Subscribe++

..tooo :-)

The guys at Techjoomla are actually waiting for our 1.2 beta as we have added more REST api in this release.

I think you mean 1.3 :P

Hello Jannik,

The next update would be 1.2 beta as we have done some massive changes on the stream

ah cool cool Well BETA tester reporting for duty ;-)

P.S. I hope you eventually replace stream updates with : instead of ,

Hello Jannik,

Hm, what do you mean by replacing stream updates with : instead of , ?

{Name} created a new blog post, {name of blog}.
{Name} liked your blog post, {name of blog}

would look much better as:

{Name} created a new blog post: {name of blog}.
{Name} liked your blog post: {name of blog}

Hm, but those can actually be overriden by language files :P Ideally, it should be overriden instead because I think this is pretty subjective

Yeah I am aware of that, although I still question whether a comma makes sense grammatically. I honestly think there should be either no comma, a colon or a semi colon. I cringe everytime I see the comma... but I guess that might just be me? :/

Sucribe too

Subscribe

Subscribe:p

hello world

@Mark, can you elaborate on the REST API? How do developers get access? Is it simply 1) Install Techjoomla's REST API and 2) Install 1.2 Beta? Anything else?

Hello Eileen,

The REST api is added in EasySocial. In other words, their mobile app would connect to EasySocial via our REST api

Suscribe

Mark,

I don't understand, how come the next version is 1.2 beta? i thought ppl are running 1.2 stable right now and we are all waiting for 1.3

Muhanad, don't worry, I have been testing their 1.2.17 beta today, it is just to test their updated code which really improves the performance of the news stream. The beta testing has been very successful already, so don't expect it to slow down the release of 1.3

Subscribe!

The 1.2.17 Beta can be found here: http://stackideas.com/issues/1633

James

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Hello Muhanad,

We have made a huge revamp on the stream and we think it's best that it's put to beta first for safety purposes.

@Mark, a follow-up to my last question in this thread. I don't see documentation for the REST API in the docs area. Are there URL endpoints for the API? I thought stackideas would write a "helper app" or plugin and use Techjoomla's REST API "com_api" platform but maybe you used another approach? If there are externally callable URL endpoints it would enable my Javascript app that doesn't live in the Joomla world to write to the stream. This would let us increase engagement and sharing in the social community created to support our users and hopefully also increase the interest in this app.

Hello Eileen,

We haven't really updated the docs for the REST api part yet since it's still pretty new and we're experimenting with this with Techjoomla's mobile app.

Thanks for the update Mark, I'll be waiting patiently for when it's ready This will be huge; to fairly easily and quickly integrate my "outside joomla" app to the ES community for those same customers. We're already using so-called cloud-integration services to integrate online apps with our product and I can't wait to add another service that gets these same users more tightly integrated with the ES community.

You are most welcome Eileen

Great Mark

so the question now is: since you added the requested app which techjoomla requested to 1.2 instead of waiting for 1.3. would we have the app sooner ?

Can you give us a rough month for 1.3 to be finished so we can plan accordingly ? your month doesn't need to be accurate .. just so we can know between which month do we expect it to be out.


Regards,

Hello Muhand,

Unfortunately there's no ETA for this yet at this point of time

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Hello Mark,

you missed my question about the the reason to implement techjoomla requested app into 1.2 instead of 1.3 .. does it mean that we are going to see the mobile app before 1.3 ?

I believe he meant that there is no ETA for either. Also, considering the main development of the app is happening at TechJoomla, you are better off asking in the comments of this http://techjoomla.com/general-updates/easysocial-app-first-preview.html for a more accurate answer.

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Hello Muhanad,

The "Rest API" has already been added into EasySocial 1.2

Subscribe++

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Hey, I have been asking techjoomla about the progress of this development and no answer Just wondering if you have an update ?

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I think we really need a subscribe button

I'm wondering what's going on with the App also if any body has any news.

Hello Antonio,

I believe the guys at Techjoomla is still working on it

Sub

Yeah, they have just release the EasyBlog app http://techjoomla.com/blog/extension-blogs/easyblog-now-on-your-fingertips-with-the-blog-app.html and are working towards a full stackideas suite app.

Just putting a comment in here so I can see the rest of the posts now that they are releasing mobile apps. I think I will let other people buy this first and tell us all that it actually works, before I even think about it.

you can actually test the apps before buying, just download the techjoomla branded universal apps.

Still... I think I will wait for other people to say it works before I even bother.

Mark, how do we access the REST API? Will there be a GUI in the backend to generate an API Key and we will be able to manage which App has access to the API?

