December 2015 Summaries

A security vulnerability was identified in the Authy phone change process that could expose personal data of less than 0.2% of users who changed their phone number since February 2014. The Authy team moved records to a secure location, implemented data protection methods, and sent email notifications to potentially affected users offering identity protection services. The Authy API and authentication services were unaffected by the vulnerability.

The author created an SMS-powered Star Wars trivia game using PHP and Twilio, allowing players to receive questions via text message and respond with answers. The game uses session variables to track player names, scores, and correct answers, and can be hosted on any server with a PHP file. After receiving a question, the player responds with their answer, which is compared to the correct answer to determine if they are correct or not. The game keeps track of the player's score and provides feedback, and allows for easy modification by adding features such as a public leaderboard, accepting multiple correct answers, or adding picture questions.

The author of the post is Devin Rader, and it's a tutorial on how to build an app that uses Twilio SMS and VolunteerMatch API to find local volunteer opportunities. The app was built using ASP.NET MVC 5, Visual Studio, Newtonsoft.Json, and Twilio.Mvc NuGet packages. The app sends a text message with the location of the user, which is then used to search for volunteer opportunities on VolunteerMatch. The VolunteerMatch API requires authentication through WSSE (Web Services Secure Elections), which was implemented in the code. The tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to build the app and includes examples and explanations of various concepts.

Hubot is an open-source chatbot that can be programmed to respond to messages in a company's chat room, and with the recent launch of Twilio Programmable Chat, it can now be integrated into this platform using a custom adapter. To set up Hubot for Programmable Chat, developers need to create a new project, install the necessary tools, and configure the bot to connect to the chat service. Once connected, users can add scripts to their bot to perform various tasks, such as sending messages or searching YouTube videos. With its open-source nature and extensive community of developers, Hubot offers endless possibilities for customization and innovation in chatbot development.

To build a simple chat application using Meteor.js and Twilio's IP Messaging, developers need to first install Meteor.js and create a free Twilio account. They then start by creating a Meteor project called "simplechat" and run the app straight out of the box. Next, they separate client-side and server-side code into two directories, "client" and "server", and move relevant code from simplechat.js to these new files. The application uses basic routing with Iron.Router to load content on the homepage, and defines a template for the home page. Finally, it adds the Twilio IP Messaging library to enable chat functionality.

Rajiv Perera, a software engineer, has developed Caretime, an application that helps healthcare employers track caregivers' locations, work schedules, and activities. Rajiv uses Twilio for SMS and voice functionality, the MapBox API, Google Address API, and a private geolocation service to capture and verify caregiver data. He chose NodeJS as his backend technology due to its scalability, particularly when handling high volumes of interactions from healthcare agency clients. Caretime's simplicity on the surface belies its complex backend capabilities, which include biometric voice identification, geolocation, HIPAA compliant recording, text records, and voice records.

The text discusses the use of Electron, a framework that allows developers to build cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. The author, Eddie Zaneski, shares his experience building a desktop chat application using Electron, Twilio's IP Messaging service, and Ospry.io for image hosting. He covers topics such as setting up the project, implementing native notifications, drag-and-drop image uploads, and rendering images in the chat window. The article provides a step-by-step guide on how to build a desktop chat app with Electron, making it accessible to developers new to the framework.

Twilio has begun exposing packet captures (pcaps) from the edge of its network, providing customers with greater visibility into Elastic SIP Trunking calls. These pcaps help troubleshoot and configure trunks by automatically generating signaling for all trunking calls and keeping them available for 48 hours. With this feature, customers can quickly resolve issues without needing to work with support agents or enable advanced logging/tracing. The pcaps allow customers to analyze the SIP signaling from Twilio's edge, enabling them to identify problems such as audio cutting out due to a corporate firewall issue. This new capability aims to reduce configuration time and make troubleshooting easier for Twilio customers.

EMC Corporation, a leading cloud computing and data storage company, has successfully implemented a SMS-based IT alert system using Twilio to reduce email usage and improve employee notification. The company initially aimed to cut down on unnecessary emails sent for IT alerts, with the goal of saving time and resources. By leveraging Twilio's API, EMC built an internal platform that empowers all employees to send texts and monitor IT services in real-time. This system has led to a significant reduction in email-based alerts, with the company predicting a monthly outbound SMS volume of 900,000 six months into using Twilio. The implementation has also enabled segmentation of departments using the platform through their internal API, allowing for more efficient resource allocation and proving the value of provided tools.

