iOS逆天隐性功能有望颠覆传统互联网

    （“我开始明白它为什么不同了，但我仍然不明白它为什么是种更好的连接方式。”）

    对，明白了这个原理，你也就明白了为什么网状网络具有某种颠覆性了。它之所以更好，就是因为它不一样，虽然许多人不认同这一点。我们不妨看看美国的网络连接问题——这个国家发明了互联网，但它的网速比起其他发达国家简直慢得可怜。大多数问题的根源在于互联网是中心化的，我们的网络连接主要是由少数大公司控制着。此外，目前中心化的网络结构使大型政府机构有机会猖獗地窃取我们的数据，这样一来，去中心化的网状网络似乎就变成了一个更安全的替代性选择。

    （“如果你是个恐怖分子，这一点当然成立。但我不是，所以……”）

    那你还是应该关注网状网络！你可以把它当成一个浓缩的小互联网，由一个像合作社或社区协会这样的机构管理着。现在社会上也已经有了很多网状网络，它们的速度一般都比主流网络更快，而且毫无疑问也更加便宜。而且网状网络也使那些无法连接互联网的社区或个人有了使用网络的机会——比如有些人住得地方要么太偏僻，要么穷得没钱找网络服务商拉一根光纤入户。你不是认为应该“人人有网上”吗？网际网络是一个很好的实现途径。跟Facebook高大上的无人机计划相比，网状网络不那么奇怪，更加的草根化，更富于DIY精神。

    （“好吧，我想下载FireChat。会发生什么？”）

    不过，当下还是不要对它期望太高。要想让它达到任何实用性的应用程度，首先还得让其他人下载这款应用、而且还要加入它。目前它只不过具有一些娱乐价值，也就是大家都通过传统的互联网连接在这款应用上聊天。它现在还很混乱，有点像早期互联网网友那种两眼一抹黑的感觉。里面有说废话的、约炮的、骂人的，大多数人仍然不明白怎么使用这个东西。“有人吗”是很典型的开场白。（你可以这样回答：没有，现在还没有其他人。）

    但是FireChat的前景和网状网络的主流是好的。负责Android、Chrome和Google Apps产品的谷歌（Google）高管桑德尔•皮恰伊在今年于德州奥斯汀举办的西南偏南互动音乐节（the South by Southwest Interactive festival）上，提到了将网状网络用于可穿戴设备的构想。另外网状网络在物联网上显然可以大有作为。（你难道不想有一个友好的、本地化的互联网连接到你的烤箱上吗？）另外，笔者计划今年夏天和朋友出国旅行的时候也使用FireChat，这样哪怕在一个拥挤的街市走散了，又或者我们走到一个没有手机信号覆盖的地方，我们也能找到对方，同时还不用支付高额的漫游费。另外在大型活动的时候，我们也不用担心网络阻塞、变慢或是崩溃了。它也可以用于灾害中。

    现在，全球互联网虽然蓬勃发展，但仍然有一些地方是互联网的真空地带。FireChat和其它网状网络将会在这些地方派上用场，而且很快也会在很多其它地方普及开来。(财富中文网)

    译者：朴成奎

    ("I'm beginning to see why this is different, but I still don't see how it's better.")

    Yes, well, this also gets at how mesh networks are a bit subversive, too. It's better because it is different, is what many argue. Look at the connectivity problems in the U.S. -- the country invented the Internet, yet has miserably slow speeds compared to most of the rest of the developed world. Most of the issues have to do with the fact that the Internet is centralized, and our connection to it is controlled by a few gigantic companies. Couple that with the fact that our current, centralized network structure allows for rampant scraping of our data by large government agencies, and mesh networks begin to look like a safer, more secure alternative.

    ("If you're a terrorist, sure. But I'm not, so ...")

    So you should still care about mesh networks! Think of them more as a boutique Internet, controlled like a co-op or neighborhood association. Of the mesh networks in existence -- and there are many -- the connection is often faster, and definitely cheaper, than its mainstream alternative. It also allows access to communities and individuals who wouldn't connect otherwise -- who live in an area too rural or poor or expensive for a big ISP to lay fiber. Don't you think everyone should have access to the Internet? This is a very good way of going about it. And it's less creepy, more grassroots and artisanal if you will, than Facebook's drones.

    ("Okay, okay. I'm going to download FireChat. What should I expect?")

    Well, don't get your hopes up just yet. You'll have to get others to download and join for it to have any really useful application. For now, there is some entertainment value in flicking over to the "Everyone" setting, which shows you -- yes -- everyone chatting on the app, via a traditional Internet connection. It's chaos and like peering into the dark id of early Internet adopters. There's a lot of trash-talking and flirting bordering on harassment and cursing and, mostly, people just trying to figure out how to use this thing. "Anyone here?" is a pretty typical entry. (And to answer: Not really, no, no one else is here yet.)

    But the promise of FireChat and the mainstreaming of mesh networks is great. Sundar Pichai, the Google executive charged with running the company's Android, Chrome, and Google Apps products, mentioned the use of mesh networks in wearables and home automation at the South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin, Texas this year. There are obvious, and tremendous possibilities for mesh networking as the Internet of Things takes off. (Wouldn't you rather have a friendly, localized Internet for your oven to connect to?) More immediately, this reporter plans to use FireChat this summer when he travels abroad with friends and needs to, say, find them in a crowded street market, but does not want to get hit with a roaming charge on his dataplan. Or again, when he's backpacking and out of signal range. There are obvious uses during events, when networks clog and slow or simply collapse. Or during disasters.

    As it stands, there are still plenty of spaces in between, patches of darkness among the now robust and beaming constellations of Internet across the globe. FireChat specifically, and mesh networks much more generally, will be useful in all these places. And, soon, many more places too.