December 2016 Summaries

Michael Jordan, a mechanical engineer, realized that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will automate most optimization problems in his field, so he decided to learn more about machine learning and AI. He applied this knowledge to create "Gifted", an AI-powered gift-giving tool that uses Clarifai to analyze images of people and suggest gifts based on their surroundings or interests. The tool was built using Amazon AWS Lambda, Twilio, and Python 2.7, allowing users to send MMS with images to receive personalized gift suggestions.

Sanic is a Python 3.5+ web framework that leverages the uvloop-based event loop for high performance, similar to Node.js. It's easy to use and provides non-blocking code via async/await syntax. Sanic allows developers to create asynchronous applications in Python, enabling them to build fast and scalable web applications. The framework is designed to be fast, with enhanced speed compared to Flask. It also supports query arguments in the request data and can be used to respond to text messages using Twilio. Ngrok is used to make a publicly accessible URL for the application, allowing it to receive POST requests from Twilio. Sanic is an open-source framework that's still evolving, with room for contributions and improvements.

To send SMS with Twilio using Node.js, you first need to create a Twilio account and install Node.js with npm. Then, you need to set up your Twilio account credentials as environment variables or directly in your code. Next, you create a new Twilio REST client instance and use its `messages.create` method to send an SMS from your specified sender number to the recipient's number. You can do this by installing the Node.js Twilio library with npm, creating a file called `sms.js`, and writing the required code to create a Twilio client instance and send an SMS. Finally, you need to save and run the `sms.js` file using the command `node sms.js`.

By Phil Nash, creating an SMS bot on AWS Lambda with Claudia.js is easy and straightforward. Claudia.js abstracts away the differences between various bot platforms, making it a great tool for building chatbots. The author sets up a Twilio account and creates a new user profile in AWS IAM to deploy their bot. They then install Claudia.js as a development dependency and create a Node.js project to build their bot. The author defines a handler function that processes incoming messages and returns a response, which can be customized for different platforms. After writing the bot's code, they deploy it using the `create` script provided by Claudia.js. The bot is then configured to receive Twilio webhooks and is ready to send its first message. The author invites readers to try building their own bots with Claudia.js and AWS Lambda.

Cheesecake Labs, a development shop, built their SMS user verification app in less than a day using Python and Django, allowing users to quickly verify their phone numbers with a 6-digit pin-code. The app uses Twilio's API to send SMS messages and validate phone numbers. Marcelo Salloum, an iOS developer, created the feature as his first Twilio hack, aiming to provide a verification method that didn't require log-in credentials. The code is based on Django models and uses Twilio's client library to send SMS messages, with features like re-sending logic for users requesting another verification code.

Listen is a mobile app created by Lauren Leto to give users control over their phone numbers, allowing them to segment messages by sender, time, and other factors. The app was launched on Product Hunt in November 2016 after three years of development. It features a mute function, which Lauren found particularly useful during the election, as well as scheduling SMS reminders and auto replies. The app aims to provide users with more freedom from constant notifications and distractions, allowing them to step away from their phones when needed. Lauren built Listen with the help of friends and colleagues, including Austen Ito, who was involved in a humorous dispute over Venmo vs Square Cash. Despite initial customer support issues, the app has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from users, many of whom are expressing gratitude for its functionality.

Twilio Elastic SIP Trunking is a service that connects IP-based communications infrastructure to the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN), allowing users to make and receive calls globally. It offers several advantages over traditional SIP Trunking, including ease of configuration, freedom to manage SIP connectivity, and transparent per-minute pricing. The service can be used with FreePBX, a web-based GUI with an underlying Asterisk-based PBX, and provides step-by-step video tutorials for configuring the service, including trunk termination, origination, and international trunking. Users can create and manage trunks instantly through the Twilio web portal, and the service is built on a connectivity layer of hundreds of carriers worldwide.

A Moment Of Madness` uses Twilio's phone number services to create an immersive game experience where players take on the role of spies trying to uncover secrets that could jeopardize a critical climate change bill. The game blurs the line between reality and fantasy, using trained actors and real-looking voicemail accounts to create an eerie sense of authenticity. Players are encouraged to immerse themselves in the game world, using tools like C# apps to track their progress and communicate with other players. The game's designer, John Sear, has carefully crafted a "blanket of reality" that draws players into the world of espionage, but leaves room for human agency and decision-making.

The Twilio Client JavaScript SDK has released its Public Beta 1.4, which includes several new APIs and features designed to improve browser-based voice calling in the real world of flaky networks and troublesome audio hardware. The release adds control over audio output and input, allowing users to select devices for microphone and speaker use. It also provides visual feedback on audio input levels and alerts users on network or audio problems. Additionally, it introduces a new Connection object that emits events when network quality metrics cross a predefined threshold, enabling the collection of user feedback through Voice Insights. The update aims to build a better quality calling experience with more control over audio interaction and visibility into call quality analytics.

Authy OneTouch is a modern authentication solution that uses push technology for real-time security verification. It has been primarily available on mobile devices but is now being extended to desktop applications. This enhancement allows developers to deliver notifications directly to users' desktops, making it more convenient and quicker for users to respond to pending authentication or authorization requests. OneTouch can also be used beyond the initial login process to secure high-value in-app events or risky data changes, such as transferring funds or deleting user accounts. This solution aims to improve security and efficiency by streamlining the authentication process and reducing reliance on traditional methods like email communication for approval requests.