Thanks - Jackson

Hello Jackson,

You don't actually have the interface to generate api keys. We'll elaborate more on this in the documentation as soon as 1.3 is out

On the new "Blog App" and news of another REST API Extension:

1) I hope many stack ideas customers take a look at "the [free] Blog App" Techjoomla has submitted/published and provide feedback. The iOS App isn't yet available (takes about a week) but many of our prospective customers have Android so I'm planning to use a FREE Android emulator if/when Techjoomla makes the APK file available so I can launch "the blog app" in the emulator.

I know it takes time to install and have a look at this App, but Techjoomla is likely taking this time to validate demand for the product(s) and will be looking at how many installs/interest the "Blog App" generates. Certainly they're looking for feedback to eliminate customer pain points and solve the problems we identify. If we participate, they can make improvements and iterate their design.

2) There's another interesting Joomla extension called jBackend that provides "pluggable" REST APIs to use Joomla. It provides 3 endpoint access types (free access, user authenticated only, API Key required) with an API Key management interface. Luigi is moving all attention to mobile development and last I heard he said he was planning to make a module for EasyBlog once he completed work on a module for K2. This new pluggable K2 module was recently released for the JBackend REST API on July 21st.

Anyone else tried the App? Here's what I found:

I just got a link to install on my iPhone (maybe they can also host the App on their website in the Android emulator).

Techjoomla did keep their promise and the preview App shows progress. I was easily able to read blogs from Techjoomla EasyBlog site, perform quick searches within blog titles, and it performed well with the understanding that it's "preview" with slim functionality.

I hope they consider:

**Users should have a mode of use where they can indicate a "group" or "list" of blogs they want to browse or search from the multi-user EasyBlog site, this will make it easier to find the blog/content they're searching seeking. For example, on a coding community site as a user I would like to add my colleagues blogs and also the blog for the company of the various tools I use. Later maybe there'll be an EasySocial event for a coding conference and I'll want to add that blog too. Those are the friends and opinion writers I want to follow.

**Would be nice to allow users to download the current blog for offline reading.

I had these issues:

-App exits intermittently after initiating scroll up/down; after an App exit seems like you have to wait before you can login again
-Techjoomla.com worked well, my site not-so-much. When logging in as user/admin it didn't work when site offline (more graceful handling for non-admin and allow admin in). When logged in successfully and site online no blog entries displayed.

Hi Mark, the developer of JBackend, Luigi, isn't able to browse the forums --- does Stack Ideas offer 3rd-party Joomla developers with licensed accounts or does he need to purchase the product? He's currently adding endpoints and writing plugin support for EasyBlog (another customer of his has requested JBackend integration with EB).

Hello Eileen,

Sure, just request them to write to us at https://crm.stackideas.com/ and we'll assign a license for them

Thanks Mark, message sent

Thanks Eileen You guys are awesome!

Does anyone have an update on the progress of the app ?

@Sam, there are quite a few updates on Techjoomla's site in the comments area to their blog entry announcing the Blog App. As of two days ago, Ashwin shared:

"currently focusing on completing the Easyblog and the Easysocial apps".

As far as the issue I reported a few posts above:

I had these issues:
-App exits intermittently after initiating scroll up/down; after an App exit seems like you have to wait before you can login again

I have not been able to reproduce the above problem since more testing today. I had low memory alerts the day after I first tested their App, and I know Apps can be terminated by iOS because there isn't enough memory to satisfy the Apps demands. I'm guessing that must have been the case when I first tested their App (still maybe room for them to gracefully handle low-mem notifications but they did advertise it as "Preview"). I since have freed up space and as I said I had no problems today.

Sub... MARK, create a subscribe button for ED asap lol ))))))))

Subscribed too

Yeah, there's quite a bit of things that needs to be done on this forum, we're so occupied with the development work that we don't have the time to actually work on our website

Sounds like we are very close now guys !

Nice! I'm excited to see that

Thanks for sharing this guys

today??

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.techjoomla.easysocial&hl=en

The only thing I'm missing is how to implement it on my site.

The latest version of EasySocial has all the JSON api available for their apps so you basically don't need to do anything except for installing their apps

@Ken, its just the beta.

Download it to your android device then put your site URL in and login with a user account and it will connect to your website. No special API's or Plugins needed currently.

James

not impressed so far, but let us give them a break. it still in beta .. waiting for their official introduction to it so we can be more involved in the development

I'm curious - what's the benefit of the app vs viewing ES with a mobile browser? I can see the benefit of their jTicketing app (which should be ready for ES Events soon ... hint hint Techjoomla ), but is running EasySocial via an app a much better user experience?

Thanks.

Tried installing the app, seems not working on my site (noteabout.com)

Didn't somebody warn everyone that TechJoomla's components never work as advertised? I think someone warned everyone that this would happen. I really do.

