What the hell is going on?

Hey everyone,

So before you lynch me or try to hack my PC to get the current build of 1.4 please read the following.

There has been a combination of things that occured that have incredibly delayed the release of 1.4. To start of I have started to work on a new project (a full time job) information which I cannot disclose as I am on a NDA agreement. At first, I was not allowed to publish further updates or work on Bloo and thus I was unable to continue working on it. I think this is about to change though as I have initiated the process to work on Bloo. I am literally working 15 hours a day without any time to put at Bloo.

Second, the recent Facebook status update has caused some minor or major problems to the feed, something that I want to take care before I can release 1.4. This shouldn’t be a huge problem though.

Third, the dev phone is dead. I am waiting for a new one and working on the emulator is NOT good enough for testing. I need to always test the app on the road to “simulate” real world scenarios.

Version 1.4 is almost complete without a lot of coding needed to be done. There are some bureaucratic issues as well as some new bugs that came up.

You have waited long enough for this version. I understand the frustration and I would be furious as well but its hard to overcome some obstacles.

-dc

 

Not ready yet…

Update 10/19/09 : Birthday today and first day at work. I am trying to finish 1.4. A few more stuff on the media section.

Update 10/17/09 : Anyone who is experiencing problems updating their status, please email me a log from your phone. I would like to include a fix for 1.4.

Hey guys, here’s a relatively sad update…

As I am typing this I am working on Bloo 1.4, and the changes have been tremendous for the app. As I mentioned there is a brand new feed and a new media section. In order for those to work correctly a lot must be changed. However, they are not yet complete and when I say complete i mean to a good satisfactory level for you to enjoy the app. Trust me, you will see a huge difference in Bloo 1.4, at least for the feed and media section and hopefully you will like it!

I really apologize for not sticking up to my words. I have finally found a job, I am trying to move to a new place and things have been really busy here in San Francisco.

Please be patient, it will be out. I won’t promise the day again but it won’t be far. I am almost done with it and I need to test it. Perhaps I can redeem myself with a few screenshots!

-dc

Update: Anyone who is experiencing problems updating their status, please email me a log from your phone. I would like to include a fix for 1.4.

Bloo 1.4 available next week, supports 1.6 and a bunch of features.

Update: Donate for Bloo now! I am shooting for a weekend release. 1.4 is a HUGE release.

Click here to donate for Bloo!

Hey everyone!

The release of 1.6 has delayed my plans for 1.4 as I now have to update the version to support it for the new versions. If you are having a few bugs and problems with 1.6 please let me know. I have identified and fixed a few issues already.

1.4 will be a major update for Bloo and you will immediately notice the differences (in a good way!) There are a few features I won’t disclose yet but there are so much cool stuff to come. Here’s a short list:

• Brand new media section. Faster, better looking and easier to use. Fixes errors people had to deal with (mostly recently registered Facebook users). I will post an update with screenshots and a few “tutorials” on this next week.
• Yet again an update on the Stream engine. The feed optimizer is removed completely. Every feed now loads the neccessary data and any media (profile pictures, photo attachments and video previews) will load as you scroll. This means the feed will always load faster because it will only load text. If I was to put it in numbers I would say at least 40% faster loading, of course this varies on your connection.
• Some links contain links to events or pictures, now these will successfully load through Bloo. If there are web browser links they will open in your browser.
• Ability to setup notification refresh time for people who pay for data or for people who want to conserve battery.
• Events now are ordered with the most recent event on top.

There are a couple more features including one nice surprise! Stay tuned!

-dc

Bloo 1.3.8b available!

Update: Various minimum and critical bug fixes in 1.3.8b!

Well well well, what do we have here? A new version of Bloo!

Before we go into details, please forgive me, I know I said next version will update the media section of Bloo however I wanted to polish some things up, especially with the stream. Media update will have to wait for one more version…

This release instead polishes Bloo a lot! Let’s get into details:

• Heavily updated Notifications engine to figure out feed stories and better error handling code. (Your old notifications will be cleared). If a story is not available it will default to the senders profile. Finally, viewing posts will automatically be expanded for you.
• All application posts now show up on the feed, you can only view them or comment on them but not interact with the applications themselves. They are indicated by a generic facebook icon.
• If you have hidden posts on Facebook, they won’t show at Bloo.
• Link posts now have a ‘link button’ which you press and it takes you to the actual url. You can also finally expand them and comment on them.
• Ability to instantly share links via the browser and YouTube app without opening Bloo.
• Faster stream rendering engine.
• Twitter, Palm status updates now show up on the feed.
• Icons are back for posts.

That’s it enjoy!

-dc

Bloo 1.3.5a now available!

Update: All should be good now. I found a bug with the notification stories so this will be fixed in the next quick release.

Hey everyone,

I have posted a new update for Bloo today. Version 1.3.5a! Check out the features:

• Notifications for wall posts, comments and likes go to the corresponding post (Your older notifications will be removed as they do not contain the information required)
• Posts for other popular mobile apps now show up on the feed. This includes iPhone, Mobile Texts, BlackBerry, other Android apps.
• Marquee based title bar for the home screen, it will now slide if your status update is longer than the screen.
• Validation rules for all forms and auto correct is now enabled, try posting an empty status update
• Updating your status goes through the normal Facebook status API, this means that other apps can now post comments to your posts.
• Ability to clear status.
• Various UI tweaks and optimizations.

