Christian Sepulveda's blog



Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Tweed 1.5: Bug Fixes and Video Beta
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Thursday March 04, 2010 at 03:30PM

Version 1.5 has been submitted and should be in the App Catalog soon.

Bugs

  • Load More showing gaps in home timeline ( see below)
  • Links causing app to freeze
  • Notifications not clearing on loading the timeline
  • Wrong (and really big) notification counts in dashboard

Forward Gesture/Compose is still broken -- seems to be problem in webOS 1.4 update. (This seems broken in web browser application as well)

Features and Changes

  • basic/beta TwitVid integration for uploading video

Load More

Before 1.3, some users had gaps in their home timelines when clicking "Load More". We tried to fix this in 1.3 and probably made things worse.

We are going back to the previous methods we had in 1.2. While users may still see gaps, the problem seems to on the Twitter side. In more expansive testing, it seems that the Twitter API occasionally return the wrong tweets for Load More. We are trying to find out more from Twitter

While we think the Load More behavior will be better, we don't think this is fully resolved and might be outside our control.

Opening Links and Frozen App

This is a bit complicated. We thought our update to 1.3 fixed this. It did, for some users, it didn't for others.

Apparently there are some bugs in Palm's installer that have led to some files not being overridden, even though they changed. Upon testing, we've discovered version 1.3 installations that still have some of the 1.2 files.

We are hoping this update forces an overwrite of the files in question, but it may not for everyone. For those that still have trouble with links freezing the app:

  • try deleting Tweed first, then re-install -- this should clear out old files
  • if it still doesn't work, please email us at tweed-support@pivotallabs.com

Video Beta

We have integrated TwitVid uploads with Tweed. We consider this a beta and expect users to experience some problems. Honestly we wanted to let people experiment sooner than later.

The largest problem is upload stability -- video files can be sizable and the upload may fail, especially over cell. We suggest using video with wifi only.

There are some webOS challenges unfortunately to making this integration more robust. The file upload mechanism in webOS doesn't allow for resuming a failed upload: it is all or nothing. For larger files (like video), this is a bit fragile.

We are hoping Palm will provide other upload mechanisms that will allow us to make this more robust, but honestly, we are a bit stuck unless they make these changes.

We plan to make add features to Tweed to provide better feedback about progress and help make retries easier.

Free Version

As we announced some time ago, we are no longer continuing development on the free version of Tweed. We haven't the resources to continue developing two versions of the application.

Unfortunately, webOS 1.4 has broken Tweed and this is something we weren't expecting. However, we still aren't in a position to support both versions (free version is no longer in US catalog), so users of 0.9.x won't be getting an update. We are sorry for this and understand it will make Tweed unusable for many/most users of this version.

To make it easier for free users to upgrade to the paid version, we are going to reduce the price of Tweed from $2.99 to $0.99 for the next few weeks. As with all Palm apps, updates are free.

Tweed Tweed

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Tweed 1.3: RT Style setting, bug fixes
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Thursday January 28, 2010 at 05:41PM

Version 1.3 has been submitted and should be in the App Catalog soon.

Bugs

  • Load More showing gaps in home timeline
  • TweetPhoto: upload and in-app photo viewing restored
  • can remove account if username changed on Twitter
  • RT's now show timestamp of RT, not original tweet
  • webOS 1.4 issues are fixed (for upcoming webOS update)

Features and Changes

  • specify RT style: old, new or prompt (per tweet) tions

Tweed Tweed Tweed

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Tweed 1.2: Lists, Retweets and more
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Thursday December 10, 2009 at 12:35PM

1.2 of Tweed is now available in the App Catalog.

