Good afternoon everyone,
I've been tasked with finding an app for our engineers to use at work to allow them to sign in on site each day. A little background; we're an IT professional services company and at the moment every morning I call each of our internal engineers to find out whether or not they're on site, delayed, etc. Naturally not all of them will be on site every day, and sometimes the start times will be different (7am, 9am, etc). Also, another slight (probably rather major) caveat is that some of the guys use Android, whereas others are in the iPhone crowd, so whatever we settle on would have to be able to accommodate both.
In an ideal world, we would be able to put up a schedule on a friday afternoon for the next week, and each engineer would be able to log the time that they get on site each morning, with comments if they were late, for instance. Also because of the nondisclosure agreements we share with some of our customers, it would definitely have to not be public, or rather have the option of a closed group.
I realise this is a long shot, but is there anything out there that could serve this purpose, or something close that doesn't quite tick all the boxes but that we could live with for the time being?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Related
So a while ago, I decided I would get into java, for the purpose of building a personal assistant/concierge type of app, but after a few days of learning, Siri was released - an app for the iPhone which does everything I was thinking of doing, and they stated that they had the goal of releasing for other OSs (Android, BB, WM) so I quickly abandoned that idea, my decision based on the fact that I, an amateur and a real novice, could not create an app that was nearly as robust, and that it would never be able to compete with theirs.
Well as some may have read recently, Siri was bought by Apple
http://www.businessinsider.com/appl...istant-app-as-war-with-google-heats-up-2010-4
And here is their page, which can probably explain what they do better than I can
http://siri.com/about/
This has got me thinking about it again, and was wondering what people would think about this sort of app, whether it would be worth my while trying again?
Would there be any call for this, and would there be any other devs willing to lend a hand to a noob?
My knowledge of Java is limited, but I am certainly willing to learn (preferably as I go).
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
There is a small company called google which kinda does the same thing.
Please enlighten me, in what way does Google provide a service which allows people to, in plain (spoken/colloquial) english find cinema times and book them, book restaurants, order taxis, find out about events happening in the local area and generally manage your life, all from one application, rather than sifting through lists of search results yourself? Sure anyone could go to the separate websites of all the aforementioned, but might it be easier to do it from one app?
I may be wrong, and if I am then I apologise, but I have not heard of a service like this from Google.
If you have used google voice search then you would already see that it does most part of it.
Also check google IO 2010 2nd day video.
Hey guys,
Wanted to show you a application i have been developing for the last few months.
Do you ever sit in a endless phone tree wondering if you'll ever get to talk to a human?
Dialfaster gives you the information you need to bypass phone trees.
Two applications exist on the marketplace UK and US Versions.
In the UK we have 700 phone numbers plus dialing shortcuts.
In the US we have 500 phone numbers plus dialing shortcuts.
Features Include:
Save phone numbers you use regularly as a favourite.
Call-Log logs all your calls made to companies, so you can keep a record of contacting them.
Quickly search through all companies to find the one you need.
Updates regularly, so you always have the most recent dialfaster database.
View more info at dialfaster.com/app/
Sorry but i am still unable to post links
Just search for "dialfaster" in the marketplace
I am guessing since the list comes from a thirdparty, it would be futile to ask for a Belgian version?
I could really use this for work =P
Hey,
Thanks for your reply, this info doesn't come from a 3rd party, I have been working on the database for about a year now.
We have a website as-well @ dialfaster.com which does the same thing but is desktop.
The information for the UK has taken me along time to build up, calling companies throughout the day, and trying to work out the quickest way to reach a human.
Sorry but at present, we don't offer a Belgian version, currently working on iPhone, and moving over to other countries, so we might be doing European countries some time in the near future, but thanks for your interest.
Shuze said:
Hey,
Thanks for your reply, this info doesn't come from a 3rd party, I have been working on the database for about a year now.
We have a website as-well @ dialfaster.com which does the same thing but is desktop.
The information for the UK has taken me along time to build up, calling companies throughout the day, and trying to work out the quickest way to reach a human.
