Call for free with Simyo is improving a lot!

Simyo’s contest was supposed to finish last Tuesday but the organizers decided to give the developers an extra week. I complained a bit because they destroyed my vacations, but I realize soon after that it was going to be good to have an extra week to improve the application.

What had the application improved this last week?

1. Better architecture. I split the web frontend (the web application you can see on facebook) completely of the VoIP backend (the call manager) on two different servers running on different locations. Now the application is ready to scale.
2. Way better sound quality. AMG (a local network service provider) lent me a provisional SIP account, more than enough to improve 1000% call’s reliability and sound quality. I need more accounts for reliability reasons, though, is someone interested?
3. Completely new user interface. Polished, a lot more integrated on facebook, making use of facebook widgets. A long way to go, though, but a lot better than the pre-release version you could saw on video last week. Now it’s time for user usability reporting and web2.0 effects
4. Multilingual. The application works, so what is the reason to reduce their commercial potential focusing only on the Spanish market? No reason. As facebook didn’t provide yet the multilingual capabilities I designed the application to understand Spanish and English, and Vasque, French and German translations are coming soon. Catalian anyone?
5. Developer corner. I’m the only one developer but I like to work on a complete environment. Nowadays the application had a subversion repository, a wiki with my last thoughts and documentation and a bug reporting software for me and betatesters (some techie friends)
6. Bugfixing. Lots and lots of bugs had been resolved, and lots of new ones are being fixed every single day.

I continue to have ideas to improve the functionality or reliability of the application. I’m thinking in several cool improvements. I don’t know if the application will be ready to enter an open beta state on time (maybe by the middle of next week?) but for sure at the beginning it will have less functionality than other VoIP applications.

Don’t complain! It’s working, it’s a complex system with lots of components and has been programmed on a garage

Related posts:

1. Call for free with Simyo video update
2. Facebook Application for Simyo developer’s competition
3. Facebook development garage @ Madrid
4. Open protocols for virtual worlds and social networks
5. Bidimensional codes