August 2015 Summaries

The issue of sending SMS with different languages and characters is a common problem for developers building SMS apps. To address this challenge, developers need to take extra steps such as determining the character set to use, passing it to the SMS gateway, and verifying that the API or SMPP gateway supports the required encoding. However, some character sets like GSM 3.38 are harder to support due to their complexity. To overcome this hurdle, Twilio offers a recognition feature that automatically determines the encoding needed for each message, takes care of the necessary conversions, and provides full unicode support including non-BMP characters. This approach ensures that messages are sent correctly regardless of the language or character set used, resulting in a better customer experience.

By Kyle Kelly-Yahner, 2015-08-27` Building Beats Empowers Kids Through Music and Technology, Fostering Entrepreneurial Spirit and Creative Problem-Solving Skills. A non-profit organization in New York City is using music and technology to give underprivileged kids access to resources they don't have, allowing them to learn organically and develop entrepreneurial skills. The initiative uses Twilio.org to power its coordination app, which helps volunteers stay organized and focused on the kids. By combining music and tech, Building Beats aims to instill independence and creativity in young people, preparing them for a bright future beyond their DJing endeavors.

Twilio has introduced a new feature to control messaging costs for its SMS users by setting a maximum price for messages, allowing businesses to avoid high or unpredictable costs when sending messages internationally. This feature enables users to set a limit on the total cost of a message and prevents Twilio from sending messages that exceed this limit. The feature is straightforward to add and can be tested using a simple POST request to the API. By setting a maximum price, businesses can better manage their messaging expenses and ensure they are not overspending on international SMS services.

The delivery of SMS messages is not as simple as it seems. When sending long text messages over 160 characters, the message needs to be split into multiple fragments before being sent, which can lead to out-of-order messages being received by the end user. To solve this issue, developers can use a feature called inbound concatenation, which automatically reassembles the fragmented message and sends it in the correct order. Twilio offers an auto-assembly solution for inbound concatenation, allowing developers to send long messages without requiring additional code or UDH logic, making it easier to build SMS applications with reliable messaging capabilities.

Ember.js is a front-end JavaScript framework that aims to provide a complete solution for building client-side applications, encompassing data management and application flow. The latest version, 2.0, has introduced several new features, including Ember CLI, a command-line utility that incorporates common Ember patterns into the app development process, a new rendering engine called Glimmer, and ES6 modules at its core. To get started with Ember.js 2.0 using Ember CLI, developers can create a new project by running `ember new` followed by the desired application name. The framework provides a lot of productivity features, including live reloading development server, fast asset pipeline powered by Broccoli, and generators that help in the application process by creating the project structure according to Ember best practices. By setting up an Ember.js 2.0 environment, developers can build small sample applications and explore its capabilities.

Twilio Voice` allows developers to play audio files over phone calls, enabling interactive and immersive experiences. By using the `Node.js Twilio library`, developers can create web apps that respond to incoming HTTP requests with `TwiML` instructions, playing audio files or controlling the caller's experience. The example project uses `Express` and `ES6` features to build a server that generates `TwiML` responses to play a song over the phone, utilizing `ngrok` to expose the server to the Internet. Additionally, developers can use the `Twilio REST API` to initiate phone calls using the generated `TwiML`. This enables the creation of interactive and engaging applications with voice capabilities.

Rovie is an underwater robotic friend of Twilio's, created by Ricky Robinett and fellow Developer Evangelist Brent Schooley. They built Rovie using an OpenROV, a low-cost underwater robot for exploration and education, with the cockpit software being a Node.js application. The team modified the application to receive text messages from Twilio, allowing Rovie to send pictures back to whoever sent the message. To make this work, they used ngrok to open up their localhost to the outside world, enabling them to share Rovie's underwater adventures on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

To build a call center that supports warm transfers, you need to set up an environment using Twilio's Java helper library and Apache Tomcat server. You'll create a servlet called `TwilioCallerServlet` that will handle incoming calls and return TwiML instructions according to the caller. The servlet will check if any key presses were made by the first agent (Artemis) after disconnecting from the conference, and if so, it will make a call to the second agent (Barnabas). If no input was sent, it will check where the incoming call is coming from and handle it accordingly. You'll also need to define constants for your Twilio account SID, authentication token, and servlet mapping URL. Finally, you'll configure your Twilio phone number to reach out to your `TwilioCallerServlet` servlet, and test out your application by having someone call your Twilio number.