Bugs

  • Timeline markers sometimes not working with searches

Features and Changes

  • List Support
  • new Retweets appear in home timeline (with icon indicator)
  • Preference to use old/new RT style
  • Preference for setting notification frequency
  • Reset Timeline markers button (in Preferences & Accounts)
  • Goto Timeline Marker option (in header popup)
  • Pivotal Labs icon is no longer a link

Lists

  • Lists is a main menu item: shows your lists and lists you follow
  • User Profile: view user's lists and where they are listed
  • List Profile: view list members and see who is following the list
  • Notifications: select a list you follow for notifications

We will be adding list editing capability (create lists, add members, subscribe to lists, etc.) in another release.

Tweed Tweed Tweed Tweed Tweed Tweed

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Scoop: 0.9.1 will be available soon
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Thursday November 05, 2009 at 09:49AM

0.9.1 of Scoop has been submitted to Palm and should be available soon.

Features and Changes

  • Email, IM and SMS links to articles
  • Popup menu option to view original article
  • Folders: read articles via your Google Reader folders

http://scoop.pivotallabs.com

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Tweed 1.1.1: Landscape mode and more
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Tuesday November 03, 2009 at 02:49PM

1.1.1 of Tweed is now available in the App Catalog.

Bugs

  • User profile can scroll
  • increased photo upload timeout
  • font size setting should apply to direct message timeline
  • Tweet text is image caption on photo uploads

Features and Changes

  • changed photo upload default to yFrog
  • forward gesture composes new tweet
  • use j.mp for url shortening (instead of tinyurl.com)
  • show original tweet on replies
  • Pixi support
  • landscape mode (& preference to disable)

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Tweed and Paid Palm Pre Apps
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Tuesday September 22, 2009 at 03:36PM

In the past, we've been asked if we planned to charge for Tweed. Until recently, we hadn't made a decision. Tweed began as an application we developed to learn Palm webOS, and it grew into something we started to depend on, so we decided to release it to the App Catalog.

At this point, Tweed has a thriving user base and continues to grow in its maturity and capabilities. However, this does come with considerable costs to Pivotal Labs and we can't indefinitely subsidize the entire cost of development. So, we've decided to make Tweed a paid application in the App Catalog.

We are committed to continuing to develop and support Tweed. Charging for it will let us keep bringing you new features, like the ones in the 1.0 release.

Existing Tweed users can continue to use the current version, (0.9.16) and you can still grab a copy until the paid apps are available; it will not timebomb and we're happy for you to keep using it. However, it will be removed from the App Catalog when the paid version replaces it. Hopefully you'll find the new features compelling enough to upgrade. (Unfortunately it will install as a new application, so you will have to re-enter your accounts and you will lose existing timeline markers and bookmarks. Sorry, this is a consequence of the new App Catalog and we have no influence over this.)

For Canadian users, Tweed will continue to be free until Palm launches a commerce enabled App Catalog in Canada. (This will be true for new Palm Pre markets as well.)

Features

There will be a variety of new features available in the initial 1.0.0 release of the paid application.

  • true, direct photo upload (no more email)
    • TwitPic, TwitGoo, TweetPhoto, yFrog, Posterous
  • new notifications dashboards
  • full-screen view of user profile image (tap user picture on user profile scene)
  • preference for number of tweets on fetch
  • ability to change password
  • show number of tweets in user profile
  • direct messages can include photos

Tweed

Tweed

Roadmap

While we have lots planned for Tweed, some items of note include:

  • themes
  • landscape support
  • bit.ly / j.mp url shorteners
  • Flickr upload support
  • more...

Pricing

Tweed will normally cost $3.99. However, for the next few weeks, to help ease the transition, we will offer Tweed for the discounted price of $1.99.

We thank you all of using Tweed. While we know some of you will be disappointed that Tweed will be a paid-only application, we hope you will enjoy the new Tweed.

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Tweed 0.9.16: connection improvements
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Thursday September 17, 2009 at 05:34PM

0.9.16 of Tweed is now available in the App Catalog.

