> no first class standardized ways to move files over the Internet between PC/mobile/edge devices
FTP? You can open an app on your phone, start an FTP server, use UPnP to poke a hole in the router, show their public IP address, send a text message to your friend with the IP, port, username & password in a single URL, connect, send/receive files.
I meant modern -- you can use FTP over stuff like ZeroTier or Tailscale but otherwise you can't do P2P with it (firewalls, V4 NAT) and it's not secure. TS has some facility for transfer but again-- TS-specific, not available everywhere, not standard, and not suitable for all cases.
I also meant things regular people can easily use and that can be used as conveniently as e.g. Apple's AirDrop (which is nice but only works between Apple stuff).
It's part a UI/UX problem and part a missing standards problem. The latter precedes the former.
> firewalls, V4 NAT
That's why they added 'use UPnP to poke a hole in the router'. Which will work on most networks, though CGNAT will still break it if IPv6 isn't available.
There are plenty of other tools out there that can send files between devices. Google+Samsung's Nearby Share work pretty much everywhere. KDE Connect works on any device I can think of. I wish Google+Samsung would make it an open standard but I'm guessing they won't do it so they can rewrite the app whenever they please.
The biggest, and IMO only, problem for AirDrop competitors is that they're not pre-installed on iPhones and iPads while AirDrop is. AirDrop is nothing special in itself, though Apple did implement it in a rather weird way. All you need to mimic it is Bluetooth (BLE if you're fancy) for handshakes and WiFi Direct for transfers.
This is the same predictable reply as the naysayers at the launch of DropBox. Both of us know that expecting people to set up FTP is a complete nonstarter.
FTP? You can open an app on your phone, start an FTP server, use UPnP to poke a hole in the router, show their public IP address, send a text message to your friend with the IP, port, username & password in a single URL, connect, send/receive files.