Right on the money, Nathan! There was a time when the web browser was considered a "thin-client" alternative to "fat client-server apps." Unfortunately, not anymore! But there's hope on the mobile web, with its proliferation of apps with better bandwidth-aware features.
On the other hand, the Tor web site is a bit too much "smoke and mirrors" promoting it as a solution for the masses, when clearly it is not practical for that use. Maybe Bill Gates gave them a course on "vaporware marketing!" ;-) On Feb 23, 2014 8:30 AM, "Nathan of Guardian" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On February 23, 2014 2:11:26 AM EST, Collin Anderson < > [email protected]> wrote: > >On Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 9:35 PM, Nathan of Guardian < > >[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> I just hope that the "Tor is slow" meme, along with > >> other famous ones like "PGP is hard" and "No one cares about > >privacy", > >> are continued to be challenged, tested and not accepted as > >inevitable. > >> > > > > > >Certainly, however, I am testing this meme now, and it has validity. I, > >right now, pulled the latest version of Tor to a Linux machine in Iran > >and > >did a comparative measurement of throughput with and without. Although > >the > >download started out reasonably fast, after a few seconds it seems > >probably > >that my connection was throttled down. Whereas without Tor, my > >throughput > >averaged 84.81 Kbps, with it is currently 14.66 Kbps and rapidly > >dropping. > >If anyone doubts that Tor's overhead is that high, at some point I > >could > >keep tearing down connections and narrow the likelihood of a poorly > >performing bridge. However, factually, Tor is slow. > > I just ran the same test with Psiphon3 and my throughout was 0.0kbps... (I > joke!). I do appreciate your effort to add hard data to the thread. > > My point was not that Tor is not slow (it is, and generally 1/4 the > bandwidth as your tests have shown), it is that the meme overrides any > reality of possible usefulness, even when anonymity is not the user's goal. > I was simply arguing for Orbot to be on the list of possible solutions that > were being promoted, because especially on mobile, use of async apps that > do their networking in the background mitigate the speed issues greatly. > > Here is my own direct data to share. On 9/11 in lower Manhattan, nearly > all communications systems failed due to being taken out in the WTC > collapse or overloaded by the mass amount of people trying to find each > other. This included terrestrial internet links, again due to local routing > through switching sites downtown and loss of power, etc. The only network > that remained viable was Mobitex, a mobile pager data network that had been > written off as too slow for the mobile web. Fortunately, RIM realized it > was the perfect network for their early Blackberry devices, so long as they > built their messaging system and other apps to mask the time it took for a > message to send or be received. Web browsing on the early Blackberries was > a joke, even with stripped down WAP sites. > > However, having a Blackberry (and a Palm VII also mobitex based) below > 14th street on 9/11 meant that I was able to stay in touch with the small > percentage of friends (.3% of new Yorkers perhaps?) who also had > mobitex-based devices, I could still send and receive email, and that I > became a source of information and coordination, while everyone else was > disconnected and offline. (I also deployed a working WiFi mesh later that > week, but that is for another thread!) > > If Tor is harder to block (which it is), more sustainable to operate > (which it is), better for protecting users privacy from the operators > (which it is), then my hope is that we see an increase in use among apps > that are well designed for the type of network it is. That will only happen > if those of use who see the value of Tor (or any circumvention service that > prioritizes privacy above speed) make sure the apps are using it wisely. > > In this golden age of mobile messaging, may all app designers channel > their own inner Blackberry for the benefit of all users! > > +n > > -- > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable on Google. Violations > of list guidelines will get you moderated: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech. > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at > [email protected]. >
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