Sorry but at present, we don't offer a Belgian version, currently working on iPhone, and moving over to other countries, so we might be doing European countries some time in the near future, but thanks for your interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, Thanks for your reply.
I will point people I know online to that app.
In IT and most other Office work its a big hassle to go through the IVR menus all the time.
VoIP Phone System is one of the most widely used Avaya phone by most businesses to be able to contact people and businesses from different sides of the world in the most economical way. And since this phone system runs through the Internet, you don’t need any phone cable lines to get this working.
tl;dr I'm new, I'm not a very knowledgeable developer, I have an idea that I want your opinion about.
Heyo Peoples,
I'm new and I like to think a lot about cool new stuff with mobile devices (web, software, hardware, etc). I've been thinking a lot recently about how people like to use mobile devices, and how we might use them in the near future--thinking past what's being done now, and into what comes next.
I've been wondering for a while why there isn't an existing piece of functionality on mobile devices that allows a user complete control of the device and every piece of information on it. Imagine a GUI except instead of graphics, it's like interacting with a person. (aside: first person to say Siri should be shunned like an Amish girl who went to a movie theater).
Is it outrageous to say that you should be able to pick up your phone and have it find anything, from anytime in the past that you have done with or on it? I know that would take mountains of data, but is it silly? In it's most basic form, this would just be a search feature. In it's most eloquent form it could be an operating system. Imagine being able to ask your phone what you did last Wednesday, or maybe where you were. What if it could recall emails or documents based on date, time, location where you were when you wrote it, keyword, or contact, based on verbal interaction? What if it tracked data usage by application, or allowed you to measure and optimize system performance with a verbal command (ex. "Shut down all apps except for Google Maps" or "How much data am I using per minute").
Is it too early to start wishing for an interface like that computer on Paycheck (horrible movie with Ben Afleck) or Cortana in Halo? Is this type of interface impractical or implausible?
If you were to make something like this, would it have to be a new operating system built from the ground up, or could you develop an app to do this, or could you hack Android to do it? I welcome all of your feedback.
Lots of questions, and I have very few answers.
Jujubes said:
tl;dr I'm new, I'm not a very knowledgeable developer, I have an idea that I want your opinion about.
Heyo Peoples,
I'm new and I like to think a lot about cool new stuff with mobile devices (web, software, hardware, etc). I've been thinking a lot recently about how people like to use mobile devices, and how we might use them in the near future--thinking past what's being done now, and into what comes next.
I've been wondering for a while why there isn't an existing piece of functionality on mobile devices that allows a user complete control of the device and every piece of information on it. Imagine a GUI except instead of graphics, it's like interacting with a person. (aside: first person to say Siri should be shunned like an Amish girl who went to a movie theater).
Is it outrageous to say that you should be able to pick up your phone and have it find anything, from anytime in the past that you have done with or on it? I know that would take mountains of data, but is it silly? In it's most basic form, this would just be a search feature. In it's most eloquent form it could be an operating system. Imagine being able to ask your phone what you did last Wednesday, or maybe where you were. What if it could recall emails or documents based on date, time, location where you were when you wrote it, keyword, or contact, based on verbal interaction? What if it tracked data usage by application, or allowed you to measure and optimize system performance with a verbal command (ex. "Shut down all apps except for Google Maps" or "How much data am I using per minute").
Is it too early to start wishing for an interface like that computer on Paycheck (horrible movie with Ben Afleck) or Cortana in Halo? Is this type of interface impractical or implausible?
If you were to make something like this, would it have to be a new operating system built from the ground up, or could you develop an app to do this, or could you hack Android to do it? I welcome all of your feedback.
Lots of questions, and I have very few answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is probably not as far off as it seems. The developers of "Utter" have come along way in the right direction. You should maybe approach them with your ideas. Not all of them of course . Save some for yourself.
