Seamlessly Extending IRC to Mobile Devices

We Can Rebuild It, We Have the Technology...

This solution, although totally usable, isn't quite as elegant as I'd like. My "main" tablet and phone are both iOS devices (iPad and iPhone, but let's not discuss my choice of mobile devices here), and Apple has a very clean, integrated push notification system. I started poking around to see if there was any way to send push messages to my iDevices rather than rely on SMS—that way my iPad would receive IRC "pings" as well.

It turns out, the Internet already had an answer for this problem as well. A fellow named Chris Jones already put together a patched version of Irssi and an Irssi script that does all the heavy lifting for this solution. His Web page (see Resources) talks all about the details on this and how to install it. He even mentions using Irssi with stunnel!

Figure 3. Getting a Push Notify on an iPhone

Figure 4. Looking at My Previous Notifications

In closing, utilizing this set of scripts has really brought IRC into the 21st century for me. I love the idea of IRC, but it shows a lack of mobility features due to its age. With this set of scripts and the right mobile tools, you can bring your IRC addiction up to date—and have it with you, anywhere you go!

Figure 5. Firing Up Colloquy to Join the Conversation

Resources

Irssi Proxy Documentation: http://www.irssi.org/documentation/proxy

Michael Lustfield's Irssi-to-SMS Plugin Use: http://michael.lustfield.net/content/irssi-sms

Chris Jones' Irssi Proxy and iPhone: http://www.tenshu.net/2010/12/old-and-new-mixing-irssi-and-iphones.html

Stunnel Home Page: http://www.stunnel.org

Generating a Self-Signed SSL Certificate: http://www.akadia.com/services/ssh_test_certificate.html

"Internet Relay Chat" by Jayson Broughton: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/internet-relay-chat

"IRC, Still the Best Support Around" by Shawn Powers: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/irc-still-best-support-around

Linux Journal IRC Channel: #linuxjournal on Freenode