Justin wrote:

I'm curious - what's the benefit of the app vs viewing ES with a mobile browser? I can see the benefit of their jTicketing app (which should be ready for ES Events soon ... hint hint Techjoomla ), but is running EasySocial via an app a much better user experience?

Thanks.

the same benefits big social network have for having mobile apps .. most users are on mobile now and mobile browsing is awful and not appealing to users.. think of instagram, snpachat. having an app for easysocial is a necessity not a feature we might need.

guys the app still in beta and techjoomla didn't even announce it yet. let us give them a break and maybe this time they will come with something well planned and solid. let's encourge them instead of putting them down

Native app is an advantage and takes less bandwidth since it's not loading all your css and easily accesible to mobile users since it's just a button away. I'm very excited I tried it and found it's not working on my site. Though, it's not an official release, I find the navigation really clean, which is nice

Its the first beta, I would say it worked pretty well . Its safe to say the functionality was definitely lacking which concerns me because it took them so long to get the apis working for barely any features, at this pace the app will take a very long time to become feature rich BUT it has not been officially released, so I will not judge until it has been. I think we all have really cool ideas for this app, so I hope something is setup e.g a voices category "ES MOBILE APP" as well as a proper roadmap. If done right this could be a game changer for easysocial.
p.s - Mark make sure techjoomla pays good attention to this thread. Thank you

- Sam

i was supprised to find no way to send messages with this app ?

Does anyone manage to get this working on their site? Just want to see how this works. It's not working very well on my site (just managed to login, but nothing else after that).

Hm, I don't have an Android device to test this as I am an Apple fanboy Will wait for their IOS version.

@Mark and anyone who doesn't have Android you can run it in an emulator for FREE at manymo

Thanks for sharing Eileen

I received an email from techjoomla with prices. Open sales

$ 399 App for EasySocial
$ 199 App for EasyBlog

i find it ridiculous that they started to sell this app.

1- its still in beta
2- even if it's solid, it lacks a lot of features for us to be able to use it. it's still to early to be sold specially at this rate
3- they didn't even take the time to update us and comment on this thread. i feel horrible that all of us subscribers to this thread are communicating among each other without them caring. i feel stupid now
4- since stackideas have mentioned times and times that they are partnering with techjoomla to come up with this app, they should as well communicate better with them and us. if they don't have anything to do with this product, then let us know so we know what to expect ..


Shame as i was giving them benefit of the doubt ..

I don't mind that they have started selling it early, but if you are going to sell a beta product so early stage, which frankly isn't ready for prime time, there better be a 50% off for early adopters or something.

Link to buy EasySocial:
http://techjoomla.com/mobile-apps/easysocial-app.html

Link to buy EasyBlog:
http://techjoomla.com/mobile-apps/the-blog-app.html

The app itself is a bargain but then again the lack of features makes it a steal for end users not being able to post photos. I'm looking forward on the evolution of this app. And my team on the other hand is learning a lot from them.

Haha, android looks really bad (Sorry, I am an Apple fan boy)

Has anyone received info on 1) price protection and 2) the App development environment for those interested in customized/white label?

1) Techjoomla's stated plan is to get early feedback and customer experience with these initial offerings (JGive, EasyBlog, EasySocial, JTicketing mobile apps) but will likely merging/coalesce some offerings in the future. For early customers the question is how is my investment in their market research/early experience going to be affected in this future product direction? I know for the code base of an individual product we have 6 months of upgrades or access to the source code to re-build ourselves. But what happens when they merge functions such as EasyBlog with EasySocial in the same App. Do customers need to invest again or is the code freely available? For those working within budgets we can't really move forward until we know about price protection.

2) Does anyone have confirmation of the development environment for these Apps? Are they the same or different for each of JTicketing, JGive, EasyBlog, and EasySocial? Anyone actually have a setup where they build their own production App? Can you share what is your development environment for building (hardware, software)?

I'm cross-posting as comment to TechJoomla's blog post --- I find attempting to track and discern information from their various blog comments much less efficient and satisfying then having EasyDiscuss for that purpose, don't you?

I am sorry but on any other day I would be delighted. The thought of being able to launch our site via a mobile app would make my day. I am not sure why Stackideas, probably the best customer service support committed company out there, is so keen on attaching themselves to Techjoomla. Their software sounds promising but buggy.

Just the other day I installed invitex as and my site was down immediately. I disabled the plugin and site is up. There is no point in contacting them as you will only hear back in a few days with a vague answer and will have to wait a few more to get another.

Launching an app with them would make me feel so powerless as I will just have to wait for customer complaints and know that I have absolutely no support!

TechJoomla is an interesting development team. Great and ambitious developers, but terrible UI/UX designers. Mediocre support and sadly yes, often I experience bugs with their products. InviteX in particular is a great example of a feature rich product riddled with bugs and poor UI/UX.