Update on 1.3.5a

• Fixed an issue with YouTube posts getting different text.
• Removed the “is” verb from status update.
• Added BlackBerry app support.

In the next major version I will be working on the media section of Bloo including photo flinging and other features! Considering the official app has been dominating, Bloo has become more of a hobby of mine and I hope you guys enjoy the changes for those who are still sticking with Bloo.

Enjoy!

-dc

Bloo 1.3.3 available now! Inbox active!

Hey guys,

I have decided to quickly release 1.3.3 that includes the ability to share pictures straight from the gallery and some minor bug fixes.

Update: Inbox is finally active! Enjoy!

I have been thinking for the future of Bloo myself since the release of the official facebook app but I have received multiple emails from people that support should continue.

Yet again I want to emphasize the reason for the lack of updates. As I just came back in US I am currently looking for a job in San Francisco area and so my time to spend for Bloo (including all the flights and moving) has been reduced.

Last but not least, my 4th attempt to whitelist Bloo for inbox has returned no results. I have applied for a 5th time to get whitelisted.

Stay tuned for more news!

-dc

Finally a status update! Back in the USA!

Hey everyone,

I am finally settled back in the USA. The flight, jet lag and catching up with family and friends have put me away from laptops. However, this is over. I can now finally return to update Bloo for you and implement new features.

I do want to take a moment and tell you that I have applied 3 times for Inbox whitelist and have received NO response from Facebook whatsoever. I have emailed them again. The moment it is whitelisted you inbox will work.

The next version of Bloo will be called 1.4 and there will be new features for you. I really do apologize for the lack of updates for this period.

-dc

Bloo 1.3.2 Now available! (UPDATE)

UPDATE: I uploaded version 1.3.2a. It looks like Bloo is still NOT whitelisted. This is why you get the error. I applied AGAIN for whitelist from Facebook.

Hey guys,

Bloo 1.3.2 is now available. I did not want to prolong the release waiting for Facebook so I released it anyways. If you get an empty inbox it is because the process is not done yet. Otherwise you should be good.

More news coming up soon!

-dc

Whitelisted yet?

Hey guys!

Just a quick short update. Facebook has YET to whitelist Bloo in order to use the inbox. However, it seems that you can enable the permission (so you don’t have to do it from Bloo).

Click here to enable inbox permission for Bloo.

Now, some changes in 1.3.2 so you don’t get surprised. I removed the outbox support. There are two reasons for this. The first one is a technical reason. There is a Facebook API bug that does not return your outbox posts. This means that you cannot keep scrolling to expand this. However, we are in good luck because this does not happen to your Inbox. You can keep scrolling to retrieve more and more inbox messages, just like the stream. The second reason is more of a preference of mine. Since you are not allowed (yet) to compose new messages (until the API opens up more) I figured it is kind of pointless to see your outbox. Besides every message you send from Facebook can be seen from your Inbox (hope that makes sense!).

Quite a few people have asked me to see how it would look when you see a message in your Inbox. I posted a picture below

Thanks and please be patient, hopefully Facebook will short that out!

-dc

Viewing an inbox thread

1.3.2 Status Update, release imminent!

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give a heads up on 1.3.2 status. This version turned out much bigger than I expected. It is almost done. So let’s get started. First of all we have some great news regarding the Facebook API! Finally, we have access to Inbox and Notifications!  For that reason I postponed some of the previously changes mentioned in an older blog post regarding 1.3.2. Inbox has been the number one most wanted feature for Bloo so I focused all my attention to this…and then some!

Here’s a list of new stuff in 1.3.2:

• Inbox support: Read only until Facebook allows you to compose messages.
• Full notifications: This includes likes, comments, wall posts to your own but also any other post you have subscribed into. They are completely synced with Facebook so if you read them in Bloo they are marked as read on Facebook as well. Ability to JUMP to a users profile from notifications is now added.
• Search everything: This exists in your friends list but you can now filter/search your events or notifications! Ability to search the inbox is of course included. The power of truly native apps compated to web based versions.
• Home screen: Becomes more “alive” and shows you how many friends have birthdays (you will need to load your friends list first only once though), this is the first step to make the home screen much more informative, more to come on this.
• Much faster initial loading (splash screen)
• New wall post screen that matches new comment screen, more space to type
• Events are now cached and you dont have to reload them unless you explicitly use MENU -> REFRESH, the same applies to your friends list
• Feed loading even more optimized to make it even faster
• Fixed a bug that shows Bloo posts as link posts (hopefully this is gone)
• Crash control, even if Bloo crashes on you (hopefully not) it should take you back to the Home screen and restart

So why is not out yet? In order to access your Inbox, Bloo must be whitelisted by Facebook, I am currently waiting for this and as soon as its done 1.3.2 will go live!

Now, as far as the older features I had planned, they are still coming all of them. I think I will call the next version 1.3.5 or 1.4!

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who voted on ANA’s for Bloo! Win or not, it has been fun!

Oh, and enjoy the screenshots!

-dc