New App -- Timeriffic is well...

[WPWoodJr]

Try it an see ... if it doesnt just uninstall not lost ...

OK, sure will.

I'm particularly interested in being able to shut down the radios at night as I don't charge the device except at work. My BlackBerry had this feature (actually it was more of a device shutdown). Is there anything like that for Android?

 

[justjimjpc]

OK, sure will.

I'm particularly interested in being able to shut down the radios at night as I don't charge the device except at work. My BlackBerry had this feature (actually it was more of a device shutdown). Is there anything like that for Android?

I dont think Apps have access to the API to turn all radios off ...

But this can be easily done at night ... by long-pressing the power/hangup and selecting AirPlane mode ... so all radio are shut down ... then In the morning ... just reverse the process and toggle the phone out of Airplane Mode

 

[WPWoodJr]

I dont think Apps have access to the API to turn all radios off ...

But this can be easily done at night ... by long-pressing the power/hangup and selecting AirPlane mode ... so all radio are shut down ... then In the morning ... just reverse the process and toggle the phone out of Airplane Mode

Yes, but that would require me to remember to do it and then actual work to do it twice a day!

It would seem to be a logical API call to turn off the phone, Bluetooth, and/or wifi radios...

 

[justjimjpc]

Yes, but that would require me to remember to do it and then actual work to do it twice a day!

It would seem to be a logical API call to turn off the phone, Bluetooth, and/or wifi radios...

Yes the BT and Wifi are no problem ... Timeriffic handles them fine ...

But you Have either 2G or 3G running ... that is only turned off by Airplane mode ... which is not API accesible by 3rd party apps ... as least to my knowledge ...

 

[dkaufman1]

Yes the BT and Wifi are no problem ... Timeriffic handles them fine ...

But you Have either 2G or 3G running ... that is only turned off by Airplane mode ... which is not API accesible by 3rd party apps ... as least to my knowledge ...

Actually Jim and WPWood - we do offer Airplane mode and on all 2.0 OS (Droid only today) we offer BT control as well. So this should handle your radio off needs nicely.

Don't forget to give us a star and review rating. Enjoy!

 

[justjimjpc]

Actually Jim and WPWood - we do offer Airplane mode and on all 2.0 OS (Droid only today) we offer BT control as well. So this should handle your radio off needs nicely.

Don't forget to give us a star and review rating. Enjoy!

Great to know Dave, I didnt dig deep enough ... but also didnt want to say what i wasnt sure about ...

 

[dkaufman1]

Great to know Dave, I didnt dig deep enough ... but also didnt want to say what i wasnt sure about ...

Jim you have always been one of our biggest fans and contributors and while we haven't done the full grid schedule (yet) we do value your input and feedback.

We value all users input and feedback and hope to get more questions and suggestions.

 

[justjimjpc]

Jim you have always been one of our biggest fans and contributors and while we haven't done the full grid schedule (yet) we do value your input and feedback.

We value all users input and feedback and hope to get more questions and suggestions.

Timeriffic has been very responsive to users needs ... and provides one of the most functional tools in the market ...

(unsolicited ... just a happy users opinion)

 

[mjschmidt]

I noticed in another thread people talking about security/tracking apps for finding lost/stolen phones, and that if GPS isn't left on it can be difficult to find, unless the app has a function for turning GPS on/off remotely.

Is it possible to modify Timeriffic to also turn GPS on/off on a schedule? That way people who like to leave GPS off can have it set to "check in" via GPS on a scheduled basis, so if the phone is lost/stolen, and GPS was off, they know they can use their tracking app at a specific time of day to get a reading of it's location.

 

[dkaufman1]

I noticed in another thread people talking about security/tracking apps for finding lost/stolen phones, and that if GPS isn't left on it can be difficult to find, unless the app has a function for turning GPS on/off remotely.

Is it possible to modify Timeriffic to also turn GPS on/off on a schedule? That way people who like to leave GPS off can have it set to "check in" via GPS on a scheduled basis, so if the phone is lost/stolen, and GPS was off, they know they can use their tracking app at a specific time of day to get a reading of it's location.

