twenty08

[t08]

New Server Updates Pushed Live

Many of you may have noticed that the last few days on MobileChat have been a bit rocky. That's because we pushed out a brand new server update that caused a bit of instability while we worked out some of the kinks.

This new update has fixed a number of the bugs that many of you have had over the last few weeks. Here's our plan for the coming weeks:

1. Get YIM Implemented and Up and Running

2. Get MSN Display Picture Support Implemented

3. Fix some instability bugs prevalent among OSCAR and MSN accounts.

I apologize for the long wait for the blog update, we've been dealing with some issues on the corporate side and haven't had much time to shoot out an update to our users. We'll continue to work hard on MobileChat and let you guys know what's coming as the weeks move on.

-Saverio

[t08]

Dare I say... Stability is around the corner.

While I don't want to jinx anything, I think it's safe to say that we've reached a very critical point in the growth of MobileChat. There are still going to be some issues as we continue to develop our server software; however, for the most part, we have a viable road to continue down. Over the next few days we will be implementing bug fixes to the current protocols and as a result, you may experience disconnections and sign-offs while we deploy new servers and upgrade our current servers.

Yahoo! Messenger remains to be disabled as of this weekend; however, we have a solution in the works and hope to get it up and running as soon as we can.

Check back frequently for more information regarding MobileChat's status.

-Saverio

[t08]

OSCAR & MSN: 18 Hours Strong

I'm proud to report that my AIM and MSN accounts have been connected for the past 18 hours without any interruption. We've also had reports of MobileChat working smoothly for many if not all of our users.

We urge MobileChat users to open up their application and give it a try (even if it hasn't worked for you in the past). We would love to put some serious stress on our servers for testing purposes; however, we need many more connections for that to happen.

We're currently aware and working on the following issues:

SMS over AIM accounts - Currently, you're unable to send SMS messages by typing in someone's mobile number and prefixing it with the country code as you used to be able to do.

SMS Push - Related to the issue above, this feature is currently disabled while we work out the SMS problems with AIM.

Email Push - We've had sporadic reports of push notices not working or working sporadically. We're looking into the issue and will have more information shortly.

Randomly Disappearing Buddies - Some people may notice incomplete buddy lists. This is due to a bug that displays your entire buddy list at first, but quickly removes buddies when you return the app from suspension. 

HTML in AIM Messages - This is an odd bug that sometimes shows you HTML in incoming AIM messages. 

YIM is Disabled - We've disabled YIM (as it's currently the most unstable protocol) and will continue to do so until we can stabilize it.

We will post more information and developments as the day(s) go on. A huge thank you goes out for everyone's continued support!

-Saverio

[t08]

AIM/ICQ/MobileMe Testing through the Night

Today marked the completion of our extensive work with MSN and the OSCAR protocol. We've spent the better part of the last two weeks developing custom implementations of MSN and AIM and judging by our testing, the outcome is tremendously exciting. 

Unfortunately, this meant disabling YIM support until we can spend time to develop that as well. We will hopefully re-enable YIM support over the next couple of days.

We're going to be deploying this beta server on all of our boxes as the night rolls on and we'll be collecting debug data during this time. As pathetic as it is to say, this beta version, while still in the early stages, is 1000x better than anything that is currently deployed on our servers. However, not letting our ego's get in the way...that's fantastic news! We are very excited to see the performance as more and more users begin to stress our servers. 

We will post additional updates tomorrow.

A big thanks for everyone's continued patience while we continue to work through these issues. We're all very optimistic and these latest server updates are potentially ground-breaking for the MobileChat initiative.

-Saverio

[t08]

Status Update 10/6

As we mentioned yesterday, we've made good progress with MSN and have continued to do so. Our servers are still suffering; however, we hope to bring everyone back online with the new software once it's been completely tested and deployed. After that, we plan to move on to the OSCAR protocol and then YIM.

You may have also noticed that we disabled comments on the blog. To everyone who found the comments useful as a way to communicate your ideas to us, I apologize; however, it only takes a small few to ruin it for everyone. The aggravation of moderating the comments for 1-2 hours a day was not worth the benefit that it brought the community. Should anyone have any questions or comments regarding any of our products, you may submit them via http://support.twenty08.com.

We will update this blog constantly and provide more information as it becomes available.

Thank you, and good night.

-Saverio

[t08]

Some Insight into our Plans

Here's what we've been doing over the past few days and what we'll continue to do this weekend and on:

1. We've placed another order with our data center for an additional 4 servers and spent most of yesterday preparing them. They are now online and ready for us to deploy our new software. Now for the software...

