the GARAG3 » Garag3 Companies

1.3 submitted: easier access to bus stops/car parks, Sparklette reviews, and one more thing This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

junhan — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:09:00 +0000

Hope everyone is feeling alright on this Monday! If not, this news may just cheer you up – we've submitted the 1.3 update. Woohoo!

What's new:

1. Search or browse for bus stops

If you know the bus stop number, simply type in the 5-digit code to get to the bus stop's page. You can also search or browse for "bus stops" and get a list of bus stops around you.

Bus stops now get their own page, and from there you can find out the bus services there by tapping on the "buses" link.

To find out the next bus arrival times, tapping on a SBS bus service will bring you to the corresponding mobile IRIS page in the browser. Nice!

2. Search or browse for carparks and rates

When you search for buildings with carparks, we have now included a new link to view the carpark rates. This means you can now view carpark information without having to tap on the map icons!

To quickly see a list of carparks around your current location, just tap on "car parks" from the browse menu.

3. Sparklette.net food reviews

Sparklette is a food guide run by Veron, who has been a gothere.sg fan for the longest time – she embeds a gothere.sg map with her food reviews to make sure her readers know how to get there. How thoughtful!

When you're at a place that has been reviewed on Sparklette, be sure to tap on the link to read her review!

Check out some of her recent reviews: Miao Yi Vegetarian Restaurant, Spices Cafe at Concorde Hotel.

4. Street view with compass + motion panning

One more thing – Street View. We're bringing Google's Street View to the gothere.sg app. Of course, the experience won't be as smooth as the the default Maps application because we do not have direct access to the Street View raw images, but we think it's still useful to be able to see some form of street imagery from inside our app.

What's more, we've gone one step further by including compass and motion panning in Street View. Basically, this means you can pan your phone around and see the corresponding street view images that are in the direction you're facing. And if you are on iOS 4, you can even pan up and down simply by moving your phone!

That's all for 1.3, we'll keep you posted when this update is available for download. By the way, the launch discount is coming to an end soon, so please tell your friends to purchase the app if they haven't already! We are not even half done with what we wanna do with our app and there are many more exciting updates coming your way! :)

Scheduled Maintenance is complete This post is syndicated from Zopim Blog's blog. Zopim Blog

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:20:28 +0000

Our scheduled maintenance was brought forward by 12 hours and started at around 430pm GMT. It lasted longer than expected but service has now resumed and you should be able to use Zopim as per normal again. Our bleary-eyed techs will continue to monitor the service. Thanks for the patience, have a great weekend ahead.

If you notice anything amiss, please do not hesitate to contact us at support [at] zopim [dot] com!

iPhone app update: 1.2 now available This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

junhan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:36:00 +0000

As promised last week, version 1.2 of the gothere.sg app is now available for download.

1. Shortcut to home screen

Probably the most requested feature in 1.2, the home screen shortcut! We've followed Facebook's lead (albeit hidden) and added a "return to home" shortcut whenever you tap on a title on the navigation bar. This is definitely not a standard Apple UI convention, but we felt that it was a quick solution for power users who needed to jump back to the home screen frequently.

In addition, tapping on the back button now skips past the directions screens, a source of frustration for many users who just wanted to search for new directions.

2. Options for departure time, minimise ERP and avoid highways

Advanced options for the power user. By setting the departure time, the directions will take into account details such as peak hour surcharges for taxi fares, and bus/train operating hours for public transport.

3. "Search nearby" added to place page

We've also added the ability to search for things around a location. You'll be able to search, for instance, florists nearby "AMK Hub", if you're in desperate need to find some flowers.

4. Compass in map view

Similar to maps.app, you can now use the compass while in the map screen. Just tap on the current location button twice to activate the compass.

*hat tip to @mugunthkumar for reminding us about this.

5. Updated carpark rates

Yeah, like finally right? We know a few folks who were pretty annoyed with our outdated carpark rates, but we're a small team and we try our best. Do cut us some slack, okay? :P

That's all we have for now. You can help us improve by telling us how you're using the app, and what isn't working out for you. As usual, feedback via twitter or email is welcome.

Have a great weekend ahead everyone!

iPhone app update: 1.1 released, 1.2 submitted This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

junhan — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:12:00 +0000

Hi all, version 1.1 of the gothere.sg app is now in the App Store!

Here's what's new with this update:

1. Retina display graphics, high resolution maps

When we got our hands on an iPhone 4 and saw our app for the first time, we knew we had to do something about those ugly pixels. Count yourself lucky, iPhone 4 owners!

2. Taxi booking

The dial button calls the LTA Common Taxi Number (6-DIAL-CAB), but you still need to tell the operator your location and destination. The SMS button composes a message to Comfort's SMS-A-CAB service, with your current location in a postal code.

3. Real-time bus arrival information

Thanks to Deepak's SBS NextBus, we now have bus arrival information for SBS buses. Just tap on a bus stop in the map to bring up the infowindow, and then tap on the bus number to see the next bus arrival times.

What's next?

We have just submitted version 1.2 to Apple for review. Judging by our experience so far, the new update should take about 7 to 8 days to get reviewed and approved!

Version 1.2 will include:

Tap on title to return to home screen (the much requested shortcut)
Search nearby, from the place page
Departure time options
Minimise ERP and avoid highway options
Compass in map view

We hope you've found the application useful so far. We're still working hard to improve the app, so if you have any feedback or need help with troubleshooting, please don't hesitate to drop us an email.

iPhone App update: 1.1 released, 1.2 submitted This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

junhan — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:31:00 +0000

Hi all, just a quick update here. Version 1.1 of the gothere.sg app is now in the App Store. If you haven't purchased it yet, here's a quick run through what's new with this update:

1. Retina display and high resolution maps

The update that new iPhone 4 owners have been waiting for.

