sms,MMS, and Push Notificstions

Tue Aug 15 12:20:43 EDT 2017

Mike:
Hmm… I downloaded APNsAssistant, which is linked to the lesson. Is this the one that you modified and re-posted to gitHub?

A quick perusal of that stack, it looks like he uses a shell command to simulate the sending of an alert. Is that how a notification is intended to be sent, or is this method only for testing? If a notification could be initiated from the app, it would eliminate the need for a server, except to store the receiver information/tokens/whatever is needed. That would be preferable. But …?

So, sorry for seeming dense, but I’m confused over the role of the “server”. Whether a service like onesignal is required to distribute push notifications, or whether the initiator app can just get the info from some database and send the notifications from the app directly without activating some network server api that does the sending.

Best,
Bill P

> On Aug 15, 2017, at 8:28 AM, Mike Kerner via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
> There is a LC stack that John wrote that you can use.
> 
> On Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 11:13 AM, prothero--- via use-livecode <
> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
>> My big question at this point is what is required on the server side? I
>> looked at onesignal, which looks like a really nice API provider, but I
>> need to be able to allocate a load of time to learn the various ways of
>> accessing it, like REST, cURL, etc. I'm stumbling around now with those
>> technologies, but will have to make a more systematic learning effort if I
>> am going to proceed in that direction.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Bill
>> 
>> William Prothero
>> http://es.earthednet.org
>> 
>>> On Aug 15, 2017, at 7:42 AM, Mike Kerner via use-livecode <
>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> app push is pretty easy/straightforward in LC, but there are multiple
>> QR's
>>> out to add features/fix things on them.
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 11:01 PM, William Prothero via use-livecode <
>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Thanks, Stephen:
>>>> What we are using as a preliminary solution is a mass sms and/or MMS
>> texts
>>>> and identical voice calls to our 49 numbers, initiated by one of several
>>>> possible initiators who are called if a fire is observed. We are using
>>>> eztexting.com <http://eztexting.com/> for the texts and voiceshot.com <
>>>> http://voiceshot.com/> for the voice messaging. It’s very inexpensive
>> for
>>>> voice $9/mo and 12c for each call. The texts are low cost too. We can
>> enter
>>>> several preset messages that we can choose from, depending on the
>> immediacy
>>>> of action that’s required. So, I figure that there are two tries per
>> event
>>>> and we should get most of the folks. I think another alert channel
>> would be
>>>> push notifications, but for now we’re sticking with voice and text. We
>>>> expect the alerts to be very rare (we hope). I think a custom app that
>>>> could initiate these actions more automatically would be quite nice, but
>>>> the IT for it would take more of an investment than I’m willing to make,
>>>> and there is no money in it unless it would take off in the app store,
>> and
>>>> if I made it general enough for most neighborhoods.
>>>> 
>>>> For a bare bones, primitive system, text messages could be sent out and
>>>> initiating a voice call to the group voice provider could be built in.
>> It
>>>> has to be easy and fast for the alert initiator, who would most likely
>> be
>>>> packing up for evacuation at the same time. Push notifications would be
>>>> nice too. One problem is that the initiator’s phone number always
>> appears
>>>> in the voice call and text notification. If a more descriptive sender,
>> like
>>>> “ALERT-XX”, it would be better, but that would most likely require
>> setting
>>>> up a dedicated alert server, and I don’t want to tackle that at this
>> time.
>>>> 
>>>> Best,
>>>> Bill P.
>>>> 
>>>>> On Aug 14, 2017, at 4:18 PM, Stephen Barncard via use-livecode <
>>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> If I were to create an emergency alert app, I'd make something that
>>>> stayed
>>>>> alive and was always verifying the existence of a central entity - web
>>>>> site, server etc. and the fail safe is that the user would be alerted
>>>> when
>>>>> out of range.   An 'always on' executable that would have to be
>> carefully
>>>>> crafted to not take up too much battery energy, yet ping headquarters
>>>> for a
>>>>> change every few seconds, then go into alert mode when the latest check
>>>>> reveals the emergency.
>>>>> 
>>>>> It would be part of the routine of the wearer (fireman, whatever) to
>>>> 'check
>>>>> in' with the server and verify correct operation, then just keep it
>>>> running
>>>>> all day. The data would be minimal and UDP packets have incredibly low
>>>>> latency - even a voice alert could be sent real time - VOIP.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I have no idea how the power usage would be handled in that case - the
>>>>> continuous  pinging could drain the battery too quickly depending on
>> how
>>>>> it's done. But there is the challenge!
>>>>> 
>>>>> --
>>>>> Stephen Barncard - Sebastopol Ca. USA -
>>>>> mixstream.org
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 3:25 PM, William Prothero via use-livecode <
>>>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thanks. Looks interesting. It also looks like I'd have to learn a lot
>> to
>>>>>> get it implemented. I’ve been using cURL to access an API for water
>>>> meter
>>>>>> readings, and it’s painful, but would probably get easier.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> This looks like a good provider, tho.
>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>> Bill P
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Aug 14, 2017, at 1:42 PM, Simon Smith via use-livecode <
>>>>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I would look at push notifications. onesignal.com looks quiet good,
>>>> just
>>>>>>> not had a chance to play with it yet.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I have found that SMS messages are too unreliable when it comes to
>>>>>>> emergency notifications, sometimes they come through, sometimes they
>>>>>> don't
>>>>>>> and sometimes they come through an hour or so later.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Simon
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Carpe diem
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> *Simon Smith*
>>>>>>> m. +27 83 306 7862
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 9:19 PM, ELS prothero via use-livecode <
>>>>>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> I’m curious. Has anybody done much with push notifications on
>> mobile?
>>>>>>>> There is a lesson on the livecode web site which is quite detailed,
>>>> but
>>>>>>>> leaves out the server side of the equation. I have been thinking
>> about
>>>>>> an
>>>>>>>> emergency alert app and am exploring how difficult it would be to
>>>>>> implement
>>>>>>>> various communication technologies. Texts seem pretty
>> straighforward,
>>>>>> but I
>>>>>>>> was thinking that push notifications might get more attention.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> The goal is to get the information to the recipient’s brain. It can
>>>> get
>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>> the device, but unless the last (weak link) is traversed, the alert
>> is
>>>>>>>> ineffective. The target time for this is 15 minutes.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> I’ve Googled the heck out of these topics and there are really nice
>>>>>>>> expensive services that can do the job, but we don’t want to pay the
>>>>>> high
>>>>>>>> fees. Others are marketing oriented, not optimized for emergency
>>>>>> services.
>>>>>>>> A custom app could be ideal, especially with increasing wildfire
>>>>>> activity
>>>>>>>> worldwide.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Ideas and info?
>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>> Bill
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> William Prothero, PhD
>>>>>>>> Professor Emeritus
>>>>>>>> University of California, Santa Barbara
>>>>>>>> http://earthlearningsolutions.org
>>>>>>>> 
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> -- 
> On the first day, God created the heavens and the Earth
> On the second day, God created the oceans.
> On the third day, God put the animals on hold for a few hours,
>   and did a little diving.
> And God said, "This is good."
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