Category: General

Hello world on iNUM DID for SIP IVR

I had already setup my own SIP PBX server for testing since last year. I used an open source SIP server called Kamailio and Freeswitch. In order to support VXML, I registered application on Voxeo, yet another cloud platform, and have my Kamailio number configured call forwarding to Voxeo, which acts a media server gateway. I can code the VXML by hand and host in Node JS HTTP Server. I also can design a call flow using Avaya Orchestration Designer and host on my Apache Tomcat HTTP Server (need some custom jar I hacked myself in order to fully support Voxeo from Avaya OD….)

I can call my call flow using an iPhone/iPad/Android SIP Phone, even reached by Google Chrome via WebRTC. However I haven’t reaching by a traditional phone.

After few months of busy, today I want to “challenge” myself, so I am finding a DID number that I can call from my traditional phone to my SIP Server. I realized that Voxeo support iNUM which is free. And for a local iNUM number in Singapore, which is (65)35181212 (pay in local rate). After dial in, have to key in Voxeo Application assigned iNUM number, then will say “connected”, then call routed to my call flow.

The voice quality from traditional phone to the Voxeo call flow quite OK. The text to speech and speech recognition using Nuance. Accepts DTMF and voice recognition.

So, finally, I made it!

Mashape Air Quality Index API

Glad to announce that, by extending Mashape Weather API, adding new endpoint, for Air Quality Index service.

Check it out the announcement. https://www.mashape.com/fyhao/weather-13/announcements/2

We are introducing Air Quality Index to our API with endpoint /aqi

By passing latitude and longitude of your place, we are automatically request your country’s Air Quality Index information and return back to you.

We are still building our services so some of the places still not supported. You will see the response “Not Supported” if it is not supported in your place. We are working on it to make it support for more places.

Currently supported place including Singapore, Malaysia, Europe Countries, Australia at the time of writing.

If you would like your place to be supported, drop us under API support, remember telling us where location you are, or just copy the API response to us as there will be indicating your place code and country which we can use to troubleshoot our service.

To check it out existing Mashape Weather blog page? Here you go: Mashape Weather API

Related Posts:
Mashape Text Sentiment Analysis API
Mashape Weather API

Installed a new iOS8 custom keyboard apps Swiftkey

Just updated to iOS8 on my iPhone 5S and installed my first third party custom keyboard apps, Swiftkey.

The stylish interface, by default two themes, black and white, built in smart prediction technology, and support type by sliding the keys.

Once installed the custom keyboard apps, will have a host apps put in the desktop. To enable the keyboard, go to Settings, Keyboard, add the third party custom keyboard apps. Once setup, go to any text box, click change keyboard button, until Swiftkey apps pop up. Start typing! Can anytime change back to the other keyboard.

To protect your privacy, when you enter password field, Apple will trigger back the default system keyboard. But for your own sake, when you enter another field or something else, that requires your credit card information, please, change back to default system keyboard yourselves if Apple cannot detect that.

In order to use type by slide, I must go to SwiftKey Keyboard Settings and checked Allow Full Access. But to check Allow Full Access, meant I allow the apps to be able not limited to, for instance, transfer the keystroke to their server. This is how smart prediction works. Transfer whatever we key in to their cloud, then their cloud learn our typing habits, recommend the words that we can put into our message typing. This is really not good if you really care about your privacy.

For myself, I will use Swiftkey carefully now. Once I learnt how to create my own custom keyboard with smart prediction cloud, then I will use it, for my own safety.

Need a new notification device the watch

我需要通知提醒的设备，来提醒我每天什么时候应该做什么事。因此我设计了专门为我专属使用的通知提醒的Apps。通知提醒的 List 储存在 server side，我可以掏出我的 iPhone 来管理 List，也可以开着电脑进入一个管理界面来管理 List。到时间，我的 iPhone，以及任何通讯设备 就会收到提醒。

我通常呢都会把 iPhone 放在裤袋里。那么通知提醒，或者说，震动，就是发生在我的裤袋里。当我的裤袋震动了，我得到了通知提醒。但这未免效率不够好。

Apple Watch 来的真好，明年初才推出。把 Apple Watch 戴在左手腕上，通知提醒一到，我能更加直观的感受到那股震动，眼球也能更加迅速的转到通知提醒上，也能更加迅速的去处理该处理的事。当 Apple Watch 出来后，我会立即移植这项通知提醒的功能进去这个 Apple Watch。

暂时不考虑 Android Wear，因为我的 Samsung Device 很少拿来用，多数是回马来西亚才用，在新加坡的时候都用 Apple Device。