Changes:

  • loading spinner/scrim has been replaced with spinner/cancel button (like web browser app)
  • Tweed will auto-retry connecting to Twitter on failure response from Twitter API (this has been recently causing Tweed to hang))
  • option to cancel active request by tapping cancel button; tapping refresh will retry (instead of having to re-select timeline from nav menu)
  • shake for retry and refresh

Shake

We've added support for the accelerometer shake events. If you shake your phone while on a timeline:

  • if loading (Twitter is taking a long time), this will force a retry
  • if no active loading, then refreshes (same as hitting refresh button)

So, you could always force a retry by tapping cancel, then refresh, but we figure you can vent some frustration by shaking the phone. Tweed

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
On Tweed's connection woes...
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Saturday September 05, 2009 at 04:26PM

We know many users have been very frustrated by Tweed lately. Tweed has had problems connecting reliably to Twitter. While other clients, be it mobile or desktop, have also had problems connecting to Twitter, Tweed does seem to be more frequently affected.

The conundrum is that it is intermittent and seemingly arbitrary. Some users are just fine, others seem to never have a working Tweed. For ourselves, we occasionally have problems with Tweed as well, but not nearly as often as some users, which has made diagnosis and resolution hard.

These problems seem to have started after the recent DDoS attacks on Twitter. Before that, Tweed seemed to connect fine and we haven't changed our integration. Perhaps something changed in Twitter's API implementation that is at odds with Tweed -- we don't know.

At the very least, please know we are actively working on it. While we are also working on making Tweed functionally better (true photo upload, more photo viewing options, full size profile pic viewing, ...), we are devoted to make Tweed as reliable and as fast as we can.

As always, you can reach us vai @tweed on Twitter,or via email at tweed-support@pivotallabs.com.

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
New Version of Tweed: 0.9.14 Now Available
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Tuesday August 25, 2009 at 12:28PM

0.9.14 of Tweed is now available in the App Catalog.

Bugs:

  • timeout didn't actually timeout
  • re-launch app created new card

Features/Change:

  • loading spinner/scrim no longer full screen -- allows for user interaction/cancel if Twitter is slow
  • option to disable links in tweet list (still available from tweet popup)
  • ability to re-tweet own tweets
  • Nearby timeline (can search within nearby, configure Nearby radius)
  • Photo View
  • Support for French (for Canadian users)
  • preference to open multiple cards per account

Photo Viewing

  • if tweet contains photo link, icon indicator will be present
  • can view photos within Tweed, no need for external browser load
  • twitpic.com, tweetphoto.com (and pic.gd), yFrog.com and twitgoo.com supported

Multiple Cards

If enabled, you can tap Open from App Menu to open another card for an account. (This allows multiple timelines to be simultaneously open, similar to TweetDeck)

Tweed Tweed

Christian SepulvedaChristian Sepulveda
Recent Twitter DOS attack, problems and its impact on Tweed
edit Posted by Christian Sepulveda on Sunday August 09, 2009 at 10:10AM

As many of you know, on Thursday, Twitter was hit by a Denial of Service (DOS or DDOS) attack.

The attack and its resulting problems have continued to plague Twitter. Twitter has blogged a bit about this on their site. (More can be found here and here.)

Twitter clients, such as Tweed, use Twitter's API to provide access to Twitter's service. So when Twitter is unavailable, Tweed will not work.

Twitter, as a defensive measure to protect itself, has limited API access for third party clients.

Thus, clients like Tweed, are being affected by both Twitter's availability and the API restrictions. Complicating matters, it seems that different clients have been affected differently. For example, UberTwitter has been hit particularly hard. So, at times Tweed has not been working while other Twitter clients have. (The reverse has also been true.)

During this time, we have had trouble getting our own tweets posted to tell Tweed users about the situation.

Tweed could do some things to increase its own robustness. For example, Tweed does not currently cache tweets or timelines. Also, the spinner on the initial loading scene is full screen, so when the Twitter API is unresponsive, Tweed hangs.

We will adding enhancements to make Tweed more reliable in such cases, though we also hope such changes won't be necessary in the future.

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