Thanks for the feedback. It's not on our roadmap, but I will add to our wishlist. That's another service that might make sense. I can't comment on the ability for an app to control it as you described via the SDK but we can look.

 

[justjimjpc]

Thanks for the feedback. It's not on our roadmap, but I will add to our wishlist. That's another service that might make sense. I can't comment on the ability for an app to control it as you described via the SDK but we can look.

Sounds like a great added feature ... better than others that are constantly visible and can be shut off

 

[dkaufman1]

Sounds like a great added feature ... better than others that are constantly visible and can be shut off

I haven't run this by the partner but it just dawned on me. From what I have learned since Android's release, apps that use GPS say Google Maps only use it when the app is active. I learned this a while back. So say overnight when you are catching your winks, the GPS is not draining your battery.

The only caveat I have seen is when a third party app dev doesn't shut down the GPS engine upon that app not being used. I'm sure we have all downloaded an app that keeps using gps even when you quit the app.

So, while the ability of Timeriffic to control a GPS toggle based on time might be possible, if other devs program correctly it would not be needed. Now maybe I'm missing the use case. Please elaborate.

 

[dkaufman1]

I noticed in another thread people talking about security/tracking apps for finding lost/stolen phones, and that if GPS isn't left on it can be difficult to find, unless the app has a function for turning GPS on/off remotely.

Is it possible to modify Timeriffic to also turn GPS on/off on a schedule? That way people who like to leave GPS off can have it set to "check in" via GPS on a scheduled basis, so if the phone is lost/stolen, and GPS was off, they know they can use their tracking app at a specific time of day to get a reading of it's location.

I just re-read this and I get it. And it makes sense. If a user "for whatever reason" wants to enable gps at a set time or disable it at a set time via a schedule. Sorry for the last reply. Consider it on the research list.

 

[justjimjpc]

I haven't run this by the partner but it just dawned on me. From what I have learned since Android's release, apps that use GPS say Google Maps only use it when the app is active. I learned this a while back. So say overnight when you are catching your winks, the GPS is not draining your battery.

The only caveat I have seen is when a third party app dev doesn't shut down the GPS engine upon that app not being used. I'm sure we have all downloaded an app that keeps using gps even when you quit the app.

So, while the ability of Timeriffic to control a GPS toggle based on time might be possible, if other devs program correctly it would not be needed. Now maybe I'm missing the use case. Please elaborate.

I agree that well mannered apps do shut down the GPs on exit. That was not my point. There was/is an app that ran in the background that would allow you to txt you phone to locate it and shut it down... however the app was clearly showing that it was running in the Status Bar so anyone outfront familiar the phone could just shut the app down.

If there was an app that would just periodically get a Gps fix and send it to your email, then it would not be obvious so you would be more likely to be able to track your phone without being so outfront and obvious ....

 

[GZ2525]

I agree that well mannered apps do shut down the GPs on exit. That was not my point. There was/is an app that ran in the background that would allow you to txt you phone to locate it and shut it down... however the app was clearly showing that it was running in the Status Bar so anyone outfront familiar the phone could just shut the app down.

If there was an app that would just periodically get a Gps fix and send it to your email, then it would not be obvious so you would be more likely to be able to track your phone without being so outfront and obvious ....

Doesn't Locale basically do all of this and more?

 

[justjimjpc]

Doesn't Locale basically do all of this and more?

I dont think Locale knows when someone else has picked up your phone and walked off with it and maybe two or three times a day (or times of your choice) ... secretly sends you its location ....

 

[dkaufman1]

I really like Mobile Defense which hides itself and I can remotely activate GPS. It is approaching blackberry enterprise server. When I have brought this up in other threads there are other options as well.

Also after discussing this at Timeriffic HQ, this was not the intent of Timeriffic in the first place. GPS control should be left to apps that use it. From experience it is easy to educate devs to use it correctly and if you are building a security style app you should cover that base in the first place.

Put clearly - Timeriffic will not support GPS by timer.

 

[mjschmidt]

@dkaufman1: the intent of my suggestion was not that it would be useful to have Timeriffic turn off the GPS because Devs don't program properly, rather that if a security app requires that GPS be on to work, that security app becomes useless if the user intentionally turned it off, or forgot to turn it on.

