Personalize RailsConf2012 Sessions with ConfConnect
With RailsConf 2012 just round the corner, we have been scratching our heads wondering how we can contribute in our own little way and take the conference experience to a whole new level.
Well! ConfConnect is our answer.
We have been attending RailsConf year after year and really we’d pour through event agendas and printouts of the sessions we wanted to attend, touch base with people we wanted to see and arrange meeting times and places, and then struggle to find meeting places. Networking events were challenging when all we had to go on were people’s name tags, especially if all they displayed were first and last names. We worked towards changing this experience back in 2010 by first launching ConfConnect as a Rails and iOS application.
About ConfConnect
ConfConnect is an intuitive application that lets you organize conference sessions and create your own schedule. It also allows you to post feedback, comments and recommendations about the sessions. The app is particularly useful for multi-track conferences where attendees need to choose the sessions they wish to attend.
With ConfConnect we have made an effort to enhance the attendees experience at the conference by providing them a basic and easy to use application that allows them to create a personalized schedule effortlessly and one which is readily available in their pockets for reference.
We would soon be launching the updated version of ConfConnect in the days to come. This version of the application has been re-envisioned and rebuild from the ground up with the entirely new design, interface and usability.
Amidst the stiff schedule and deliveries for client projects our development has been hard pressed for time but still managed to pull it off by throwing in some extra efforts. And the application is now ready to be launched across MULTIPLE platforms – Web app (Ruby on Rails) and mobile app (for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7)
ConfConnect iOS and Windows Phone 7 app are in the middle of their respective review process and is expected to be made live soon.
Android App is available to download at – http://bit.ly/HPebRQ
Till the time we are up and running with our new application, take a sneak peek at the upcoming changes and tweaks below:
SMS Scheduler – Another Amazing Android App Developed by our Android Team
Our Android team is on a spree of developing some amazing Android applications and the latest one that has made way from their stable is ‘SMS Scheduler‘. The Application is the result of the continuous and incessant analysis of the users’ requirements pertaining to sending and receiving SMS’s.
Statistics show there is a continuous rise in the number of text SMS across the World, but even then more often than not, we miss to send important messages to our family, friends, officemates, or business partners on right time. This is where SMS Scheduler for Android comes to your rescue.
By developing this Android app we have tried to supplement the native messaging service with the ability to auto send messages at later point in time. So with SMS Scheduler installed on your Android Phone you can be the first one to send holiday greetings, occasion wishes, reminders, meetings, etc to your family, friends, peers and colleagues.
If you are a happy owner of Android Phone you definitely need to get your hand on one of the most slick, simple yet powerful SMS scheduling Android application with great interface.
About SMS Scheduler and its Features
Use SMS Scheduler and never forget to send those important sms!
SMS scheduler comes with a nice, simple and easy to use interface that allows you to schedule your messages to be sent on specific date and time. You can either schedule a message to be sent to an individual or a group.
No more reminders needed, never miss birthdays, anniversaries, holiday greetings and important meetings. Simply set the date and time for the message to be delivered and leave the rest to your phone to send the message for you. The SMS would be sent automatically without any user interaction.
So this holiday season don’t forget to send your wishes and greetings to your family, relatives and friends!
Features:
1) Choose message text from pre-defined templates
2) Add custom messages to templates
3) Add your own groups
4) Recipients can be typed in directly or selected from contacts
5) Choose multiple recipients to send messages
6) View history of sent and delivered messages
7) Enter messages using Google voice
8) Messages are classified as Scheduled, Sent or Draft
Application Marketplace Link - http://bit.ly/xVFQKi
This is the first version of the application that we have launched. We would be making constant enhancements in our consequent releases to boost its usability. Meanwhile, we would be happy to receive any feedback, opinions and comments that you might have for the application.
Game On!
“Well served!”
“What a spin!”
“Just missed the net!”
“Deuce!”
These aren’t the standard phrases that you would expect to hear at a development company.
But at VinSol, you would hear them many times a day!
Ever since we got a new Table Tennis table, 60 minutes of game play has become a part of our daily routine.
To the average manager / employer, it might seem as a waste of time.
For those who are truly looking to get the best out of their team, this is just what the doctor ordered.
I have seen productivity rise both before and after the game play.
While teams work diligently during the day knowing that their day is shorter by an hour; after the game, they carry the high energy levels to their desk and work with the same zeal they show when trying to win a point during the game.
Not to mention the camaraderie it generates while playing together.
Also, I found an interesting pattern with the teams who are playing regularly.
The sportsman spirit they show during game play is also reflected in their work.
We use Agile frameworks like Scrum and XP to deliver the great work we do.
These frameworks have mature individuals as their cornerstone.
I have seen sportsman spirit transforming into maturity while working with these individuals.
Besides, daily game play also takes care of one’s fitness aspects thereby relieving one of his computer and chair and allowing one to relax his mind and exercise the body at the same time.
I believe that writing good code is an art, not something that can be inculcated by merely reading books and online tutorials.
If we expect such creative skills from individuals/teams, then even we need to think out of the box on how to inculcate such skills in them.
