having it so people who do have Internet access through a regular ISP will be able to access the content in the Pillars. That way, people with a regular internet connection can also share content on these pillars.