If the security app itself does not provide a way for a user to remotely enable GPS, have Timeriffic set to turn GPS on and then off for a period of time at a set inerval or time, means that a user would be able to track down their phone knowing the GPS would be on at certain times.

 

[dkaufman1]

@dkaufman1: the intent of my suggestion was not that it would be useful to have Timeriffic turn off the GPS because Devs don't program properly, rather that if a security app requires that GPS be on to work, that security app becomes useless if the user intentionally turned it off, or forgot to turn it on.

If the security app itself does not provide a way for a user to remotely enable GPS, have Timeriffic set to turn GPS on and then off for a period of time at a set inerval or time, means that a user would be able to track down their phone knowing the GPS would be on at certain times.

Yep I understood. Our point is simple - if a developor creates a security app, it should NEVER rely on another app to make it work. Using my previous example of Mobile Defense, they go to the extreme of hiding it everywhere and give it the rights to turn on gps remotely.

Put another way, if you read on the market that xyz security app required abc app would you find that a bit odd? Especially when they were made by different devs?

I appreciate the dialog, it's great to hear ideas.

 

[justjimjpc]

@dkaufman1: the intent of my suggestion was not that it would be useful to have Timeriffic turn off the GPS because Devs don't program properly, rather that if a security app requires that GPS be on to work, that security app becomes useless if the user intentionally turned it off, or forgot to turn it on.

If the security app itself does not provide a way for a user to remotely enable GPS, have Timeriffic set to turn GPS on and then off for a period of time at a set inerval or time, means that a user would be able to track down their phone knowing the GPS would be on at certain times.

IMO this is a great suggestion ... But Timeriffic doesn't seem to want to be involved .... maybe place a request in the Apps Wanted forum...

Maybe some dev will take it up .... but sounded Ideal for Timeriffic to me ...

 

[prerunnerseth]

Great app. But needs holiday settings! Check box what holidays you want and set a profile for those holidays. maybe even a check box for christmas and thanksgiving to include the whole week or just the day after.

 

[dkaufman1]

Great app. But needs holiday settings! Check box what holidays you want and set a profile for those holidays. maybe even a check box for christmas and thanksgiving to include the whole week or just the day after.

As asked for previously we don't have a calendar integration at this time.

Also as an international app we would still let a user define their holiday dates as they vary per country.

One suggestion create a profile called holiday and holiweek and set the settings for each of those. When a holiday or week arrive you can turn on that profile.

Does that work?

 

[prerunnerseth]

As asked for previously we don't have a calendar integration at this time.

Also as an international app we would still let a user define their holiday dates as they vary per country.

One suggestion create a profile called holiday and holiweek and set the settings for each of those. When a holiday or week arrive you can turn on that profile.

Does that work?

Yeah that works.. but doesnt promote extreme laziness.. LOL

 

[mjschmidt]

@dkaufman1 - I understand, and I'm not suggesting that any app should have to reply on another app. I agree it would look weird for the description of an app to say that it requires another.

My suggestion was just to give an option to people who need a workaround for the security apps they have that _don't_ allow for remote activation of GPS.

Thanks for the open dialogue. It's cool getting to talk to the people who make the apps!

 

[boatman]

dkaufman, back to this thread, kudos for this app. As someone who comes from a treo to bb and now droid, this app gives me the profiles that i had with my bb. I am on this forum and Hofo forum and have recommended this app in about 5 different threads.

I am a bit confused as to using it however. Do the settings on timeriffic override the settings on each app? For instance, under the section for Ringer, there is unchanged, ring, and mute. unchanged leaves at the system setting? If I then set the phone to mute, which wins, the timeriffic setting or the phone setting.

Also, during the day I want to have the phone at 90% volume, my sms with ringtone2 at 70% volume, and my email with ringtone3 at 50% volume.

Then at night I want my phone at 90%, but sms and email at 20%.

If my sounds& settings|ringer volume has incoming calls at 90% and nofications at 70%, then I set the timeriffic settings, do they override this (assuming i don't pick unchanged) at the times I set. This is how I understand this to work. Again, thanks for this great app!