2. taxi booking (call or sms)

3. Real-time bus arrival information

Courtesy of Deepak.

At the same time, we've also submitted version 1.2 to Apple for review. Judging by our experience so far with the app review process, the new update should take about 7 to 8 days to get reviewed. So if everything goes according to plan, this update should be live sometime next week!

What's new in 1.2:

1. Tap on title to go back to home screen

We know this has been a long time coming.

2. Search nearby button on place pages

3. Departure time options

4. minimise ERP and avoid highway options

5. Compass mode

Idle visitors will be removed after 30mins This post is syndicated from Zopim Blog's blog. Zopim Blog

roystontay — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:49:00 +0000

We’ve always been big about reducing clutter and unnecessary information. Today we took another step in that direction by removing idle visitors from your visitor’s list. Here’s how it works:

If a visitor doesn’t show signs of mouse / keyboard activities after 10 minutes, he will be moved into the “Idle” list. By default our dashboard shows only ‘Active’ visitors. You can view all visitors (including Idle ones) by unchecking “Options > Show only actively surfing visitor” under the search bar.
After 30 minutes of inactivity, the visitor will then be removed from your visitor list. The chat widget on your visitor’s browser tab will be minimized.
After 2 happens, when a visitor returns to your page and performs any mouse / keyboard actions, he will be reconnected, and will appear in your visitor list again.

Simple huh? We look forward to any feedback you have regarding this new roll out. Cheers to a great weekend ahead!

Has Apple approved the gothere.sg iPhone app? This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

dominic — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:35:00 +0000

You bet they have! It's on sale right now. Get it fast! And just so you know, we are already hard at work adding some new nifty features to it. Visit the app store and find out more about the gothere.sg iPhone app!

iPhone Sneak Peek – Searching for places This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

junhan — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:30:00 +0000

Here's another video, this time showing off how to find places with the app!

Upgrading Servers [last updated: 0315GMT] This post is syndicated from Zopim Blog's blog. Zopim Blog

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:43:56 +0000

Update 5 August 2010, 0130GMT

What to do if you’re experiencing problems loading the dashboard

1) Clear your browser cache. Instructions for Firefox (Windows), Chrome (Windows)
2) Quit and restart your browser.

If you’re still unable to log into dashboard.zopim.com, use this URL: dashboard2.zopim.com for the time being. Once the old DNS records expire, you will be able to log back in on dashboard.zopim.com again.

*****

As mentioned in an earlier email, we’ve officially started upgrading our server. Please check the (almost) real-time status updates here

Status of upgrade

0000GMT – Today’s upgrade is going to start early at 0030GMT instead of 0200GMT. Have informed all live users on the Dashboard.

0030GMT – Upgrade started. Switching over DNSes and DBs.

0040GMT – Looks like website has been switched over successfully.

0056GMT – Syncing databases

0130GMT – Database syncing done. Took a while longer than expected because of the sheer volume of data.

0150GMT – Having some problems with MySQL.. troubleshooting

0237GMT – Starting services and testing

0300GMT – Almost there.. most services up and running

0315GMT – And we’re up.. Some of your visitors could still be loading our old files from their browser cache. The DNS records are still being updated, so a few visitors could still be directed to our old server. In these cases, the chat widget will not show us. This should be completely resolved over the next few hours.

Description of upgrade

The upgrades include acquiring better machines and also geographically distributing our architecture. You will see the following improvements:

1) Faster loading of chat widget
2) Fail-over should any server go down
3) The loading of your website will be unaffected even in the rare cases that Live Chat does go down
4) Increased redundant capacity, which will ensure better performance of our service

iPhone Sneak Peek This post is syndicated from Gothere Blog's blog. Gothere Blog

dominic — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:40:00 +0000

We have some great news to share! The gothere.sg iPhone app has been submitted to the iTunes App Store. And now we just gotta wait for Apple to give us their seal of approval. Our iPhone app has come a very long way. Truth be told, we have made over 5 different iPhone apps over the last year and a half. Unfortunately, we felt neither of them offer a fantastic user experience, and you know how we are all about creating a great user experience!

Well, that's all over now because we have finally designed and built an iPhone app that we love! And we really mean it! This app trumps over our mobile web version, even gothere.sg on the web, and really just about every other thing we have come up with.

What's a sneak peak without pictures right? We'll go one better and show you a short homemade video!

Here's a look at some of the features in the app.

Find public transport and driving directions anywhere in Singapore.
Ninja search engine - you can search using postal codes, building names, acronyms like "amk", and even businesses and amenities like "korean food" or "atms".
Simply start typing and we'll automagically suggest popular locations, as well as places you've recently searched for.
Compare the duration and cost between the various modes of transport, including bus, train, taxi and car. You can even choose between multiple routes for each mode of transport.
View useful details in your trip summary, such as the fare, duration, distance, ERP charges and number of transfers.
Find directions for your blur taxi driver and also see the full breakdown of the estimated fare, including peak hour surcharges and more.
Pick and choose a carpark around your destination and we'll show you the rates and guide you there.
Search or browse amenities and businesses around your location.
View more information about a place including the full address, phone number and even hungrygowhere reviews.
Explore the beautiful full screen map and tap on any bus stop or carpark to find out more about them.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We'll be showing you more of the app in the coming days as we wait for the kind people at Apple to approve it. Stay tuned!

P.S. The app will not be free. However, we'll be sure to give you, our ardent supporters, a special early bird deal. =)