Posted on 12-16-12 09:52 am
Notification Center is coming along nicely, but it needs some serious testing before I can put it out for public consumption. That's why I'm announcing the closed beta of it, which will hopefully give this app a stress test and will give me an idea of what needs to be tweaked before I share it with the world at large.
If you're not aware at this point, Notification Center is my latest project, which puts all your toasts in a notification center on your device. Simple, easy, convenient, and oh so useful.
So here are the details. The application is currently in a closed beta. This is because I don't know what impact the application will have on my backend, if used by a large number of people. And as such, the application needs to be tested in control, before I let it loose on the world and cause potential problems for people. It's a safety thing, really.
I don't normally do things like this, but Notification Center is a lot different in nature than anything I've worked on before. Typically, my applications simple homebrew tools that you deploy and forget about. NC, on the other hand, is more of a service, and actually takes resources for me to develop and maintain.
As such, I'm opening up the closed beta to all people who have contributed to WPH through donations, as a thank you for their support, as well as a way to use the test group as a control group. If you have sent me a donation (bought me a drink, as I have to say for legal reasons), you should be receiving an email from me shortly. If you do not, then contact me and tell me what your PayPal email address is and I'll try to get it sorted out. This is the first time I've done something like this, so bear with me.
If you're interested in joining the beta, the obvious step is to join the group of contributers. There's no set contribution amount, as I'm not selling something, but do keep in mind that Notification Center and the other WPH services put a toll on my server, and hey, developing is hard work! (puppy dog eyes)
If you would like to test it out, and are not able to contribute for one reason or another, get in touch with me and I'll see if there's something I can do. Thanks to everyone who's helped me out, either through donations, ideas, feedback, or general reading of my site. Really appreciate it all, everyone.
UPDATE: NC is on hold for now; if you donate and want to be on the list, use the contact form and send me your WLID and I'll get it to you as soon as I sort some stuff out. Truly sorry about that, everyone. I'll make it up to you, I promise.