The author of this article built an automated assistant using .NET MVC6, Entity Framework and Twilio on a Mac. The assistant can handle incoming calls from contacts and decide what to do with them based on the number calling. It also includes features like creating and editing contact information in the database. To connect with Twilio, ngrok is used to make the local environment accessible externally. A new endpoint called HandleCall is added to the HomeController.cs file to respond to requests coming from Twilio. The logic of this endpoint checks the database for a number on every incoming call and tells Twilio what to do via TwiML.

As a one-man IT shop, Adam McPhedrain successfully migrated his client's SIP trunks from an old system to Twilio's Elastic SIP Trunking solution, saving the client thousands of dollars and enhancing their customer experience. The new setup allowed for proactive notifications and easier communication via SMS and MMS, while also ensuring HIPAA-compliant data security. With the switch, Adam was able to deploy the solution in just two months, demonstrating his expertise and efficiency as a developer. The client is now enjoying significant cost savings and improved patient engagement, thanks to Adam's engineering and Twilio's flexible and scalable platform.

In this Swift adventure series, we built an iOS app using the Twilio Client SDK for iOS that can make outbound phone calls and receive inbound calls. We used the Twilio REST API to bridge any voice connection coming into Twilio to an instance of Twilio Client, allowing us to provide a similar in-call experience to users of traditional telephone numbers. The app accepts, rejects or ignores incoming calls, notifying the user through a UI with buttons for each option. We also implemented the TCDeviceDelegate protocol to notify the app when it receives an incoming call and when it stops listening for incoming connections. Additionally, we set up LocalNotifications to alert the user of incoming calls even when the app is in the background. The final app allows users to be connected to active calls even if the application is running in the background.

Setting up React for ES6 with Webpack and Babel allows developers to build reusable UI components and maintain state changes in a Single Page Application. Facebook's efforts to keep React up-to-date have made it compatible with new features from ECMAScript 6 (ES6), but browser support for ES6 is not widespread, making tools like Babel necessary. By installing NodeJS, npm, React, Webpack, and Babel, developers can create components using ES6 syntax and JSX, which is then transpiled to ES5 code for browser compatibility. With the help of Webpack's loader pipeline, developers can bundle their code into a single file, making it easier to serve their application. By following these steps, developers can build complex Single Page Applications with React, overcoming the hurdle of integrating new technologies and creating awesome applications.

The Polaris Project uses software communications, specifically a shortcode on Twilio's platform, to help victims of human trafficking by connecting them with the National Human Trafficking Resource Center via SMS. This technology is being leveraged to fight against human trafficking and make a positive impact in the world. The partnership between the Polaris Project, Salesforce Foundation, and Twilio has shown that software communications can be a powerful tool in saving lives.

Jane Kim's app Exquisite Texts uses Twilio to crowdsource poetry, allowing users to submit a line of poetry that is then completed by other strangers. The idea came from her senior year post-modern poetry class and was initially built as a prototype with her classmates in 2014. After being revived and revamped for a tech talk at CharmCityJS, the app has gained attention for its unique blend of art and chance, allowing users to contribute to a "black box" poem that is then completed by others. The app's success can be attributed to the whimsical feeling of contributing to something unknown, as seen in the user-generated poems showcased on the platform.

Twilio Developer Evangelist Eddie Zaneski's journey as a software developer began two years into his math education degree when he was introduced to programming, leading him to change his major and accelerate his learning through online resources. He found the online community vast and awe-inspiring, particularly at Rutgers' hacker community where he witnessed dedicated hackers teaching and collaborating on projects. This experience sparked his desire to help others join the developer community, which led him to join Twilio's Developer Evangelism team, where he now shares his passion with newcomers and chats with veterans about their latest projects.

By Megan Speir, a community developer at Twilio, this article recounts her journey of transitioning from public relations to programming and building her first application, Photo Booth. She shares her experience with debugging issues, including a Raspberry Pi not connecting to the network during a demo day event. Despite initial panic, she learned that bugs are normal and that seeking help and support from others is essential. The article highlights the importance of humility, learning from mistakes, and fostering an environment where people can come together regardless of skill level or language proficiency. As a community developer at Twilio, Megan aims to connect developers through high-fidelity interactions, promoting fun, success, and collaboration.

