
Inko, a peer-to-peer collaborative whiteboard app for iPad and Apple TV - archagon
https://medium.com/@creaceed/drawing-together-behind-the-scenes-a7a0352ab7e4
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graeme
If this could broadtcast to a non-apple device, I’d buy it instantly. I do
online tutoring. Dsmned hard to get a good whiteboard. They’re so easy to make
that no one has a good business model, and most whiteboard companies go
offline within a year or so.

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cpncrunch
We've been providing online whiteboards, mainly for online tutoring, for the
past 20 years:

[https://www.groupboard.com](https://www.groupboard.com)

We were the first online whiteboard, and there have been quite a few that have
come and gone over the years. As you say, many seem to be run as a hobby, with
minimal support. There are many free online whiteboards out there, and it's
difficult to make money from it that way unless you have some kind of paid-for
premium version. Our software is used by the largest online tutoring company
in the UK, as well as many 1-person online tutors.

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graeme
Does it have select + cut/paste? Didn’t see it.

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cpncrunch
Yes, our Groupworld product has that. The free version doesn't.

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marknadal
This is delightful!!! Especially their attempt at MPC or CAS, and they get
huge points for their research on CRDTs (something our Open Source library
handles for you [https://github.com/amark/gun](https://github.com/amark/gun))
and OT (not P2P, requires a centralized resolver). Key quote:

> We have opted for a centralised repository-like approach that would store
> editing operations from different users. This is also the basis of the per-
> user undo system, and we combined that with a local database to store
> transient snapshots (canvas is bitmap based), so that we can redraw any
> point of the repo history with minimal number of operations. Repository also
> implements automatic pruning of older history to limit complexity for longer
> sessions.

They then mention a star configuration, yet they clearly demonstrate the app
working without WiFi, could somebody on the team explain more what they mean
by that? Just that the data is in a star configuration (not the network)?

Incredible work :) :) :) it is very rare I see legit P2P tech out there,
definitely worth the upvotes!

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rsebbe
Thank you! I'm from the team, I'll try to answer your question.

One tablet creates the drawing group, and other tablets join that group. The
host centralizes the data submitted by participants (guests), and it
redistributes it to all other.

So it's "star" because one manages the data, and it's "peer-to-peer" because
it uses an Apple Wi-Fi extension that enables direct NxM networking of devices
(no Wi-Fi access point needed). Also works with Apple TV.

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archagon
Hey! I'm not the person you're responding to, but since you're here anyway, I
have a quick question. I found your article by Googling
"MultipeerConnectivity" and "CRDT", to see if anyone had put the two
technologies together. I was wondering: why did you decide to eschew
MultipeerConnectivity in favor of your custom solution? What was missing from
that framework?

Also, what's the Wi-Fi extension that you used to implement your tech? Haven't
heard anything about this, would be very interested in investigating further!

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amelius
Hasn't this been tried multiple times before, and why should it catch on this
time?

Besides, I find supposed communication tools that are limited to a single
platform a little off-putting.

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archagon
For the record, this isn't my app, but I thought the P2P tech was quite
fascinating! Perfect use of the tablet form factor.

