I am thrilled to let everyone know that next week will be the start of the beta for Mac Extensions! It has been a long road but the light at the end of the tunnel is visible... and boy is it ever pretty:) We do have a few spots left for Beta testers, so if you would like to be involved feel free to shoot me an email at beta@dexrex.com with your OS version and Mac model.
And now I will leave you with this little bit of nuggety goodness. It was a tag on one of the emails I received from a Blackberry beta tester and it just kinda stuck with me.
"History never repeats itself; at best it sometimes rhymes." - Mark Twain
Cheers all,
Welcome!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Blackberry Update: Beta Testing Begun
In our continuing adventures to fix Blackberry SMS support, we began the closed beta last night at 9:20EST with some brave souls.
Here's a screen shot of our awesome new app in action! This is what it looks like when there's a problem now, behold, you have things you can do about it :)
Generally, the new Blackbery app is working for people now. Here's the status of our known issues and how well we are now handling them:
1. Country Calling Code Missing
You provide your country calling code during the application setup. Problem solved.
2. Connectivity issues
Server-side reliability was improved. That sounds generic, but seriously we found a few problems and fixed them. Problem solved.
3. Not receiving account password during setup
You provide your own password now during setup on the phone. No more problems here!
4. App freezing or not installing on some phones
Well, we haven't seen this happen with the new release yet. Probably because it's much more stable, but we will keep eyes out.
We're looking to do a few more beta releases over the next week to work out kinks and make our layout prettier, and then we will launch it publicly. Yay!
Here's a screen shot of our awesome new app in action! This is what it looks like when there's a problem now, behold, you have things you can do about it :)
Generally, the new Blackbery app is working for people now. Here's the status of our known issues and how well we are now handling them:
1. Country Calling Code Missing
You provide your country calling code during the application setup. Problem solved.
2. Connectivity issues
Server-side reliability was improved. That sounds generic, but seriously we found a few problems and fixed them. Problem solved.
3. Not receiving account password during setup
You provide your own password now during setup on the phone. No more problems here!
4. App freezing or not installing on some phones
Well, we haven't seen this happen with the new release yet. Probably because it's much more stable, but we will keep eyes out.
We're looking to do a few more beta releases over the next week to work out kinks and make our layout prettier, and then we will launch it publicly. Yay!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Farewell to an Office Veteran
I started cleaning up my desk earlier this week. It got a little too cluttered and it was way past time to reclaim my workspace. It’s one of those old, pig-iron desks—possibly recovered from a world war II bunker or recycled from a Russian tank. It’s even “fire proof” and made in the USA!
Maybe it’s the size, smell, or rust, but every other person in the office hates my desk… but they’re just jealous of the massive green beast. It could crush their flat-pack ikea desks like the kindling they are.
Using his military training and business strategy experience, Barrett recognized my desk cleaning crusade as the time to strike. Supposedly the green monster’s too big, too heavy, way too ugly, and leaving some rust on the floor. Supposedly it doesn’t belong in a young startup like ours. Supposedly it’s just past its prime. I’ll agree that it’s got a few extra pounds and is a little on the antique side, but that’s character! I’ve got enough Apple-chic in my life already.
But alas, I’m told a couple big guys are coming by tomorrow to haul off my desk to the big office in the sky… Good bye desk, you will be remembered.
Here she is, form your own opinions, I already have mine.
Maybe it’s the size, smell, or rust, but every other person in the office hates my desk… but they’re just jealous of the massive green beast. It could crush their flat-pack ikea desks like the kindling they are.
Using his military training and business strategy experience, Barrett recognized my desk cleaning crusade as the time to strike. Supposedly the green monster’s too big, too heavy, way too ugly, and leaving some rust on the floor. Supposedly it doesn’t belong in a young startup like ours. Supposedly it’s just past its prime. I’ll agree that it’s got a few extra pounds and is a little on the antique side, but that’s character! I’ve got enough Apple-chic in my life already.
But alas, I’m told a couple big guys are coming by tomorrow to haul off my desk to the big office in the sky… Good bye desk, you will be remembered.
Here she is, form your own opinions, I already have mine.
