pmsg - PocketPC messenger idea

pocket messenger Chat through bluetooth, Wi-Fi, IrDA More of a learning project than anything useful (use IRC, XMPP, email…)

Ideea: on first launch program should prompt you to make a (device-local) user account.

The program will need a local cache directory: make it in the current running directory (most likely program files) and put stuff there.

That user account will be local only and will contain:

• Username (doesn't have to be unique since we can't track it anyway)
• - ID
• - How we actually track users between conversations; This must be unique
• - Maybe generate it from Wi-Fi mac address + device name? Something like that
• - Or get it from device S/N, anything identifiable
• - Hash it and send it along with any message
• - Profile picture
• - Something small with reduced colors, probably 64×64 and 4-bit colour
• - Send this along at the start of the chat maybe to reduce bandwidth needs?

•     - If somebody joins in a group chat after a user they won't see their profile picture

•     - Solution: Just send it (announce it, like a gratuitous ARP) whenever someone joins

•     - This could cause performance problems if there are a lot of people in a group chat and everybody sends their profile picture

•     - First, the client will have to check if they have a locally cached version of a user's profile picture based on their ID

•         - `Program: Do I have this profile picture in my cache directory?`

•         - `Program: If I do, I won't ask for a profile picture`

•     - Whenever a user changes their profile picture, they will announce it after a random amount of time to reduce bandwidth needs.