At VinSol, the new TT table was the one of such solutions.
Game on pal!
Expense Tracking Made Easy with Our Android Application – Expense Tracker
Most of us are oblivious of our spending behavior and more often than not end up asking questions like ‘How can I improve my spending habits’? Or ‘how can I hold back unwanted expenses’? Let’s accept it, mainstream population is unmindful of their spending behavior and typically end up overspending (of course some people claim to know where their money is going). It is difficult to fully dispute this claim, but there is a fair degree of skepticism. None of us is a human calculator after all (unless you are not using a traditional pen and paper approach for your book-keeping).
The truth is, without proper analysis we only have a vague sense of where our money goes and this where the real need of an expense tracking mechanism becomes essential. Needless to say, not just any expense tracking application would do. It can be argued that there are many ways to track expenses and one should pick the one that suits the requirements. But at the same time the method should be hassle free and not cumbersome or time consuming. And there is no better way to be able to track your expense on your mobile while you are ‘On the Go’.
After having used a variety of Android applications for expense tracking and management, we were itching to develop our own version of an expense tracking and management app, as we felt there were many apps that lacked user friendly UI, ease of use, were over burdened with features, etc.
What we are able to achieve with our Android application is a simple, clutter free, intuitive yet powerful expense tracking application that addresses the need for monitoring daily expenses.
The application is out in the Android Marketplace and into the hands of many people with Android devices wanting an easy way to track and manage their expenses.
About Expense Tracker and Features
Expense tracking ‘On the Go’ becomes a whole lot easier with this easy to use, intuitive and simple daily expense management application. ‘Expense Tracker’ helps you to manage your money 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Just as the expenses do not stop, neither should money management. And with money being a limited commodity (for most of us), it is important to use it judiciously. ‘Expense Tracker’ is developed to help everyone who has the need for financial management and that includes everyone who indulges in economic activity of any nature.
Features:
1) Set reminder for expense entries
2) Track exp on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis
3) Graphical representation
4) Mark expense entries as favorite and later add it as an expense from favorite
5) Take a picture of the expense receipt and save it for future reference
6) Save expense as voice recording
7) Log location of the expense automatically
8) Date and time of the expense is logged automatically
9) Expenses can be modified to a previous date
Application Link - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.vinsol.expensetracker
Apple Deprecated Access to UDID
OK. So some of you might have heard that Apple has deprecated access to UDID.
Well, that’s true….sort of…but what on earth does it mean.
Let’s find out.
Every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch has an identifier unique to that device.
It is called a UDID which stands for Unique Device ID.
Some apps use it directly or some create a hash using it to uniquely identify the user/device.
They use a property called “uniqueIdentifier”.
Apple is now deprecating the method that is used to access the UDID of a device from within the app.
In other words, this method is slated for removal in some time and the apps already using this need to make provisions to transition off it.
Here’s what they say in the documentation.
Now how does Apple’s decision affect the stakeholders.
As for end users, it doesn’t affect them at all.
They have remained oblivious to the presence of UDID and would continue to do so.
There have been some blog posts around users screaming that their privacy is being compromised just because the app is sharing their UDIDs.
Baah! I dont see why that should be a big privacy concern.
There is a significant change for developers / app providers and advertisers however.
Some applications needed to identify individual users, say for subscription purposes.
Either they required all users to have an account at a central location, or they had to identify the user remotely on his device.
UDID helped in the latter scenario.
Using UDID and a little analytics code, the app provider could get valuable insights into the usage of the app.
However, with UDID going away, each app would have to create its own identifier for each device.
While that alone would not be a problem, the issue would be in reconciling this data with the previous data that used other means of identifying a user (UDID or a hash based on it).
So unless the app developers can find out a cunning way to reconcile the data, they would be starting afresh essentially.
Because this analytics data was the advertisers’ holy grail, they have nothing to cheer about either.
But why is Apple doing this anyways?
Well, “Who is John Galt”?
[I am reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand of late and this phrase stuck.]
Some highlight privacy concerns, including law suits, raised by some users of late (which I find frivolous).
However, there might be a hidden agenda of Apple in seeking to discontinue use of UDID.
Apple gets a share of the revenue generated by selling paid apps on its store.
It also gains from paid subscriptions.
Normally, when you buy a paid app, you can download it on another device at no extra cost by signing in with the same Apple id.
Apple gains on the first purchase, but subsequent installs don’t add to its coffers.
However, there are some paid apps that charge you for every install.
So if you paid a dollar when you bought and installed the app on your iPhone, you might have to pay some more to install the app on a new device, say your iPad.
This model is made possible only by identifying the devices individually and not necessarily the user alone.
Doing away with UDID would do away with this model too.
Could that be the reason?
Well, we would see.
Enough of doom and gloom.
There’s still a way out.
If you don’t really require any feature offered by iOS 5 SDK, you can continue to use any lower version and still access a device’s UDID.
The access is going to be deprecated only for iOS 5 SDK.
So unless you want to use iOS 5 SDK, you are good.
So long.