However, with these apps they have been able to piggy back off of Stackideas designers, so the UI/UX experience is better than what you usually would expect from them. Also, not all their products are equally bad. SocialAds for example works quite well.

Hey guys,

I am really sorry to hear these bad experiences with Techjoomla . I think the forum might not be a good place to talk about their services because it wouldn't be fair for them as well since this is not their turf

If you guys have any complaints / bug reports over Techjoomla, please feel free to send us an email to justin AT stackideas.com and I will request Justin to compile these complaints and I will have a chat with the guys over at Techjoomla.

Mark, How many chats do you plan on having with TechJoomla, and how many complaints from your community before you listen to your community and drop TechJoomla?

I wouldn't drop TechJoomla, on the contrary, I would support them more. I subscribe to several of their products, and I admit I am one to complain a lot about them. But they make products that I need and want. Sure, they are not on the same level as Stackideas, but they are gradually getting better and better.

The key is to provide them with specific areas to improve... and give them specific ways of improving UI/UX and to encourage them to hire an expert on UI/UX.

If you listen to their webinars you will realize they are a quite capable bunch and they admit their limitations and are eager to get feedback on how to improve.

However, until things improve to the level which we all demand, it might be wise to not put all your eggs in one basket. TechJoomla has some proactive steps to take to earn the business of many Stackideas subscribers who are used to the best. So until they catch up, it would be wise to not depend on them for certain things.

Often I point out that Stackideas should not hold back features because TechJoomla offers something. Competition is a good thing and encourages innovation. If you look at TechJoomlas portfolio, one could make the case that most of their products were born out of frustrations with the lack of innovation at JomSocial. Many of their products are features rather than standalone products in my eyes. So I would like to see more competition in areas where TechJoomla operates. That would be a great way to inspire positive change on all fronts.

Hi All,

I had to get in on this as well.... as Jannik has said (and very well said!) we need to support Techjoomla and help them get better for the larger community and for apps support for ES. They are a growing bunch with some very good products/ideas that very few Joomla developers are offering!! The more we interact with them the better they will get... I use a couple of their products as well and they take time but generally respond within two days...

We can't expect the Stackideas team to do it all even though they sometimes make us feel (at least me) that they are Super Human!!

Hopefully we help support the development of a larger developer community for ES - we might just be spoiled for choice...

Cheers
Avinash

Considering they are the developers that are most actively supporting the Stackideas product line, it would be foolish of us to not accept their efforts. However, I do hope that we can help them get to where they need to be. Because as Avinash points out, they offer products that no one else on the market offers. That is one area where TechJoomla shines, they know how to focus on missing features.

@Jannik and @Avinash yes. Better to have a rich ecosystem with many others offering Apps/solutions. Also, I use many of their products, recently added Quick2Cart multi-user with ES I'm just testing but so far --- it's awesome, particularly when considering they do listen to customers, they do take feedback and incorporate into suggestions, etc. Just recently JReviews added support for their Quick2Cart --- there are more than a few ES users in their forum who also provided direct/indirect influence.

Maybe the best prescription is to show support over on their forum and make well-reasoned critiques/suggestions. I would not suggest the comments section of their blog as the way to go but rather their own forums because their customers will see the activity, get ideas, share ideas, point out best practice, etc. Get their coders the praise, criticism, and motivation to do more.

@Tango,

I have heard about your frustrations with them but I think they have already resolved your issues as per my discussion with Parth. You can't punish us because 3rd party apps does not provide you with support It's really out of our jurisdiction. As far as we know, their apps do work with EasySocial (If it has bugs, I can't really force them to fix it but we'll notify them. It's always best that you as a customer notify them as you have a larger voice than us)

@Jannik, @Avinash, @Eileen

Appreciate your feedback here, I will discuss this with Parth next week as he is also busy and I am also quite busy as well dealing with the support, EasyBlog 5 and EasySocial 1.4

P/S: Do take note that their forums are not an "Official Support Forum". Their forums are meant for users to communicate with one another unlike us and there's a ticketing channel which they use as their "official support" (Perhaps like you guys said, we have spoilt you guys )

You know what you could do? You could install their apps and test them yourselves, and then you will see what the rest of us are talking about.

I did install their addons on my local instance and it does work although the interface doesn't look good, but we can't judge them on this can we? There are some bugs which I found but there are no software / apps that is 100% bug free.

Look at other plugins on JomSocial / Community Builder they all look pretty bad too if you ask me. In fact, the apps that Techjoomla provides is for JomSocial and Community Builder too.