Friday, July 18, 2008
oooh, Video, oooh
I tried out ooVoo for the first time this morning, and found it surprisingly simple to use (although it took me a few seconds to figure out how to answer a video call). All in all, I'm impressed -- the call quality was pretty good, and the video-audio sync was flawless. There is a bit of a delay in the call, but it's manageable.
However, ooVoo currently doesn't have chat logging. Dexrex to the rescue! We're going to take a closer look at the ooVoo API, and figure out how to add archiving to their service.
If you're an ooVoo user, let us know how often you use text chat!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Website updates, Coming soons, and Easter Eggs... Oh My!
Updates galore!
Prior to this week's web site changes, our 'support list' was hidden behind the home page swoosh. Now, a couple links have surfaced and you can reach this page by clicking a link in the footer and on the homepage.
We have also added a 'coming soon' section to this page. This will document what is next for conversation importer, Extensions support, and any other up and coming projects. If you check it now, you will see that we will be supporting Mac soon! This is not a fabrication of our imagination, its 100% true. In the next few weeks we will be releasing a version of extensions that will work on Macs. The clients supported are listed on the 'support list' page. (The new one you can get to. Booya.) If a client you are using is NOT shown on that page, please contact us at contact@dexrex.com. We always like to hear from people about the clients they use:)
Other things to look out for:
More FAQ items - We added a section about Extensions, so people with Extensions issues can check it out and get some answers.
Easter eggs - Next time you visit Dexrex, take a closer look! Maybe you'll find something interesting? Perhaps Dinosaurs aren't extinct after all?
Polish - We have added hover effects and some more images to the site to make it look, well, better!
3 letter aliases - You can now change your alias to be 3 - 16 characters rather than 4 - 16. Not a huge deal, but for people who like to use initials it could be:)
Alert System - Now, lets say a new version of Extensions is released, or we add support to another client on conversation importer: We can tell you! A message will show up on your member home page letting users know what the dilly is. It can be x'd out of very easily too, in case you want it to go away.
And that's about it for web site changes! We are always looking to improve our product(s) so if you have any suggestions feel free to email us at contact@dexrex.com.
Catch you on the flip side,
Prior to this week's web site changes, our 'support list' was hidden behind the home page swoosh. Now, a couple links have surfaced and you can reach this page by clicking a link in the footer and on the homepage.
We have also added a 'coming soon' section to this page. This will document what is next for conversation importer, Extensions support, and any other up and coming projects. If you check it now, you will see that we will be supporting Mac soon! This is not a fabrication of our imagination, its 100% true. In the next few weeks we will be releasing a version of extensions that will work on Macs. The clients supported are listed on the 'support list' page. (The new one you can get to. Booya.) If a client you are using is NOT shown on that page, please contact us at contact@dexrex.com. We always like to hear from people about the clients they use:)
Other things to look out for:
More FAQ items - We added a section about Extensions, so people with Extensions issues can check it out and get some answers.
Easter eggs - Next time you visit Dexrex, take a closer look! Maybe you'll find something interesting? Perhaps Dinosaurs aren't extinct after all?
Polish - We have added hover effects and some more images to the site to make it look, well, better!
3 letter aliases - You can now change your alias to be 3 - 16 characters rather than 4 - 16. Not a huge deal, but for people who like to use initials it could be:)
Alert System - Now, lets say a new version of Extensions is released, or we add support to another client on conversation importer: We can tell you! A message will show up on your member home page letting users know what the dilly is. It can be x'd out of very easily too, in case you want it to go away.
And that's about it for web site changes! We are always looking to improve our product(s) so if you have any suggestions feel free to email us at contact@dexrex.com.
Catch you on the flip side,
Monday, July 14, 2008
Chafing Across America: The First Leg
So begins the bicycle journey of Ed and Kira...
Shortly after they left, Western Massachusetts experienced a run of daily thunderstorms. We at Dexrex stayed indoors during these times, glad of civilized comforts such as walls and roofs. Ed and Kira, however, were soaking wet and facing the prospect of annihilation at the hands of nature. The first such storm occurred on the day they set off from Amherst, and sunset found them camping in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Their clothes and our message to Meebo were about equally soaked, and the lot was hung to dry after the rain let up.
