Saturday, September 12, 2009

one ring - part two

So, in doing some investigation, it's clear that there are two ways that I can get my phone to give me the information that I need.

As always, one of these ways is more open to generalization and requires more effort - the other way is a quick hack that will probably work and will only work for this particular application.

As usual, I'm going to code both methods, starting with the hack.

So - the hack: I connect to WiFi networks in both my home and workplace automatically when my phone gets in range. Once this connection occurs, I'll set a bit on my home webserver that tells it what SSID I'm connected to, then I'll issue the appropriate GET and POST commands, and do some XML magic (which I haven't figured out yet) to tell Google Voice where I am, and have it ring the appropriate number.

Sounds easy - now I just need to learn PHP and Cocoa and Objective C.

The more complicated and more generalizable method will involve more HTTP server code to create an interface to geotag locations and have the phone let it know when I get within a certain distance of the them - either by automatically running as a background process - by pushing requests to the phone via APC, or by invoking it manually.. that part will be fun. :)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

one ring to rule them all!

Unfortunately, no, I don't mean the One Ring.

I'm talking about Google Voice. I have a GV number and it's great! I can give out one phone number and receive calls on whatever phone I happen to be nearest, but to do so requires either a bit of monkeying with a webUI, or knowing what days and times I'll be at certain locations.

Seems a bit, well, low tech to me.

I have an iPhone that is pretty much with me all the time, but my cell reception is terrible in my house. I could still use my SIP account and my WiFi to make/take calls on my iPhone, but mostly I just use my landline. It would be nifty if GV knew I was at home (I know, a little creepy too, but bear with me) and automagically routed calls my way.

Such a thing is possible, I'm sure, but it'll require some code, and a few hacks that are likely to be specific to my GV account - unless there is a GV API that I'm unaware of.

This blog doesn't get a lot of readers, but if you happen to know, drop me a line, I'll send some interesting code your way when I get it working.

FWIW, I've already found some bits here: http://posttopic.com/topic/
google-voice-add-on-development - but that's not really suitable to my needs. It still might help you if you're trying to do something similar, but different.