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Welcome to the Wizi blog. Please post here your comments and feedback.
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Wizi has associated with the "Pastel de Nata Brotherwood", an organization started within the online social network The Startracker which gathers Portuguese talents spread around the world.
“The Pastel de Nata is a very banal
thing in the life of the Portuguese and therefore can help to spread
the image of Portugal abroad”, said José António Sousa, Startracker member and founder
of the brotherhood. One of the first initiatives of the
Brotherhood was the creation of a Pastel de Nata World Map, which can
be found on http://pasteldenata.org.
Any user may contribute sharing the pastry where he can eat his favourite pastel de nata map by creating a Public Place on Wizi and typing #PN somewhere in the place's description.
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We've been working hard in our Wizi Java version. This platform will allow Wizi to run in most models from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and others. The present version has no interactive map yet (expected to be available in July). Until then, some features are limited and the map is opened in the mobile's web browser. This version can't use Cell ID, so if you would like to try out you should have a GPS enabled phone or an external GPS. At the moment we have a signed version (not compatible with all models) and an unsigned version, which makes users clicking more often authorizing the actions. You should try first the signed version and then the unsigned version in case installation is not successful. To install Wizi for Java ME, please type the following address in your cellphone's browser: Signed version: http://download.wizi.com/midlet/wizi.jad
Unsigned version: http://download.wizi.com/midlet/Wizi.jar We're looking forward for your feedback. Please send us your opinion to info@wizi.com and don't forget to mention the cellphone's model when addressing any question to us.
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‘Big Brother!’ This is the most common reaction from
people who hear or read about Wizi for the very first time. I’ve seen it in
many forums and blogs, I’ve heard it from friends and unknown people I’ve talked
to. "Big Brother!" they say "that means my boss or my wife may track me at
any time. There will be no peace from now on…" Most of these comments are made
in a funny tone but there’s always some truth in it. People are concerned
with their privacy.
The concept
of Big Brother, raised in George Orwell’s novel, is related with another
concept investigated by the French philosopher Michel Foucault: the Panoptic. In his book Discipline and Punish, Foucault analyzed
the Panopticon, a prison that was structured in a way that all cells would be
opened to a central tower. Prisoners could never know whether they were being
watched or not, but they knew someone could be watching them at any moment. This
uncertainty, this constant possibility of being watched (pan=all; optic=seeing)
would make prisoners more docile and self-controlled.
George
Orwell used this concept to describe an authoritarian society where all
citizens were "good citizens". In every home, in every working place, there was the
telescreen (a mashup between a television set and a security camera) which
could never be switched off. At any moment, anywhere, big brother could be watching so every citizen had to behave.
The idea of
having all your friends and colleagues controlling your steps is, in fact, frightening. We all need our space, our privacy. The other day I was demoing Wizi to a couple, and the husband told me instantly:
‘Big Brother!’ And then he said: ‘Listen, I don’t mind if my wife knows where I
am… as long as I’m home. But I don’t want her to spy on me’. The wife
replied: ‘I don’t want to know what he’s
doing when he’s away. And I don’t want him to know where I am. He’s too jealous’.
And then they kissed and laughed at it. Then I explained that Wizi in not about
controlling, but about sharing information. I mean, you just tell what you want
to tell: you can set yourself invisible or, as in life, you can always lie
about your whereabouts. They enjoyed the idea. And this is the big difference
between Wizi and any panoptic device: you decide when someone can be watching you, you decide who can watch you and for how long. You define what that person will see when watching you. Wizi is a social application, not a surveillance device.
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We are looking for enthusiastic people that want to work with the best technology in the world! :)
If you have skills in Java, C#, C++ or whatever you fill confortable that could contribute for the improve of Wizi technology please send me an Email -> miguels@wizi.com or just invite me in Wizi (http://wizi.com/miguels)
We are building Wizi on the following Platforms:
- Android
- iPhone
- JavaME - Blackberry
- Windows CE
If you think are good in any of those or just want to start, this is the right place. We are also very open to any Mashup you might think interesting.
