iris iPhone app by SBS Transit is out!
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Originally posted by Y_Shun:
I only want to shut off this Iris. Apprantly Iris is not on that list.
Just uninstall the app la. -_-"
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hi people.. do u all need to enter some validation code when using iris on gprs/ web?
theres so many steps n forms to fill up just to get a simple arrival info..
sighhhhh -
Originally posted by 105090:
hi people.. do u all need to enter some validation code when using iris on gprs/ web?
theres so many steps n forms to fill up just to get a simple arrival info..
sighhhhh
it was implemented a day after polling day.
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Originally posted by 105090:
hi people.. do u all need to enter some validation code when using iris on gprs/ web?
theres so many steps n forms to fill up just to get a simple arrival info..
sighhhhh
Stupid procedure, isnt it?
By the time you enter the validation code etc, you wasted minutes and the bus arrives.
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Originally posted by Y_Shun:
Stupid procedure, isnt it?
By the time you enter the validation code etc, you wasted minutes and the bus arrives.
Yea, but i guess its because they decided that the different 3rd party applications thats available for iphone, android and windows phones that "hooks" onto mobileiris takes up too much bandwidth and capacity, therefore they implemented the validation code to ensure the person querying is indeed a human and not a machine.
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Forgive my ignorance, if any but if thats the lousy, pathetic excuse sbs is giving, wtf, sbs, GROW UP. Wtf? Who cares if its an AI or a human using the app? For god's sake, its aTRAVEL info app! If thats the lousy excuse sbs is giving for their CRAPPY app, give it up. YOU DUN WANNA FIX IT, DUN ACT DUMB. this app is not Jus slightly bad, its horrible! Firstly, a minor complaint: it requires gprs and gprs ONLY. How rigid is that? Second: it crasges incessantly nonstop thirdly: it is VERY slow, like in the span of up to ten mins of waiting, sometimes it doesnt even load. Says it cannot connect. Bullshit. My safari works fine. So why not? Lmao=___= Fourth: VERY tedious process of checking. While other third party apps jus require a few presses and a wait of say, at most 3 min(very long, before iris shut it down mine could fetch info in 10 sec flat), iris needs some stupid form of 'verification' crap as ive state is COMPLETELY irrelevant Lastly, my views cant be flawed; why? Because thousands agree with me. Simple check the app store like i have and in the past two mths no other app in the store has received worst(abd perfectly sane ones, no rants) ratings than this crappy excuse for an app. Every single rating is abt the horroble features of it and i myself have never found a good thing abt this app anyways. Bottom line, anyobe considering this app, forget it. Ure better off reading off the schedule boards in bus stops and still be earlier than if u use this app. Cheers~
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not forgetting that the verification step involves opening a new webpage n consumes more data n bandwidth..
through this incident we had seen SBS taking a big step back in its progress in technology and improvement in customer service..
another sign of immortals in heaven governing mortals on earth
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those who used iris during pm peak hrs would know wat's going on
as good as cannot use
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am peak is just as bad.
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Originally posted by Bus Stopping:
Yea, but i guess its because they decided that the different 3rd party applications thats available for iphone, android and windows phones that "hooks" onto mobileiris takes up too much bandwidth and capacity, therefore they implemented the validation code to ensure the person querying is indeed a human and not a machine.
some apps for e.g. sgbuses have amended their app to not auto-load arrival times for all services at a bus stop for months. interestingly, iris server had never slowed down during those early days, and got better after the change was implemented by sgbuses app.
the fact that iris app auto-loads arrival times for all services at a bus stop has not helped things, as the server is still busy during peak hours nowdays.
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Originally posted by ^tamago^:
some apps for e.g. sgbuses have amended their app to not auto-load arrival times for all services at a bus stop for months. interestingly, iris server had never slowed down during those early days, and got better after the change was implemented by sgbuses app.
the fact that iris app auto-loads arrival times for all services at a bus stop has not helped things, as the server is still busy during peak hours nowdays.
macham like e VLSmore buses during peak hr fleet, e lag begins to appear
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Originally posted by Bus Stopping:
Yea, but i guess its because they decided that the different 3rd party applications thats available for iphone, android and windows phones that "hooks" onto mobileiris takes up too much bandwidth and capacity, therefore they implemented the validation code to ensure the person querying is indeed a human and not a machine.
If you had offered the service, you would had known and solved this solution.
I really don't buy this excuse. -
Originally posted by Y_Shun:
If you had offered the service, you would had known and solved this solution.
I really don't buy this excuse.
If they would have known every problem beforehand, I think they must be super geniuses... -
Originally posted by ^tamago^:
some apps for e.g. sgbuses have amended their app to not auto-load arrival times for all services at a bus stop for months. interestingly, iris server had never slowed down during those early days, and got better after the change was implemented by sgbuses app.
the fact that iris app auto-loads arrival times for all services at a bus stop has not helped things, as the server is still busy during peak hours nowdays.
If i remembered correctly, the apps (some of them) actually uses a caching server to cache the query from sbst, i.e. 2 person asking for the same stop same services then not all the arrival times request are actually handled directly by sbst. This is why some times the offical app will offer a tiny bit more of accuracy.