2. Shaun's been busily hacking away at each protocol, specifically, MSN. We've decided to implement each protocol from scratch (starting with MSN) and will bring the IM networks online 1 at a time. We reached a bit of a snag yesterday with MSN not working the way it should of (large message delays, people getting disconnected too frequently...etc); however, Shaun was able to get past that late last night.. We expect to have MSN up and running sometime on Monday and from there, move on to AIM/ICQ/.Mac/MobileMe and then YIM. Outside of those efforts, we are also working to get some more OpenFire servers up and running as a "meantime" solution. 

3. The "3.1 Server Upgrade" that we mentioned is in fact the individual implementation method that we're still working on. We originally had planned to do it with different languages and specialized libraries for each language all brought together with a bridge to our primary application language (which is why we thought we could have it up and running yesterday); however, the implications of running multiple language bridges on our platform were way too severe. (Memory Leaks, Segmentation Faults....a real mess.) A big problem with what we're doing is that no one has yet to perfect massive-scaling of any IM protocol (except XMPP). Companies like Meebo and BeeJive have been working on their technology for years and have a lot of experience with what they do, while we've learned a lot, our resources are ultimately limited to who we can hire and who is willing to work on this project (as soon as we mention anything regarding an "IM Protocol" in an interview, it's all down hill). If someone approached us with a solution, we'd jump all over it; regardless of cost and trust me, that's the absolute truth. (Who wants to keep dealing with this!!!)

4. The timeline for the protocol implementations is a bit sketchy at the moment. We're shooting for next Monday to have MSN live, Thursday for AIM/ICQ/.Mac/MobileMe and then the Wednesday after that for YIM. Please don't hold us to these dates, they're merely an educated guess. Until we dive in head first, we won't know for sure.

5. A question that I've seen many people ask us is: "What if your plan doesn't work, then what?" (Ok, maybe not many people...just Sweep). Well, we've certainly thought about that, and that's why we've spent some time over the last few weeks negotiating a contract and working out a deal with a number of development firms. Next week, the chosen firm, will begin work on an entirely new platform developed entirely in "ErLang" (if you're not familiar with it, do some research on it...it is unbelievably scalable and above all, just plain cool). This new platform will be built completely separate from our current platform and is scheduled to be finished around the first week of January (Yes, a long way away, but perfection takes time). This new platform will most likely run on Amazon's EC2 platform for additional stability. We will continue to work on our own solutions; however, if all should fail, a solid backup solution is in the works.

6. Support is being handled all through the weekend. If you submitted a ticket and haven't heard from us just yet, sit tight, we'll get to you shortly!

7.  Earlier on, when MobileChat first launched (and disappointed many), we told our users that we would make it up to them as best as we could. Well, we're still working on some other "gifts" that will come in the next few months; however, a big part of what we're going to do (to give back to the community), is just that, give back. We're currently researching a number of organizations who we will ultimately provide a donation to. Nothing is final yet; however, come this holiday season, we'd like to give as much as we can to an organization that our community will choose. If anyone has any suggestions, please submit a ticket at support.twenty08.com. 

If you have any questions, feel free to submit a ticket to support.twenty08.com. 

-Saverio

[t08]

MobileChat Update hits App Store

Just so you're aware, while it's listed as 3.0.1 on App Store, it's really 3.1 (which is what iTunes should show). This is because we initial submitted 3.0.1 back in early august and there was no way for us to change the version number.

While 3.1 is backwards compatible with the current servers, we'll be upgrade to the 3.1 servers tomorrow, which is when you should really expect to see improvements.

We'll have more in the morning.

-Shaun

-- UPDATE --

We've submitted a notice to Apple to update the AppStore listing to warn potential buyers of the server issues with MobileChat. It should appear within the next few hours.

Also, comments are being heavily moderated now. Any derogatory comments towards the developers or any community member will be deleted, no questions asked. It's one thing to post constructive criticism regarding the product; but it's another to post aimless comments designed to frustrate and annoy the people who visit this blog. This is not an open forum and if you would like to discuss MobileChat without limitation, I recommend starting a thread at MacRumors.

-Saverio

[t08]

Putting the Rumor to Sleep

Just figured I'd take a few moments to put to bed a stupid rumor that has been generated over the past few days.

MobileChat is not dead. We've yet to receive any indication from Apple that our application would not be accepted this time around and we're very excited for this week's release, as should our users.

More posts as we have more information...