The North Pole has unveiled a new service called SantaPhone, which enables children to send Christmas wishes to Santa Claus and his team, increasing the accuracy of the global gift distribution program. The service is built on cloud communications platform Twilio and allows parents to schedule phone calls between their child and an elf, with the conversation recorded and shared with Santa and the parents. This new method aims to improve efficiency and accuracy in Santa's gift delivery, reducing lost letters and increasing Christmas cheer for children worldwide.

Ngrok is a localhost tunneling tool that enables developers to share their local development environment with others via a publicly-accessible URL, making it easier to collaborate and test applications before deployment. Ngrok works by creating a secure, encrypted tunnel between the developer's local machine and a public endpoint, allowing users to access their application remotely. The tool is available for download on Mac OS X and can be used in conjunction with Python 2.7's SimpleHTTPServer or other development environments to enable localhost tunneling. Ngrok provides several resources and tutorials to help developers configure and use the tool effectively.

To generate Twilio Access Tokens in Swift, developers can use the Vapor web framework and a small helper library to return tokens from a server. First, set up the project with Vapor, Swift Package Manager, and the necessary dependencies, including the TwilioAccessToken and Environment packages. Then, create a new route for generating tokens that takes an identity and device as parameters, verifies the environment variables, creates a token, adds a grant for Programmable Video if desired, and returns the token in an HTTP response. Finally, test the server by making a GET request to the /token route with the required parameters and verify the decoded token using a JWT Debugger.

RapidAPI is a marketplace where developers can test and connect to multiple APIs from one endpoint, making it easier to call multiple APIs through one console. This post demonstrates how to create an API "smash" using Twilio SMS and Giphy to text GIFs. The project, called "Text A GIF", allows users to input a phrase and a phone number, then sends a related GIF to the specified phone number. The code snippet uses RapidAPI's Giphy and Twilio APIs, storing user inputs in variables and connecting to both APIs to generate a GIF based on the user-input phrase. If successful, the script calls Twilio's API to text the generated GIF to the provided phone number.

Dual-channel recordings, which combine audio from both the caller and the agent into separate tracks, offer more accurate call transcriptions. This is because noise from one side of the conversation can interfere with talking on the other side in mono-channel recordings, leading to errors. With dual-channel recordings, each side of the conversation is recorded separately, reducing background noise interference and eliminating cross-talk issues. This results in more accurate transcripts that can be used for training, quality assurance, and business decision-making. The VoiceBase High Accuracy Transcription Add-on supports dual-channel transcriptions, which are now available to Twilio users at no additional cost. To set up dual-channel recordings with Twilio and the VoiceBase Add-on, users simply need to add a new TwiML verb or attribute to their Outbound API code, configure a voice phone number, and install the Add-on. The transcription webhook will include a Recording field that contains the URL where the recording file can be downloaded, as well as a recordingStatusCallback that notifies when the recording is ready. With this feature, users can improve the accuracy of their call transcriptions and gain valuable insights into customer experience.

You can make a phone call using Twilio directly from bash or zsh by setting your Twilio credentials in the shell, finding an available number with cURL, purchasing the number, and then making a call using TwiML. The process involves several steps, including setting API credentials, querying for an available number, purchasing the number, and writing TwiML to instruct Twilio on how to handle the call. This guide provides a concise overview of how to automate finding, buying, and making a phone call with Twilio without leaving the command line.

The article provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the csh shell to make a phone call from a new Twilio number using the Twilio API. To start, you need to set your Twilio credentials in the csh shell by substituting the account SID and auth token variables with the actual values from the Twilio console. Then, you can query Twilio's REST API to find an available phone number using cURL and sed commands. Once you have an available number, you can purchase it and add it to your account. Finally, you can use a sample TwiML script to make a phone call using the Twilio API, which will play a message from Alice and some relaxing music. The guide is useful for prototyping or adding features to production scripts and provides a useful skill for anyone working with Twilio.

Phone call transcription is an essential tool for modern contact centers, facilitating training, quality assurance, and customer experience insights. Twilio has enhanced transcription accuracy by introducing dual-channel recordings and the VoiceBase High Accuracy Transcription Add-on, which can be easily integrated into existing systems. Unlike mono-channel recordings, which combine both caller and agent audio on a single track and are prone to errors from background noise and cross-talk, dual-channel recordings separate the audio into two distinct tracks, improving clarity and reducing transcription errors. This method not only helps in accurately capturing conversations but also allows for extracting valuable insights, such as keyword density and speaker identification, to improve agent performance and understand customer sentiments. The dual-channel service is competitively priced, with additional costs for storage and transcription through VoiceBase, and can be implemented with minimal technical changes.

The Python Package Index (PyPI) offers over 100,000 code library packages that help programmers accomplish various tasks. In this article, four different Python HTTP libraries - urllib, Requests, Octopus, and HTTPie - are compared for retrieving and parsing JSON results from a RESTful API using the Spotify API. Each library provides a unique approach to making HTTP requests, with varying levels of complexity and abstraction. The choice of library depends on personal preference and the specific requirements of the project, as each offers its own strengths and weaknesses in handling different types of requests.

Jeff, a seasoned software professional, shares insights on how his company Twilio leverages a software-first approach to ensure agility and reliability in its operations, drawing from his experiences at Versity and other ventures.

With Crystal, a new language that looks like Ruby but runs like C, it's possible to make phone calls using Twilio. The process involves creating a new Crystal file, making modifications to send HTTP requests and parse responses from Twilio, and then building a simple HTTP server using Kemal to handle incoming webhooks. With Kemal, the framework provides a way to define routes by HTTP verb, which makes it easier to handle complex scenarios like phone calls. By compiling the application in release mode, the performance of the server can be improved even further. The author invites readers to explore Crystal's documentation and source code to learn more about its capabilities.