Mark, we appreciate your efforts on this. I know how busy you are with development and support, so asking you to not only focus on your own products, but on others is a lot to ask. However, if you look at Apple (which I know you are a fan of), their success has been largely due to the fact that Steve Jobs was a perfectionist, and his incredibly high standards did not just apply to Apple products, but to every app submitted to the iOS app store. Just look at the quality difference of apps on the iOS app store and the Android app store. Interestingly enough, the iPhones have much lower specs than flagship Android phones, but yet they manage to be on top in user experience.

With that said, I do think your efforts on this front will pay off. The higher standards that Stackideas/EasySocial can set for third party developers to follow, the happier the average EasySocial user will be, and arguably the fewer reported compatibility bugs you receive linked to third party extensions. As I can imagine that currently a lot of bugs reports that you spend time diagnosing are actually linked to third party products.

Just last week I noticed that JFBConnect updated their code to optimize performance, and I couldn't help but think that most likely that improvement was thanks to your feedback. So I know you are good at providing valuable feedback to third party developers with a attention to detail that us end users cannot give. I can only comment from user experience, but you can actually comment based on very technical details too.

Anyway, as always thank you for your incredible work. You are an inspiration to us all.

Mark wrote:

I did install their addons on my local instance and it does work although the interface doesn't look good, but we can't judge them on this can we? There are some bugs which I found but there are no software / apps that is 100% bug free.

Look at other plugins on JomSocial / Community Builder they all look pretty bad too if you ask me. In fact, the apps that Techjoomla provides is for JomSocial and Community Builder too.

I honestly don't care what they look like, but I have installed every single one of their plugins at this point and not a single one works correctly. Not One Of Them. So if you say that you installed them, and that they do in fact work correctly, maybe you could demonstrate this for the everyone else in the community that has not experienced this. Because I have yet to hear from anyone other than you and TechJoomla that their plugins work correctly.

Seriously, if ANYONE else has gotten ANY of TechJoomlas EasySocial addons to fully work, please show us a working example.

I think Jennik is right. We do need to support Techjoomla and let them know what we feel. The thing is that they have an area on their site which is not a 'Support Forum', the same way as Stackideas have. They just provide an area for their customers to 'chat' and they dont offer any involvement. Now, if you are as big as Apple, sure, thats a good idea. But Techjoomla?! I am not sure.

I think the problem with Techjoomla is that the products are not well thought of. The know what the customer wants but not how to provide with no problem. I think they are stuck a couple of decades where you could provide a software that half worked, didnt provide support, and left it to the customer to try and figure it out.

I think we are all so annoyed at them is because we want what they provide so badly but are disappointed because it is so near but yet so far. It is a shame no one is there to provide an alternative!

1) I think Stack Ideas has the right balance here.

Apple is not the ideal analogy because Apple has a proprietary platform, exclusive control over their sales, marketing, and 3rd party developer channels, including restricting access to their API. But Apple has has nearly 6000 iPhone developers wanting to play in their sandbox, and vertical integration of production processes to insure quality and meet demand.

ES is awesome but is by analogy still a toddler when it comes to having a vibrant and dense 3rd-party channel. Stack is doing what they however by offering to serve as a liaison, influencing and/or actually designing UI/UX. Can/should they do more? If they could afford it they could use someone in charge of developer relations/3rd party products who would drum up business, work with third party developers on building ES support for their applications or even focused ES-specific purpose Apps on the ES platform, participate in technical and design discussions with partners to speed adoption and to ensure best practices during implementation. ensure quality, etc.

For now I'd rather see Stack remain focused on the growing ES, EB, et. al. platform & products.

2) Every ES customer in this forum can do more by focusing their efforts as individuals or as a group over at Techjoomla. Motivate them, encourage them, provide constructive critiques, try a product (I'm using many) tender an offer as a group: "if x design change is made" we will buy.

The power of an effective group of prospective/current customers is greater than any nudge from ES.

I'm doing my small part let's have you add your efforts and they will learn what it is you need. I've added tickets re: features with success, you all should do the same. I use their products, they're not perfect, they get the job done and are no comparable alternatives --- yet.

Oh I fully agree Eileen, my apple analogy wasn't meant as a literal strategy for Stackideas to implement. Rather it was just a way for me to say, I appreciate their efforts. Based on my experience, companies that take the time to work with third party developers and who set high standards for third party developers to follow generally experience greater success, than the ones that just throw up an API but don't interact with third party developers.

@Tango,

Which particular app / plugin / extension are you wanting to test it on?

@Eileen,

Thank you very much for your input and you have actually voiced out everything that's on my mind

Well, since you asked, I would like to see you set up Broadcast so that a user can make a post on Twitter and have that post push to their EasySocial stream, and also so when they post on EasySocial that post is pushed to Twitter. (You know the two things the plugin is designed to do.)