Twilio is hosting a Twitch week, featuring a series of programming tutorials on various frameworks and APIs. The event will be live-streamed on Twitch and will cover topics such as building web apps with Node.js, Ruby, Python, and .NET. IP Messaging will also be covered in detail. Viewers can tune in to the sessions and ask questions on Twitter using the #TwilioTwitch handle. The schedule includes a mix of beginner-friendly tutorials and more advanced topics.

In this post, Devin Rader explains how to create a real-time translated chat application using ASP.NET, Microsoft Translator API, and Programmable Chat. The process involves setting up a free Twilio account, creating a new Azure Marketplace account, and registering for the Translation API. The developer then modifies the Programmable Chat starter app to use the OnMessageSend webhook URL and the Twilio REST API to translate incoming messages. The application uses the Microsoft Translator API to authenticate with the service and generate an access token, which is used to make HTTP requests to the Translate endpoint. Once authenticated, the application translates the message using the `Translate` method, which returns the translated text. Finally, the application creates a new message using the Twilio Programmable Chat REST API, sending the translated text to the channel. The application demonstrates how to integrate translation into a chat application and provides additional ideas for using webhooks with other events.

The Swift iOS project, `Designing Chat Applications for iOS Using Swift`, aims to replicate the features of Slack's chat application using Twilio IP Messaging. The author started with a basic Swift iOS Quickstart project and enhanced it with `SlackTextViewController`. This control provides keyboard management, typing indicator, and built-in send button features. Auto Layout is used to design an auto-sizing table view cell for displaying messages. The project also enables sending new messages to a channel using the IP Messaging service's message editing features. Additionally, the typing indication feature from `SlackTextViewController` is hooked up to notify when someone starts or stops typing in the channel.

Twilio Plays Pokemon` is a browser-based application that allows users to play Pokémon Red Version together using Twilio Programmable Chat and Socket.io. The application uses the new Twilio Programmable Chat API and server-side Express app to generate tokens for authentication, set up channels for messaging, and sync game data between clients. Users can join channels, send messages, and interact with each other in real-time, while the server-side code handles the logic for processing user input and updating the game state. The application is built using Node.js, npm, Redis, and Socket.io, and requires a free Twilio account to run.

Twilio has made its IP Messaging public beta available for everyone. The service allows developers to embed rich chat experiences into their mobile and web apps using the Twilio SDKs, without requiring custom code to handle features like typing indicators and data synchronization across devices. This is powered by the Twilio Cloud, ensuring unparalleled scale and resilience. Real-time chat has become a core feature of many apps, providing businesses with opportunities for improved collaboration and customer service. The public beta aims to gather extensive feedback from users before the service becomes Generally Available.

ASCII art has remained relevant and interesting over the years, with Jonah Kirangi creating a new way to experience it through text-based messages delivered via smartphones. He was experimenting with Twilio and Node.js when he stumbled upon the idea to build an ASCII art service, initially as a test project but ultimately enjoying its simplicity and uniqueness.

GameChanger, a sports data app, has reached an impressive milestone of logging over 800 million pitches in March this year. This achievement showcases the platform's ability to democratize data for all users to log and share, making it easier for fans to stay updated on their favorite games. The app utilizes SMS for real-time communication, allowing users to receive auto-populated stats and recaps via text message, ensuring that fans are informed in a timely manner, regardless of their device or location. By leveraging Twilio's SMS service, GameChanger can reach a broader audience and provide instant updates on game statistics, preserving the excitement of live sports for its users.

The author of this article, Ricky Robinett, is excited about the open-sourcing of Swift on Linux, a development platform for building iOS and OS X apps. He guides readers through setting up a Linux server with Ubuntu 14.04 or 15.10 to run Swift, downloading snapshots, updating the path, installing dependencies, testing the installation, writing their first code in the Swift REPL, creating an executable app, and exploring the Swift Package Manager. The article provides step-by-step instructions for getting started with Swift on Linux, including examples of code snippets and commands to help readers along the way.

When a massive campaign like Justin Bieber's Hotline Bling promotion is built, it relies on a few key tools: An Amazon S3 Bucket for storing media, a Rackspace Database for handling large volumes of data, and Twilio for making phone calls. The mastermind behind the operation, Oliver Muoto, used these tools to build a hotline that could scale to meet the demands of Biebermania, with the ability to handle hundreds of thousands of calls in just one minute. With the Twilio API being well-built out, Oliver was able to easily adjust the system to handle different volumes of traffic and stream high-quality audio files over the phone to fans worldwide. The campaign's success is a testament to the power of using the right tools to build scalable technology that can keep up with unexpected demands, such as those posed by a celebrity like Justin Bieber.