Laundry
The next day Ed and Kira crossed into the state of New York, fighting unbearable heat and continuing thunderstorms. Despite pulling a one hundred pound supply cart behind him, Ed's spirits remained high:
Spirits are high.
The rest of New York was marked by more of the same: heat and intermittant storms. By the time they reached Lake Ontario, Ed had been driven to the brink of madness by the weather. What he had to say about the following photo can be seen as a symptom of a troubled mind. "In an attempt to divine the fate of our journey, we threw about some driftwood and let it land where it wished. An auspicious sign!"
Has he gone... Mad?!
To their rescue came Niagara Falls and th e Canadian border. New York has been conquered, and Ed and Kira will next cross into Ontario, which is outside the jurisdiction of thunderstorms. Their planned route will take them through Ontario to the lower peninsula of Michigan.
Right to left: Kira, message, good weather
Shortly after they left, Western Massachusetts experienced a run of daily thunderstorms. We at Dexrex stayed indoors during these times, glad of civilized comforts such as walls and roofs. Ed and Kira, however, were soaking wet and facing the prospect of annihilation at the hands of nature. The first such storm occurred on the day they set off from Amherst, and sunset found them camping in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Their clothes and our message to Meebo were about equally soaked, and the lot was hung to dry after the rain let up.
Laundry
Spirits are high.
Has he gone... Mad?!
Right to left: Kira, message, good weatherCheck back next week to find out how they're doing!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Blackberry Update
Since we broke our hearts and took down Blackberry SMS support for new users, we've been working hard to get it back up.
Here's what we are dealing with and how we are dealing:
1. Country Calling Code
Problem: Some phones aren't configured to include the CCC (ie, +1 555-555-5555 in US, +44 555-555-5555 in UK). The Dexrex model needs globally-unique names to associate messages to, so it's pretty much required.
Fix: You will be able to type in your country calling code to our app if we can't figure it out.
2. Missing Access Point Name (APN)
Problem: Some phones aren't configured for 3rd party applications to use the internet, which we need to contact our servers.
Fix: We can auto-default the APN settings for our application without screwing with the phone's main configuration. If this fails, we will let the user specify their APN info and give documents to help figure out what it is.
3. Connectivity issues
Problem: Sometimes the app loses touch with our server and gives a vague error message.
Fix: We solved some issues in our server side software that caused this to happen. Secondly, we lowered the reliance that our app has on the server. Lastly, we are increasing understanding of when we can't connect and giving the user actions to resolve the problem instead of our app complaining with a vague error.
4. Not receiving account password
Problem: Sometimes new users were not able to link their phone or sign in with their phone number. At first we had trouble reliably sending SMSs to user's phones without costing us a fortune, and when we switched over to not needing SMSs, it seemed to make the problem worse. The server was not sending new users passwords.
Fix: For the most part, this was a symptom of the above problems, but our "new user" process is being made much more robust. If things go wrong, the user will be able to perform actions to resolve the problem.
5. App freezing or not installing on some phones
Problem: We only work on Blackberry OS v4.2.1 and up, however many v4.5 users reported that the app didn't work. We were unable to reproduce the problem since we only have a few actual Blackberrys to test it on, and of course it worked perfectly in the simulator... Go figure.
Fix: Technologically we should work with Blackberry v4.1+, and are working towards that. To help reproduce and therefore discover what could be causing these problems, we have asked the help of some users to partake in a short limited beta.
If you had a problem that is not listed here, then contact us. Dan reads and responds to all the emails.
Nick and I are going to finish all the Blackberry App changes next week, and then spend some time with our volunteer beta group to test it out. We aren't going to release the app publicly until we feel confident it will work for our users. As Cristos put more eloquently than myself, I hope suspense is better than frustration. If you want to participate in our short limited beta, then ask Dan by emailing us a beta@dexrex.com.
Thanks! Our new version will be totally awesome.