@Eileen

Eileen you are a voice of sanity in this thread. Not that the other people in here are insane or anything.
In fact I agree with a lot of stuff in here.
And yes I did try to get Broadcast to work but simply gave up. Partly due to my lack of patience...



@ Tango

Did you get your broadcast links working to FB, LinkedIn and Twitter with Thumbnails? I gave up after 20 tests with double links and virtually no Thumbnails but maybe there has been some progress…

Hi Everyone,

Spent a better part of 2 hours this morning reading and pondering through this thread. I had completely missed this, and will ensure that I check in here regularly. We are also building a more steamlined communication system for the apps.

I'm breaking down my response into 3 sections

The roadmap for the mobile apps
I do understand and agree that the quantity of features, especially in the Easysocial app is less than expected. However as I've previously mentioned, this was on purpose, since release was a beta to understand the response and also help chart a roadmap. We have been furiously working on building a roadmap and hoping to release one this week.

Pricing for the mobile apps
I see there are questions on the subscription and what happens when the apps get combined into one. Rest assured that when we start offerring the combined app, there will be an upgrade option for existing app subscribers. The upgrade will allow those customers to switch to the combined app and get access to the combined app source code.

Additionally, we realised that all of our customers may not be able to create the builds by themselves even if they have source code access. So we are also working on a plan that will bundle in newer builds.

The quality of Joomla products at Techjoomla
This is something that we have definitely heard and acknowledged. Trust me, steps are being taken to improve both - the quality of the UI/UX and also the stability of the products. You should start seeing the changes, especially after the upcoming JGive release.


I'll write a separate reply to all the feature specific questions on both the apps.

@Ashwin, it's good to see you here; you probably lost track of the topic when the thread was forked sometime ago. Re: the roadmap I'm actually still trying to get a handle on the UX for mobile apps vs web apps, at least as to how best practice for mobile apps seems to be that a streamlined app that handles a single task quickly and efficiently is the way to go. Would be interesting to see if the roadmap includes any strategy for configurable features/components of the App(s). Not so much an issue for those building from source but maybe for those customers buying the "standard" app.

It would probably be beneficial to many in this forum if you could share an answer to my ticket #10629, part 2(b): "b) What Application Development Environment will we need in order to rebuild the app?" Will Techjoomla make available a clone of a dev/build machine so your mobile app partners can leverage benefits of time-to-market and ensure our mutual success? This is particularly important for those pursuing your customized app option. I will be purchasing customized versions for all your apps: JGive (when released), ES, EB, & Jticketing Event Manager --- hopefully you're on a unified/singular IDE and not using multiple tools for different apps.

@Jannik, absolutely that's right-on! I just wanted to note for others here that they're not powerless; that we can all actually help affect the change we want to see by engaging in those various steps/actions...

one that is waiting for the roadmap for both easysocial and easyblog apps ..

Ashwin,

Maybe we should start a Google Hangout sometime soon with people who are interested in this discussion?

Mark wrote:

Ashwin,

Maybe we should start a Google Hangout sometime soon with people who are interested in this discussion?

Can we maybe find a solution that is a little more anonymous? I really don't care to let everyone know EXACTLY who I am and what my real name is, google+ doesn't even let me use my stage name.

Hello Tango,

I am not sure what other platforms are there that does this more perfectly than Google+ but why do you worry about your identity if you are not doing any harm? Honestly, I think people are more interested in a more positive outcome in a hangout rather than finding out your real name

If you can provide good and constructive suggestions / criticism, why not?

I loove google hangouts, I think it is a brilliant idea... and Tango, a month or so ago they abolished their real identity policy for google plus, so you can use your stage name now

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/07/17/google_plus_finally_ditches_its_ineffective_dangerous_real_name_policy.html

Sounds good to me too, as you can tell

Well, if you can use pseudonyms on google now I see no reason why google hangouts will not work.

Thanks for the heads up on this guys, let me try to get in touch with Ashwin first.

Hi Everyone - I've just published the roadmap for the merged app
https://techjoomla.com/blog/beyond-joomla/roadmap-for-the-mobile-app-v2-0.html

We're still working out the dates, but hope we're starting to pack in solid features now, and hopefully will have maximum feature coverage in the next few versions!

@Ashwin

Thanks for keeping us informed of your app progress with the Roadmap update. It is very much appreciated. Loo forward to more updates when they are available.

The roadmap is great to see! But I wanted to tap everyone's expertise and share your insight on the unified App.

Single-purpose vs Mulit-purpose App Strategy?