Miguel Santos
CSA - Wizi
Find me @ http://wizi.com/miguels
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A new preview for Java ME compatible devices in now available. We are still fixing some bugs and haven't placed it in our download page yet. However, some users showed interest on start trying it right away.
In this version:
- Some features are limited
- Location using Cell ID is not available
- Interactive maps are not implemented yet: temporarily we are using static maps by opening the web browser. This solution lets you see yourself, your friends and your places on the map, but doesn't allow routes.
To download Wizi for your Java compatible device, point your phone's web browser to the following address:
http://download.wizi.com/midlet/Wizi.jad
Please feel free to use our help by posting a comment here or by sending me an e-mail to andreg@wizi.com. This application is being developed for you, so let us know your opinion.
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Last month Wizi won the first prize in the Orange API and Widget Contest. Second runners were Microsoft and Cellfish Media. The event was held at Orange Partner Camp in Faro, Portugal and intended to find innovative applications able to make
use of their APIs. Participants had no prior access to
them and had to develop their solutions during the Camp with help from
Orange API engineers during
one or two days of work. Wizi partnered with Symlabs, a global leader
in identity management, for the mashup development. The demonstration was presented live to an audience of 600
participants and included features as signing in using Orange Authentication API
and importing contacts to Wiziʼs social network using Orange Contacts
API. 
According to Wiziʼs CEO, Paulo Dimas, “The launch of Orange APIs is an exciting moment for Wizi. Orange customers will now be able to benefit from Wiziʼs unique location sharing features in a seamless way and Wizi can extend its user base to the large universe of Orange subscribers. In the future, we look forward to integrate with other Orange APIs, like the Calendar API, where Wiziʼs travel time prediction technology could be used to alert users of when to leave for an important meeting.”
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Miguel @Wizi Just receive an email from google with our results from android challenge, we were on top 25% of all applications:
Hi,
Thanks again for participating in the Android Developer Challenge. We have had a lot of constructive feedback from our developer partners who have contributed to the success of the challenge. In listening to the feedback, we heard that participants would like more visibility into the ranking of their entries. As you know, entries were judged on the following criteria: Effective Use, Polish, Indispensability, Originality. Due to the large number of high quality entries, many of the submissions received scores that are extremely close to each other.
That's why a single individual score would provide less information than the relative ranking of each submission when compared to the other submissions.
Below is the percentile ranking for your application in these four categories and the overall score. The first set of scores is for the percentile ranking for specific categories; for example, it shows how your application ranked among all the other apps in "Effective use", "Polish", "Indispensability", and "Originality". The final score shows your application's overall ranking among all of the submissions.
Wizi
Effective use: In the top 25% of all submitted applications
Polish: In the 25th to 50th percentile of all submitted applications
Indispensability: In the top 25% of all submitted applications
Originality: In the top 25% of all submitted applications
Overall: In the top 25% of all submitted applications
Thank you,
Android Developer Challenge Team
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For those who don't know Twitter, it is a service that allows people to communicate small sentences (up to 140 characters) to their friends, family and co-workers. The followers can receive the posts in many possible ways, including free sms. This microblog lets people quickly answer to the question 'What are you doing?' in a easy way. And soon users will be able to twitt in a Wizi way!
Wizi will include a new feature where users may publish Twitts including their location automatically. By posting in Twitter, Wizi will automatically insert your location in the message. There are many other possible scenarios in our integration with Twitter and we are opened to all challenges.
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A few days ago our web developer, Susana,
was working at Wizi Headquarters when Miguel, our Chief Software
Architect asked her how could she be moving away.That was really odd, once she was sat at her desk and Miguel was just in front of her, but they could watch her driving around in Lisbon. They were perplexed wondering how this strange
new bug could be happening. But then she searched for her mobile phone and
realized that it had been left in the cab. They were seeing where her missing phone was. Susana first tried
to dial her number but no one answered.