-Saverio

[t08]

Progress.

I just wanted to post a quick blurb noting that Apple is currently reviewing our latest build of MobileChat and we're hoping that there are no issues this time around. We fixed the issues that caused the last rejection and we've done a good amount of testing to find anything else that could be wrong with the application. (To no avail...so that's a good thing!) If all goes well, MobileChat 3.1 SHOULD be on AppStore by this upcoming Thursday (Oct 2nd).

Over the next week, Shaun and I will begin deploying new servers and working on a few different ideas to make MobileChat's server platform more sustainable in the large environment that we manage. (I know, I know...no one wants to hear about our server updates and what not; however, I'd rather be honest and tell you guys exactly what we're doing, rather than B.S something just to please people.)

The challenges involved with MobileChat's server platform are what have caused so many issues over the past month and a half. With all of the major (and minor) bugs fixed in MobileChat 3.1, we will continue to focus on a viable server solution. In the meantime, the "80% Solution" is in place and we will continue to expand on it to accommodate our community. It's not perfect, but for the most part, it works pretty decently. 

If anyone has any specific questions about the status of our work, post here, or feel free to submit a ticket at http://support.twenty08.com

Have a good night!

-Saverio

[t08]

MobileChat 3.1 Delayed...Again.

Unfortunately, I'm sad to have to report that MobileChat 3.1 was again rejected from the AppStore.

Due to our Non-Disclosure Agreement, we're unable to dive deep into it with an explanation; however, what I can say is that Apple is being very meticulous in their review process now. This isn't a bad thing, and I fully support Apple's commitment to making the review process as thorough as it can be.

The obvious downfall is that when a minor issue is revealed through the AppStore review process, it sets us back an entire week.

That being said, we've fixed the issue and have plans to resubmit the application for review this afternoon. We are going through our checklist again to ensure that we have everything covered.

I understand that people are frustrated and are tired of waiting and Shaun and I feel absolutely terrible. However, all I can offer is your money back. For that, please go to support.twenty08.com and submit a request for a refund.

Apologies don't make up for the aggravation, so I won't bother.

More updates will come as we get more information.

-Saverio

[t08]

Keyboard Issue for "Push Notices"

To everyone who has been having the issue with the keyboard not popping up when you need to enter your information for "Push Notices":

This is an issue that has been fixed in MobileChat 3.1 (which is due out Wednesday or Thursday of this week). The problem is related to the 2.1 Firmware update. They changed how something worked in this update and as a result, this bug was revealed.

Thanks to the community, there's a work around!

Basically, click on the username or password field to bring up the keyboard. Then, using two fingers, scroll down to the Push Notices and proceed as you normally would. The keyboard will stay up during this time and you'll be able to eventually enter the information that you need to.

This is only a temporary solution until the fix is released later this week.

-Saverio

[t08]

Apple Explains the Rejection Issues

In case you didn't know, MobileChat was submitted for review quite while ago. In that time period, it has been rejected twice (three if you count the 3.01 rejection). Each time an application is rejected, the developer receives a small explanation as to why it has been rejected and what we have to do to fix it. As a result, we complied to Apple's requests and modified MobileChat to pass the review process as per the emailed explanation. 

After a number of emails between me and an automated ticket system at Apple's developer program, I was finally able to get in touch with a human being who was able to explain the issue that we've been having with getting MobileChat approved. Sadly, it was a mere communication problem between twenty08 and the Apple AppStore Review team. We thought they were referring to one thing when in reality, that had nothing to do with it.  (Just as an aside, this is without a doubt more our own fault than Apple's and this post is in no way implying that they screwed up this process. Had we been more aware of our contractual obligations to Apple as per our development contract, this misunderstanding would have never occurred.)

Unfortunately, this caused us to waste 2 weeks of your time and we apologize for that. We understand that everyone is very excited to get their hands on MobileChat 3.1 and we're doing our best to get it into your hands as soon as possible. The silver lining in all of this is that all of the bugs that our beta team has caught in the past 2 weeks have now been fixed and we were able to squeeze them into this release.

As of 5:30PM EST tonight, we think we've finally resolved the issues and a new binary has been submitted to Apple for review.

That being said, I would expect MobileChat to appear in the AppStore on September 24th or the 25th. (Based on the release cycles of other updated software.)

Over the next week, we will be beefing things up around here to prepare for the heavy hit that we expect to receive as a result of the new update.

-Saverio

[t08]

Nothing New.

Just a quick blurb to let everyone know that nothing has changed since the last post, we're still hammering away.