What's your users use-case? I wonder out loud even before there's an active, engaged, and profitable customer user base for these Apps we're discussing, what motivates the run for a "unified app"? Both iOS and Andoid enable Apps to launch other Apps, so if there's a need to bring a user along what might be an "outlier" user scenerio, it could be accomplished. It sure looks like the best apps are the simplest, easiest and fastest to use with simple, clean, and an elegant purpose use case app. You don't have to look far to see successful names unbundling apps right now.

So, tell me again, why the rush to create a Swiss Army Knife of an App?

Just to inform we will be building the mobile app for ES too! Here's a preview! By the way, we have created a separate API since we don't have any documentary on the native ES API. Hope Mark can give us access on the API too

Hi Ken,

Its awesome, you are a pro!!

Cant wait to see your final app.

Hi Ken,
great stuff! Have you got some roadmap you can share?
Thanks a lot

We're targeting December mid or early January.

Sounds exciting Mr. Ninja

Hey Ken,

I'll be willing to provide some (free) help if needed ? Will you provide a "to-compile" version so we can build it and add to it ? How's your idea about rollout and selling ?

Thanks

Alex

Basically, i'll just need to accumulate around $2000 and it will be an open source for everyone. So I might sell it for the first 5 person and it will be open source for everyone to enjoy.

Just start a Crowd Funding thing and people interested can donate.

Then you can acquire your funds.

James

An interesting "development" a few questions:

• what's the development environment/tools look like (native/hybrid line) and what's needed to re-build at our shop
  
• what mobile platforms does your approach support
  
• will you use the API created/maintained by SI?
  
• is there a planned sponsor for the open-source project for maintenance post Jan?
  

Hi guys, I'm not sure about crowd funding because this is a personal project and this will go through even AND without any funds given. What I'm trying to say is I will be giving the community the full source code once I achieve the fund since I believe in an open community. So if 1 buys, he/she will get the full source code, if I achieve the "target fund" then EVERYONE can get it for free.

what's the development environment/tools look like (native/hybrid line) and what's needed to re-build at our shop

As for android, we're using API build 19 to ensure it's supported by lollipop

what mobile platforms does your approach support

We're almost finished with android, iOS will be started after the full release of android

will you use the API created/maintained by SI?

As for this, SI doesn't give us the documentation for the API they give with the other third party (they might be too busy) but Mark said they are writing one that will be available in the site. So basically, we created one for ourselves (usually simple queries, can be changed easily) and I myself wants it this way too to make sure that the resources of servers are segregated.

is there a planned sponsor for the open-source project for maintenance post Jan?

No sponsors but I accept donations

Hi guys, just to inform that I will be giving away the code for free. The code will be open source, so it's up to you guys to improve it. Anyway, hope that ES/SI will be supporting this since the team decided to create our own social network (pure JS/python) but I will still support SI and do some of my hacks (I love open source community) and I found their support really great. I will still use ES on my other projects as time goes on (care to donate a membership for me guys?).

Again, this will be open source and i don't ask for any money for you to use the code. I will supply the source code early next week. But if you guys feel that you want to share some blessings (I badly need to treat my wife for our anniversary) feel free to donate on my paypal account (cheery.mae@gmail.com).

Please be informed I'm not moving away from ES/SI since I love their support
I will still use their script oon other projects

Hi Ken,
Would Easy blog and Easy discuss also be included in the app?

Hi Sunny, sad to say no, I don't have any subscription to access those components.

maybe the stack-team could sponsor you with some subscriptions ... this would be for all of us (stackideas & customers) a great value!

I'm sure Mark will give you access to all their products Ken.

I can't promise that much guys, again, this will be for free so basically once I'm satisfied with my result, then it's all up to the SI team if they will continue it or not. I will just provide a source code and a working application for the community.

Hi Ken,
I sent you email. Anyway, we will definitely give it a go and try to build more features or connections for for example EasyBlog etc starting from your code.
Exciting times

Hi there Guys, here's the preview of the API
http://128.199.155.75/api/services/documentation/

Hi Guys,

Super excited to announce that we just released the merged app. Head on over here for the full release blog -
https://techjoomla.com/blog/general-announcements/easysocial-easyblog-jgive-all-in-one-with-junite.html

The merged version now has Easysocial, Easyblog and JGive.

We also managed to solve all the compliance related issues with our iTunes account and the apps are now waiting for the final approval on the iTunes store! Android is available for immediate use!

Thanks for sharing this Parth

We're working on the planning out the v3 release now, and hope to have a roadmap released next week. Stay tuned!

For those who missed, attaching some screenshots of the new & improved UI of the new v2 app!

Love the concept but it seems to me its missing major features of EasySocial such as Groups and Events as well as the capability of handling the applications within ES. Am I missing something?