One problem I see is semantics. "Shut down all apps except for Google Maps" sounds good - but do you really mean ALL apps ? The line that would be walked is one where the developer must train the program to not necessarily do what they ask, but do what they WANT. It gets trickier when you realise that some people who aren't your average users might want to test things and shut down an app (in this case) that an average user would never want shut, where they might mess up their phone beyond their ability to repair if they did.
I think speech is a great tool to interact, though I'm not going to be a person to use it. I don't think speech will ever become a default unless there are other technological advances that change how we interact with the world. It's annoying enough to hear someone gabbing loudly to another human on the phone, do we really want people gabbing AT their phones as a default interface ? I think privacy is a driving factor that will keep sound from being a major interface - perhaps it could work for in home applications, but out in public people may not want to announce to the world who they are calling, what they are looking for, or what site they're logging on to, et cetera. Until there's technology to make voice and sound less "public", I don't see this being the future of phones - it's more of a nice thing to have as an "extra" for when a person is comfortable using it.
But, hey, maybe we'll get used to wearing Google Glass and talking to ourselves all the time - or we'll get in-ear buds or implants where we can choose to hear the outside world or not. Just exploring the possibilities here.
I do think it's a big "outrageous" to have infinite backup. Just take a look at how much data companies like Amazon and Facebook acquire on a per-day basis. Think about how much data you use on a daily basis. I don't have the money or desire to be buying new HDDs every other week. Maybe in the future there will be a technological revolution that allows for mass amounts of data to be stored in even smaller spaces. But current technology in that regard is still very expensive and persnickety - read about high capacity SD cards and how fragile they can be and about data needing to be "refreshed" or they can become corrupt. There are lots of issues that make backing up everything you do impracticable.
And, again - privacy concerns. Do I really want my computer to know what I did last Wednesday and who I was with ? What if someone stole my computer or phone and had access to that information ? If we had the technology to do that, who's to say that current encryption would be "enough" - or that someone wouldn't go ahead and try to hack it anyway if they felt finding out basically everything about you was worth brute-forcing your phone or whatever they'd do in the future ? And have no password or a crappy one - even easier for them to know EVERYTHING about you, now.
Highly visual and talk-activated computers are absolutely great for games, movies, and TV. Why ? They function as narrative devices. They allow the actor to say or explain things they otherwise wouldn't have said out loud for personal, practical, or security reasons. They can become characters in their own right. People like those big screen computer displays where the characters are poking things all over and up and down - it looks cool. But not so cool is having your arms get tired from reaching up and around all the time. Not so cool is having to tell the computer out loud what kind of special images you want to search for when you have house-mates living in the next room over.
Just some thoughts. If you have other or counter ideas, go right on ahead.
Scrolling through the apps installed on my phone, and it is hit or miss on which of the Android and/or Google apps have \u0026 in the middle of their names. Not all, but it seems the important ones do, that downloaded and installed in the middle of the night hours or days after the initial purchase and set up of the phone. Isn't Gmail, Chrome, Android Web View, Device Unlock, Calculator, Device Health Services, and most Google services already installed in Android phones? It's even in some of the apps I installed later on, but not all. I have looked it up, both here and using different search engines. Not too excited with the results, nor do I have the IT brains to understand all the jargon. Would someone here please explain it in layman's terms? BTW, I know I have been hacked/tracked by my ex for a while now. Would \u0026 happen to be a way to remote access and monitor my phone usage?
EDIT: Nothing was synced to old phones, devices, or accounts. This isn't the first new device he has gained access to. There have been several brands and models, phones and laptops. Your guess is as good as mine, and the police, as to how it is being done. Sometimes he leaves "<rooted>" on the screen or turns on 911 only it locks up the phone a few hours after bringing it into the house. He works in the tech industry. No, this isn't my device I've asked this on. This really hasn't been as fun as it sounds.
Thank you all in advance!
I will put my tin foil hat on while anxiously waiting your replies.
(I know, funny not funny. Either has been having to live with his BS.)