We should have an update of some value tomorrow night. Until then...

-Saverio

P.S: To everyone waiting on support tickets, we've been experiencing an unusually high load this weekend and we're working through them all. I apologize for the long wait.

[t08]

Today's *Ahem* Yesterday's Update

Yes, it's 2:40AM as I'm writing this; however, I'm making my best effort to get an update in before I retire for the night. 

We are aware of the 2.1 problems and we're also aware of the issues it's been causing. We're looking into them and will be reporting on our strategy for this very shortly. (There are some complications that we need to handle.)

There's nothing else to update on for today. There are a lot of fixes in the works and it just takes time, and that's the simple truth. There's no deadline for when things are going to be 100% and we're not going to self-impose one as they do absolutely nothing but disappoint our customers when we can't meet them. (And we can't meet them because we can't anticipate problems that we haven't had yet.) Our best deadline is "ASAP", so know that we're not lying down on the job.

We understand that MobileChat doesn't work for a lot of people; it's no secret. However, I need to ask that people refrain from posting comment after comment in regards to this matter. It's got nothing to do with "bad publicity" (Have you seen the AppStore rating? That says enough), because honestly, we could just turn off comments if we were that concerned. The truth of the matter is that people post questions and we'd like to be able to answer them without having to mow through lecture after lecture about how we run our business poorly and should give up and I believe at one point someone suggested we kill ourselves.

I understand your frustration; trust me, I do. However, these posts do nothing for the cause except make us more frustrated and reduce the overall good spirit. Sure you may have the "right" to voice your opinion, but when it comes down to it, it doesn't pay to be angry with us right now. Consider this example... If your airline lost your bag, and you went to customer service in an uproar, they'll do nothing for you; however, if you're courteous, maybe they'll do what it takes to get it back.

I'm not saying that we need an incentive to work hard (we have plenty already!); trust me, I want to prove all the nay-sayers wrong and stabilize MobileChat once and for all more than anyone...well, maybe not more than Shaun; however, it's disheartening to work a long day and then come to the blog to read nothing but trash talk (mostly amongst yourselves by the way). Does it suck having paid for an app that doesn't work? Of course it does, I'm ashamed of it actually. But the constant blows in the comments do nothing but damage the community.

Maybe this post was pointless. The people who this post is aimed at won't really care and their misguided principles will surely point them towards a righteous attitude; however, maybe something good will come of it for a change, who knows.

That's all for tonight, expect another update tomorrow night.

-Saverio

[t08]

Server Updates Went Live Today

We pushed through the server updates that Shaun described in his post last night today. Everything went well and we've been receiving lots of confirmations from people claiming to have better luck with MobileChat.

We'll be continuing to improve the infrastructure over the next week while we await the MobileChat 3.1 release. We've resolved our conflicts with Apple and are awaiting an approval on 3.1.

I understand that it's been a long wait; however, there's not much we can do about it. Things are just very slow out of the gate as we continue to move forward. I apologize on behalf of twenty08 for these issues, and I hope that the community can continue to stand by us while we prove ourselves in this market. I wish there was more to tell, but there's not much more information on this matter. I'll keep the flow of information coming as I get it.

-Saverio

[t08]

Server Update Tomorrow Morning

We're going to be rolling out significant server software and hardware updates tomorrow morning.

The load balance server is going to be significant upgraded tomorrow, and should hopefully allow a much quicker initial connection to MobileChat.

We're also going to be adding a few more regular servers to our current fleet.

On the server side of things, the server tomorrow will be using a much more robust solution for  MSN and YIM.  That should provide a good stop-gap solution until we're ready to go live with our primary/permanent solution sometime next week.

We've decided to put MSN support at the top of the list, above YIM. This is due to two things, firstly, you guys.  We've heard you.  Secondly, MSN is a lot harder to add than YIM. Once we get the bulk of the work done with MSN, it should be relatively quick to add in YIM second.

Until next time..

Shaun

P.S. The new server software update will fix a few of the quirks with AIM, it will show sign on progress again and will fix the double text message for SMS push.

P.P.S. For those of you who still can't get SMS notifications with aim, make sure you you format your number correctly, for US/Canada: [phone]. For the rest of the countries, just remember to lead with the + and your country code.

[t08]

Quick Update

Just wanted to post a quick blurb and let everyone know that we're still working on our server software and that things seem to be coming together nicely. We made great progress with MSN today and we hope to finish it off this week. After MSN, we'll be working on getting YIM working smoothly.

-Saverio