James

Groups, Events, and exposing the Apps within ES (either native ES or 3rd-party) aren't yet in "JUnity". However, they have been working steadily with success tackling bugs and new features skillfully. They have a forward momentum and are making inroads I have witnessed in their progression from Alpha, Beta, to their "1.0". The big question for them and their customers to figure out is what to do next and how?

Keeping it in context, Facebook is just now releasing today their "Group" app although the feature is available from within the main Facebook app (BTW, that gives me more to think about in my earlier post in this thread questioning the merits of a Single-purpose vs Mulit-purpose App Strategy).

As compared with Facebook, ES is still relatively new (heck, recurring events was just recently available and in that way there is a sort of moving target and adjusting features everyone, including Techjoomla, needs to contend with. I suppose that's the agile way which does have the upside of enabling developers to be more responsive to the market, if with less predictable time-frames and features.

One thing I do look forward to with the Techjoomla and Stack Ideas partnership is to see that as any new features are exposed (i.e. Groups, Events) there should be a well-considered flowmap in place to help ensure a logical and reasonable navigational structure. Key access should be close to the top rather than buried beneath multiple levels of navigational elements. Skipping a flowmap and simply designing without a plan is the easiest way to create a convoluted flow that could leave mobile users confused and turned off.

So far there has been great progression and evolution and I can't wait to see the roadmap for 3.0!

Thanks a lot Eileen! Agree on the navigational aspect - having a easy to use and extensible navigation is important. Any ideas in this department are really appreciated. We are already toying with the idea of adding another menu on the bottom with links to main features (latest blogs, newsfeed, friends, write blog etc). We can accommodate 4-5 buttons on the bottom bar.

Check the attachment for a schematic!

Hi Ken and Ashwin,
could you tell us if you used any tools like for example phonegap or tatanium?
When do you think Ken, the source will be available?
Thanks a lot
All the best

Jan,

We are using Phonegap to create the apps. It will allow us to rapidly make changes to Android and iOS and also Windows when we do introduce it.

Ashwin Date wrote:

Thanks a lot Eileen! Agree on the navigational aspect - having a easy to use and extensible navigation is important. Any ideas in this department are really appreciated. We are already toying with the idea of adding another menu on the bottom with links to main features (latest blogs, newsfeed, friends, write blog etc). We can accommodate 4-5 buttons on the bottom bar.

Check the attachment for a schematic!

For UI, look at LinkedIns new mobile app. They have done some cool things with the slide in from left menu and notifications... and yes, buttons at the bottom would be great too.

I'll be sending email to Mark within the day to send him the full source code of what we have right now. We've used phonegap so SI can easily port it on any other mobile device.

Email sent! Will be posting preview within the day

New roadmap blog post for JUnite 3.0 looking toward a mid-January release:

Following is the Roadmap for jUnite v3.0:

Easy Social

Groups

• Groups detail view
  
• View group discussion comments
  
• Like group discussions
  
• Search groups
  
• List of friends
  
• Add as friend
  
• Remove friend
  
• Messaging
  
• View all the messages
  
• Post messages
  
• Delete messages
  
• Status update with following support
  
• Text share
  
• Photo + Text Share
  
• Link
  
• Remember Me! Login feature
  
• When user get logged in mobile app, the Website url & username will be saved into the app.
  
• Push notifications via Amazon SNS
  
• Push notifications for important actions like messages
  
• User can turn off the push notifications via user settings from the app.
  
• In App Browser
  
• Similar to the browser in the Facebook app, any links that the app cannot handle are opened in a browser. This makes the stream and thr blog content much more interactive!
  
• Activity Stream Overhaul
  
• In order to have more features like “In App links” & many more features..
  
• Photo Zooming
  
• List of groups
  

Easyblog

• Enable image uploading
  
• Browse by bloggers
  
• Edit & Delete the new blog created by user
  
• Form validation for for every required field
  
• Team Blogs
  
• Add tags for writing new blog
  
• View tags on the full blog.
  
• 3rd party commenting integration.
  
• Photo Zooming
  

JGive

• More filters
  
• Add support for the video campaigns
  
• UI Improvements
  
• Photo Zooming
  

We'are still working on the release date and it seems that we might be able to release this version in the mid January. So guys stay tuned for more updates! Feel free to add a comment for any suggestions or doubts.

test

Hi Jan,

The Easysocial, Easyblog and the JUnite app all use phonegap for easy portability.

Hi guys, included is the mobile application source code we developed. You can open it using phonegap. Feel free to modify it according to your hearts content!

http://128.199.155.75/mobile.rar

Regards, Ken

Hey Ken, I install the zip you sent but its nothing but the helloworld files inside.... am I mistaken ? the emulator load the default thing

Hey guys,

This thread is getting too long and I am going to lock this. Let's continue this on the other thread here, http://stackideas.com/forums/easysocial-mobile-app-thread-v2