Kit CRM allows users to control their customer relationship management (CRM) via text messages using Twilio SMS, enabling a simple and ubiquitous method of sending targeted marketing actions. The platform was developed by Michael Perry's business from an audience targeting app to a full-fledged CRM in just 18 months, with expansion into several new countries happening rapidly. Kit acts as a digital employee managing sending, scheduling, and drafting of various marketing actions, providing a preview of the post or email copy before sending it. The use of Twilio SMS as a layer on top of Kit's powerful CRM makes complex marketing actions controllable through simple texts, leveraging the ubiquity of text messaging to offer an accessible solution for businesses worldwide.

Trek Medics is a non-profit organization working to improve healthcare in developing countries by providing accessible emergency response systems. Due to expensive and outdated hardware, traditional vendors are unable to adapt their solutions to these communities' infrastructure, leading to the lack of reliable access to healthcare and emergency services. Trek Medics searched for a flexible vendor that could accommodate their unique needs, eventually finding Twilio, which provides a programmable API allowing them to build communication systems without relying on Western infrastructure. With Twilio's support, Trek Medics is rolling out an SMS service called Beacon, aiming to reach over 200,000 people this year and overcome the systemic issues of limited access to healthcare and emergency services in these communities.

With the announcement of ASP.NET 5 and its native support for Mac and Linux, developers can now build cross-platform .NET applications with ease. By leveraging Visual Studio Code as a cross-platform development tool, developers can create and manage their projects from any operating system. The article guides readers through setting up a .NET development environment on a Mac running Yosemite, using tools like Homebrew, Node.js, and DNVM (DNX Version Manager). With the help of Yeoman, a command-line application generator, readers can scaffold console and ASP.NET MVC 6 applications with minimal configuration. The examples demonstrate how to build a simple console application that fetches Twilio call logs and a more complex ASP.NET MVC application that filters calls based on a phone number entered by the user. The article concludes by highlighting the ease of building .NET applications on a Mac or other Unix environments, encouraging readers to try running their existing applications on these platforms.

Twilio's alphanumeric sender ID feature allows sending branded SMS messages using a business name as the sender ID in 145 countries around the world. This feature is suitable for alert or broadcast type messages but not for interactive applications where users cannot respond to the message. When sending an SMS message from an alphanumeric sender ID, if the recipient's country does not support it, Twilio will return an HTTP 400 response with a specific error code (21612), indicating that the sender ID is not supported in that country. To handle this scenario, developers can rescue the exception and retry sending the message using a Twilio phone number as the sender. Using alphanumeric sender IDs enhances the user experience for SMS alerts and broadcasts by branding the sender's identity and allows fallbacks in cases where the receiver is in a country that won't accept an alphanumeric sender ID.

Twilio is a tool used for building conversations and can be integrated with IBM Watson's natural language processing capabilities to analyze and process real-time data. IBM's Bluemix platform allows developers to easily build and deploy apps using the IBM backbone and third-party API services like Twilio, enabling the creation of innovative IoT applications. The team from IBM showcased their cloud platform at Twilio's Signal Conference, demonstrating how IBM Watson can be used in a doctor's appointment scenario to analyze conversations and identify troublesome keywords in patient medical history.

The text is a tutorial on how to build an SMS-powered Game Genie using Lua and Python. The author, Sam Agnew, explains the basics of ROM/RAM hacking and provides a step-by-step guide on how to set up an emulator, install necessary software, and write Lua scripts to manipulate game memory. The tutorial covers topics such as hex editing, using Twilio for SMS communication, and integrating Flask for web-based interactions. The author also discusses the limitations of the Game Genie hardware and introduces the concept of using programming languages like Python to create custom hacks.

LendUp, a tech startup, is using technology to disrupt the traditional payday loan industry by offering transparent terms and eliminating hidden fees. The company provides personal phone support to its customers, handling 55,000 calls in June alone, and uses Twilio's TaskRouter to programmatically route calls to the right agents. This allows LendUp to efficiently manage its customer service operations and direct more time towards helping customers achieve financial health through their "LendUp ladder" program.