Actually im wondering if it is the humans that's causing the lag or the buses that's bottlenecking the database server. Putting almost 1000 vehicles on the road and getting their location every 10 seconds is no joke and it really will tax any server, do share if u have any experience of that.
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android ver comin soon..
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Originally posted by Y_Shun:
If you had offered the service, you would had known and solved this solution.
I really don't buy this excuse.My dear friend, iris was actually set up in 2007 and that's before the maturing of 3G data, iphone, and applications in different mobile os. During that period, no one would have anticipated this huge amount of users popping in by the perfect storm of iphone and android apps. You really had to use sms or gprs to get the timing and definately not all services at once for the particular bus stop.
It may be no excuse that they should have started to upgrade their systems as the years passed on, but, its really a cost to them that generates no return at all. I feel that what they should at least do now is to add a caching server to cache queries directing them straight to the database if they havent done so, and allow developers to join in and not thru some non-official manner.
I've too experienced times where iris would just give u a timeout error, but its really a value added service that's free for passengers. Look at smrt, 4 years already and yet still missing in action.
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Originally posted by Bus Stopping:
If i remembered correctly, the apps (some of them) actually uses a caching server to cache the query from sbst, i.e. 2 person asking for the same stop same services then not all the arrival times request are actually handled directly by sbst. This is why some times the offical app will offer a tiny bit more of accuracy.
Actually im wondering if it is the humans that's causing the lag or the buses that's bottlenecking the database server. Putting almost 1000 vehicles on the road and getting their location every 10 seconds is no joke and it really will tax any server, do share if u have any experience of that.
I always thought it's the app itself calling mobileiris (negates the need to maintain a proxy server), because for a proxy to cache all service-stop pair results every few minutes is going to bog down the cache server, esp if usage was never high.
But I agree that the steep rise in mobile internet & smartphone prevalance has contributed to increased load on the iris server that should plateau when all smartphone users have access to it.
In other citiess, value-added services like this is seen as an example of good customer service and going the extra mile. cost of maintaining a server means nothing if it meant you can provide a service better than what your competitors can offer. interestingly, more and more city governments are taking this task upon themselves as many of the networks are run by many small and medium bus operators with no common interface. let's see if LTA would take a step towards extendimg arrival timing boards to every bus stop, because even a single-line scrolling LED is good enough for a bus stop with about 6 services each displaying arrival time for 5secs.
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Originally posted by ^tamago^:
I always thought it's the app itself calling mobileiris (negates the need to maintain a proxy server), because for a proxy to cache all service-stop pair results every few minutes is going to bog down the cache server, esp if usage was never high.
But I agree that the steep rise in mobile internet & smartphone prevalance has contributed to increased load on the iris server that should plateau when all smartphone users have access to it.
In other citiess, value-added services like this is seen as an example of good customer service and going the extra mile. cost of maintaining a server means nothing if it meant you can provide a service better than what your competitors can offer. interestingly, more and more city governments are taking this task upon themselves as many of the networks are run by many small and medium bus operators with no common interface. let's see if LTA would take a step towards extendimg arrival timing boards to every bus stop, because even a single-line scrolling LED is good enough for a bus stop with about 6 services each displaying arrival time for 5secs.
Ah, not really. For sgbuses, the developer has his own server to cache the iris queries. Sbst's app too uses a special web page to get it's results from too instead of its own mobileiris page.
A powerful database server to generate the timings can easily cost in the 5 digits region, and that is not a small sum since sbst already provides a better service than the other company can... To pay that amount to make it slightly better is not really justifyable. Hope smrt will get theirs running, so sbst will make theirs better or the other option is to give a good optmisation to the system... Its not a small sum to setup the infrastructure for such services, gps modules(which both already has), mobile data modules(which both already has too), servers, software and monthly data charges and power is just some of the things they have to pay.
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At e end of the day, tis is not the US over apps store.
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SBST could leverage on the power of cloud computing... (though it sounds big and I don't know how they're going to export their proprietary software to the cloud)
SBST can also cache the bus timings and update their mobileiris webpage or iPhone app every 2 minutes... (1st minute display timing, 2nd minute just minus 1 minute from the 1st minute timing - this would be much faster than recalculating the timing for every user who logs onto iris... I think!)
Whatever it is, iris has really been a great help since SBST released it 2-3 years back (am I right?)
Just my 2 cents ;)
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any improvements to the app? cant wait to use it.. mobile iris and the captcha thing is still very troublesome..
even refreshing a query also involes a new captcha
or is SBS still remaining silent about the issues?
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Originally posted by 105090:
any improvements to the app? cant wait to use it.. mobile iris and the captcha thing is still very troublesome..
even refreshing a query also involes a new captcha
or is SBS still remaining silent about the issues?
mmm..AR says iPhone (released alrdy) and they'll move on for other mobile platform.
looks like e era of using web-based iris for mobile would soon be over.
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released app but app store review is full of negative comments..
i wont dare to install it anytime soon -
Originally posted by 105090:
released app but app store review is full of negative comments..
i wont dare to install it anytime soon
I've been using it, it's much more accurate than anything else.only thing lag is say you're walking and pressing the 'refresh' button. It may not be able to reflect your location properly
1 prob I've spotted is over loop svs.
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this app could be dramatically improved if we can search by bus stop number.
currently, this feature seems to be missing... or maybe it's just me?