Here's what we are dealing with and how we are dealing:
1. Country Calling Code
Problem: Some phones aren't configured to include the CCC (ie, +1 555-555-5555 in US, +44 555-555-5555 in UK). The Dexrex model needs globally-unique names to associate messages to, so it's pretty much required.
Fix: You will be able to type in your country calling code to our app if we can't figure it out.
2. Missing Access Point Name (APN)
Problem: Some phones aren't configured for 3rd party applications to use the internet, which we need to contact our servers.
Fix: We can auto-default the APN settings for our application without screwing with the phone's main configuration. If this fails, we will let the user specify their APN info and give documents to help figure out what it is.
3. Connectivity issues
Problem: Sometimes the app loses touch with our server and gives a vague error message.
Fix: We solved some issues in our server side software that caused this to happen. Secondly, we lowered the reliance that our app has on the server. Lastly, we are increasing understanding of when we can't connect and giving the user actions to resolve the problem instead of our app complaining with a vague error.
4. Not receiving account password
Problem: Sometimes new users were not able to link their phone or sign in with their phone number. At first we had trouble reliably sending SMSs to user's phones without costing us a fortune, and when we switched over to not needing SMSs, it seemed to make the problem worse. The server was not sending new users passwords.
Fix: For the most part, this was a symptom of the above problems, but our "new user" process is being made much more robust. If things go wrong, the user will be able to perform actions to resolve the problem.
5. App freezing or not installing on some phones
Problem: We only work on Blackberry OS v4.2.1 and up, however many v4.5 users reported that the app didn't work. We were unable to reproduce the problem since we only have a few actual Blackberrys to test it on, and of course it worked perfectly in the simulator... Go figure.
Fix: Technologically we should work with Blackberry v4.1+, and are working towards that. To help reproduce and therefore discover what could be causing these problems, we have asked the help of some users to partake in a short limited beta.
If you had a problem that is not listed here, then contact us. Dan reads and responds to all the emails.
Nick and I are going to finish all the Blackberry App changes next week, and then spend some time with our volunteer beta group to test it out. We aren't going to release the app publicly until we feel confident it will work for our users. As Cristos put more eloquently than myself, I hope suspense is better than frustration. If you want to participate in our short limited beta, then ask Dan by emailing us a beta@dexrex.com.
Thanks! Our new version will be totally awesome.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Pumping up the Security
A new trend is spreading at the most elite and secure sites all over the internet. You see it at PayPal..at Bank of America...even at Charles Schwab.
What is this trend? It's the Extended Validation SSL Certificate:
This certificate is more than just a green blob at the top of your screen. Verisign uses an extremely rigorous process to make sure that any company with an Extended Validation certificate is the genuine article.
In fact, it's a downright pain in the *ahem* to prove you deserve one of these. Here are a few of the things they've grilled us on:
- Called our domain admin to make sure that we really own "dexrex.com"
- Compared our company's official legal name with the registration information for "dexrex.com"
- Looked up all official company filings in Delaware (where we're legally "headquartered"), to make sure that "Dexrex LLC" is a legal company in the United States
- Wrote our lawyer to be sure that we actually get mail here in Amherst, Massachusetts (where our offices are)
- Compared the phone number from our official business listing with both an independent agency and with our lawyer's records
- Asked our CEO and our lawyer to confirm that the person handling the transaction is officially sanctioned by the company to buy an EV certificate
So all in all, it's taking a *really* long time to get this set up. But we don't mind extra pain if it gets us extra security. You guys are worth it :-)
~ Cristos
PS: Want more information on the EV program? Here are a few resources about it online:
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Dexrex Extensions for Windows Version 5.302a
Today saw the release of a new version of Dexrex Extensions, as well as an update to the website. Here is what's new:
- Support for the ICQ protocol on ICQ 6, Pidgin, Digsby, and Trillian
- Improved international support
- Improved Digsby support
- Added Unicode support
- Added support for Yahoo Messenger Beta 9
- Fixed a bug that would cause a rare crash when Extensions was starting up
- Fixed the strange message that was appearing on Windows XP when connecting to Pidgin, Trillian Pro, or Aim 6/Lite/Pro
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