Dougal's dashboard

A comment on the question "iPhone interface to IWS?" in I want Sandy:

Good on you Fox! Look forward to checking it out when I finally get an iPhone. – Dougal, on August 17, 2008 01:43

A comment on the idea "Mobile site for iwantsandy?" in I want Sandy:

Cool! Let us know how it goes. – Dougal, on August 16, 2008 23:42

A comment on the problem "Twitter is not sending Sandy's reminder's to my phone anymore" in I want Sandy:

Hi Conrad. Thanks for posting. Soon after the original postings Sandy was working again until Twitter stopped sending SMSes in the UK (I've posted my discontent there too).

Such a pity as Sandy and I were becoming such good friends... – Dougal, on August 15, 2008 08:59

Dougal replied on August 14, 2008 22:46 to the discussion "Changes for SMS users: the good news and the bad" in Twitter:

The only reason I used Twitter was as a conduit for the reminder service iwantsandy.com to send reminders directly to my mobile via SMS.

I would be willing to pay Twitter an amount per SMS sent to my phone just like I *already pay* to send SMSes via Skype and Sendible.

Get in on the act Twitter! Monetise your service. Don't just cut off the life line.

Dougal, another disgruntled Aussie/Kiwi.

Dougal replied on July 15, 2008 00:11 to the problem "Sandy not confirming or recording events sent via email" in I want Sandy:

UPDATE: Two hours after reporting the problem yesterday, Sandy finally confirmed one of the two reminders I had emailed. The other (a test "remind me in 1 minute" one) was lost at sea.

She also seems to be working again this morning.

Dougal shared an idea in I want Sandy on July 02, 2008 02:29:

How about a setting up a Sandy status RSS feed?

How about a setting up a Sandy status RSS feed? If Sandy is having issues, then it would be good to informed of this before the fact (i.e. when you check your RSS reader, say), than after discovering something isn't working as it should.

I'm thinking along the lines of the Twitter status blog - http://status.twitter.com/

Cheers,

Dougal

Dougal replied on July 02, 2008 02:23 to the problem "Email reminders from Sandy have stopped." in I want Sandy:

Hi Rael. Just to let you know that Sandy is working for me now. I get email confirmations of reminders that I have made, and the reminders arrive via email and Twitter. Fingers crossed.

A comment on the problem "Twitter is not sending Sandy's reminder's to my phone anymore" in I want Sandy:

Hi Rael. Thanks for the reply. I'll try investigating it at the Twitter side. I would be more than happy to register for SMS reminders from Sandy but the service doesn't appear to be available in Australia yet. (I'm with "3" mobile.) Any plans to expand the service here too? – Dougal, on July 01, 2008 22:18

Dougal replied on July 01, 2008 22:08 to the problem "Email reminders from Sandy have stopped." in I want Sandy:

I *did* receive both a mobile reminder (via Twitter) and an email reminder for an event scheduled at 7am Melbourne, Australia time.

However, I've just tested it again one hour later and now I'm having the same problem as BJ and remanc. Confirmation emails arrive, Sandy records the event but there's no email (or Twitter) notification.

If only Sandy were a little more reliable...

Dougal replied on July 01, 2008 08:18 to the question "Why not a simple html & hyperlinks version of Sandy for mobile phones?" in I want Sandy:

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for pointing that out. I actually had already already read it. The above post was a reaction to the comment that Rael was having difficulty with javascripts and css files.

I thought it was a good idea to put up something in the interim even if it doesn't offer all the functionality of the normal size version until Rael (or whoever) gets their head around difficult coding issues. As is, without a mobile version, Sandy is very handicapped.

Since putting up my original post, I've had a look at something which I think works really well which is:
http://m.rememberthemilk.com (you may have to have an account to view it properly).

I prefer Sandy to Remember the Milk for the natural interface - being able to write normal sentences is a god send - but the rememberthemilk mobile interface is great.

Anyway, my two cents.

Dougal replied on June 30, 2008 06:50 to the problem "Why won't Sandy email me reminders even though she replies?" in I want Sandy:

No worries. Emails have been working since Sunday. Thanks again for responding.

D

Dougal replied on June 30, 2008 06:46 to the problem "Twitter is not sending Sandy's reminder's to my phone anymore" in I want Sandy:

Hi Rael. Good to hear from you. Actually the same thing happened again this morning. I SMSed Sandy this morning (7am Melbourne Australia time) via Twitter. The reminders were registered (an email confirmation was sent to my email address) but no Sandy SMS reminders were sent via Twitter to my phone. But then they came 5 hours later. (They should have been sent around 7.30am). I checked Twitter and the messages had been registered as being sent when they should have been.

However, now Sandy's working fine. Can do everything from my mobile phone. Hopefully the unreliability will iron itself out. If you've got any hypotheses (or things I can check out at my end), please let me know and I'll get onto it.

Cheers,

Dougal

Dougal replied on June 29, 2008 05:56 to the problem "Twitter is not sending Sandy's reminder's to my phone anymore" in I want Sandy:

Weird. Now, 5 minutes after writing the above message, Twitter and Sandy have made up and I'm getting messages to my mobile now. Still puzzled but happy.

Dougal reported a problem in I want Sandy on June 29, 2008 05:46:

Twitter is not sending Sandy's reminder's to my phone anymore

Everything was working a treat this morning. I'd email Sandy and she sent me reminders to my email and (via twitter) to my mobile. However, Twitter is not sending Sandy's reminder's to my phone anymore although the emails are still getting through. Are Twitter and Sandy fighting? What's up?

A comment on the problem "Email reminders from Sandy have stopped." in I want Sandy:

Thanks Rael. I was in a stinker of a mood yesterday so Sandy bore the brunt of my ire, but she's been super fabulous today. Very glad to be acquainted. Thanks again for the quick response.

Cheers,

Dougal – Dougal, on June 29, 2008 02:45

Dougal replied on June 28, 2008 06:04 to the question "How can I refresh the ical feed sent to Google Calendar?" in I want Sandy:

Sandy events aren't showing up in Google Calendar over 4 and a half hours later. Maybe it's Google's fault. Maybe it's Sandy's. I don't know. I'm afraid, though, it's a make or break for me.

If this is a long-standing known issue with Google, however, then why would Sandy advertise that it could sync with Gcal on it's site? Obviously it can't so why get people's hopes up?

I've spent a few hours investigating Sandy today as a newbie but most of the things I've tried - email reminders, automatic refreshing of Sandy events in Google calendar - just don't work. Maybe they did for people in the past but they don't for me so I'm going to call it quits for a while and hope Sandy comes out of beta sooner than later.

Dougal started following the question "How can I refresh the ical feed sent to Google Calendar?" in I want Sandy.

Dougal replied on June 28, 2008 05:41 to the problem "Email reminders from Sandy have stopped." in I want Sandy:

I've been having the same issue.

Dougal started following the problem "Email reminders from Sandy have stopped." in I want Sandy.

Dougal asked a question in I want Sandy on June 28, 2008 02:33:

Why not a simple html & hyperlinks version of Sandy for mobile phones?

A lot of us think a mobile version of Sandy would be great. I understand that a swish version of Sandy might require lots of technical prowess but why not aim for something simple in the meantime?

Until someone comes forward with the kind of skills to create a sexy mobile version of Sandy (alas I have none), how about a pared down version featuring just html and hyperlinks?

Something like what Google has done for their (non-iPhone) version of Gmail might work. (http://m.google.com/ would be an example of the kind of interface that I'm talking about.) That way Sandy could still help with those of us with web enabled phones wanting to check our to do lists on the run.

I'm lonely without Sandy on my phone.