Then she called the taxi company but the operator did not succeed on locating the
driver. Then the chase began.
Miguel jumped to his car and Susana followed him using Wizi to tell the
directions. They followed the taxi for around 30 minutes, always a few seconds behind. Until Wizi told them they were there. They saw a taxi stand and Susana recognized the driver, looking very happy while playing with her phone.
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| 'Please give me my phone back' |
He was really
surprised when he suddenly saw Susana holding out her hand and asking her phone back.
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One of the most useful things about Wizi is something I never expected. I thought my main use would be to keep track of friends to link up for social purposes, or to let my wife know if I'm on the way home, saving me and her all those extra, "when are you coming home?" calls.
But the most frequent thing I do with Wizi is glance at the screen to see where my business partners are before I call them.
If it's early in the morning, or late at night, I want to know if Peter is still burning the midnight oil at the office, or if he's at home with his daughter. For routine calls, I won't bother him at home, but maybe if he's commuting, or working late at the office, that's a good time to catch him for a chat.
I keep myself visible to all my business partners, too. At first, I thought it was a little strange to let them know where I was every minute of the day or night, but now I actually find it very convenient - for me - that they can find out where I am at a glance. If I'm late for a meeting, or on my way, they know. If they want to call me, they know where I am at the time. Maybe if I'm at my favorite restaurant, they're going to postpone the call. And if I'm still at work, they can call even if it's late.
I admit it took a mental leap to set Wizi to show my location so often (and sometimes I do turn it off), but now that I've done it, it seems completely natural, and I wish more of my friends and colleagues used Wizi to find me.
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Some users have asked us why have we suspended the download for Nokia compatible devices. Well, the fact is that this platform is our priority at the moment. The features in the preview version were very limited and the user experience poor. We are developping fast the new version of Wizi for Java 2ME compatible devices (such as Nokia mobile phones) and prefer making you wait a few days and deliver an application that will meet your expectations.
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BLACKBERRY
Our BlackBerry preview version is much more battery friendly and can be used with no fear in your BlackBerry 8310 or BlackBerry Pearl. Believe me, I use it everyday. It also supports Cell ID in case you are indoors or without GPS signal. Our Cell ID database is created by our users’ community, so we all are helping each-one finding our way.
WINDOWS MOBILE
Our Windows Mobile version is the most developed one and has been recently updated. Here are its main new features:
Cell ID – This new release already supports location without GPS, automatically activated when the device can not detects GPS signal. Note that this feature is still restricted to certain regions and operators. You may notice a target composed by circles centring you on the map. That represents the probability of your actual location.
"Me" on map – In this version, besides your avatar on the map, you will also see a blue circle (blue arrow if you are moving). The blue object represents your real location, while the avatar shows how other users see you. For instance, if you enter in "Keep Me Here" feature, your avatar will stay in the assigned location.
Visibility – Users are now able to change very easily their visibility, switching between "Share Actual Location", "Keep Me Here" and "Invisible" mode. You may find this feature by pressing the small icon on the right corner of the lower bar (Earth for Actual Location, Earth with Pushpin for Keep Me Here and Ghost for invisible mode).
Offline Friends – When clicking on an friend which is invisible or offline, a new screen will appear where you will be able to ask him to share his location. This way he will receive a message on Wizi and e-mail notifying him that you want to see him on the map.
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We have detected some bugs in this new version and I can describe two of them that are quite annoying:
- If we select a person or a place to see on the map, it happens to appear with a twin brother, or something. We call it the twin brother bug.
- The Cell ID feature also insists on constantly placing us in different locations once we’re indoors. This bug will be corrected and in the future, if you are out of GPS signal but inside the same Cell ID radius, Wizi will keep you in the same location.
Those bugs and more will be fixed in the next build. Please report more bugs you have found or suggest the feature you would like to have in the future. We may include them in next release.
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