Checking back and bumping. There was just one reply on another thread. Please, someone has to know of this Google and Android system hacking apps combo floating around in Google Developer and Firebase. It's a real thing, and my nightmare now. I will not censure if you developed it or are using it on someone other than me. However, I beg you to reconsider if you are. There are days that I feel that worrying about the safety of my kids and if he does show up somewhere I'm at with a grudge to settle is too much to handle. Not everyone has the ability to get through that. I did not deserve his controlling abuse when we were together and there seems to be no way to get out from under his thumb currently. The local cyber cops have been of no help. They either do not believe this happening, these types of apps exist and what they do are possible (One said, "Those kind of things are just in James Bond movies"), or they think there is no imminent threat because there aren't bruises and the little I do have in the bank has not been touched after closing and opening numerous accounts to keep him out. I make just enough to support my kids and myself. Banking, online shopping, and social media are impossible, and the time is now spent trying to end this on my own. Please, help is needed. One of the members on here has to know what the hell this is.
Thank you again.
ripppani said:
\u0026 seems to be the escape sequence of the Unicode character &. \u0026 cannot do any damage by itself, but it can be and probably is a result of incorrect encoding or decoding of text strings, which in turn could be caused by hacking. If you don't know what Unicode is, here is the Wikipedia article.
I am not sure whether the "<rooted>" really represents that the device is rooted, but you generally don't want someone untrusted to root your device, as rooting it allows the one who rooted it to have unrestricted access to the device.
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He has had remote unrestricted access to my devices. The <rooted> is one of his reminders he is there, as well as <bootloadermode>, or the locking up or turning on 911 calls only. This hasn't been fun, either having it happen en use or waking up to it. I do not allow this. New devices, new Google accounts, never syncing, and never logging into old accounts. However, no one seems to be able to figure out how he gets into new devices once they enter the house. New routers, modems, entire internet accounts, he still weasels his way in. The hacking apps are Google Developer based, this I know. Try getting info on that out of Google without a warrant. Cyber cops have brushed this under the rug since there has been no physical or financial harm, as of yet.
He lived with me when we were dating. Is there a device that may be in my home that could hi-jack my wifi, allow him to sign into my device, and show it as my device while VPN-ing an address even after all the changes? (I seems to travel all over the place on occasion according to my IP addresses that show up) The location tracking and call/text monitoring is real, as he has shown up or had let things said in my private (ha!) conversations with others slip. Of course he has nothing to do with this. (ha! again)
Any help or input on this would be greatly appreciated. I have looked things up at the library until my eyes bled. I can only comprehend so much without an IT background. I do not have the money for a cyber forensic investigator, and I know the local police probably have me on the Crazy Crying Wolf list. Which is just as embarrassing as knowing that having a complete lack of privacy in my life is a total nightmare.
Thank you again.
Hey folks,
I’ve been dealing with these survey calls from Dynata lately. I got called really often. And blocking caller numbers did nothing. So, I’ve spent a lot of time on searching how to end it, and wanted to share this with you guys.
Apparently it’s possible to opt out by calling Dynata up. Here are their contacts. First call did nothing, but after two more they listened. They won’t tell me where they got my number from. My guess is, from public records or bought it from data brokers. Actually, I found my entire profile on Whitepages. So, it’s available even for a ten year old. And there is nothing much to do to prevent it. Only requesting deletion on these sites one by one.
Getting big companies to do what I wanted was a hassle. No surprise there. They kept on writing back that “they will delete my info soon”. Apparently “soon” can be half a year.
So, here are some tools to save you some time, if you’ll decide to delete your info too:
Whitepages opt out form. Here you have to confirm your email and phone number. Which sounds sketchy as you are confirming and serving your info.
Use services that do official requests on behalf of you, like Incogni or PrivacyBee. It’s paid, but it has recurring scans, which is nice.
This one’s not necessary but I recommend it. Put your Google privacy settings on a higher level. Make it synchronize your data less with websites with Activity controls, clear your cookies and cache once in a while, disable your location when you’re not using navigation.
I’m just a noob in this. But I believe we can give those companies a taste of their own medicine. If you have more experience or tips, drop them in the comments.
How about suing them? I think pretty much every regulator in the world has laws for this.