Nadir series coming soon - with companion app!

I'm currently working on a new series of watch faces, which I'm naming "Nadir".  This is my favourite series so far, and better yet, there's going to be a companion app!

"Nadir" means the lowest point or level, and that is really what I'm aiming for with this series of watch face.  They are stripped back and minimalist, with a black background by default...

Classic

Combi

Graphe

However, you can use the companion app to change the background colour, choosing any colour you want.  It's not finished yet, but here's an early screenshot, showing the simplicity of the app...

You simply move the sliders, which updates the preview pane, and then when you're happy with the colour, click "Send to watch" to update the watch background.  There's also an exit button (the "X") and an about button (the "?"), the later of which gives you a similar brief description of "Nadir" and also a button which will take you to my apps on the Play store.

This app will work specifically for this new "Nadir" series of watch faces, but I plan to create companion apps for some of my other series' in the future. 

Gallifrey series coming soon!

Sorry I've been quiet for a while, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post, which was announcing my first app on the Play store.  Since then, I've launched a number of new watch faces, which can be found on the Play store.

I'm currently working on a series of watch faces with use the Galligrey numerals...

As you can see, this uses a series of circles and lines to represent each number.  Whilst this pattern can continue up to 59, I think it would get harder and harder to read, so the idea is to use this to display the hours only, and then find other ways to display the minutes and AM/PM.

I'm looking forward to this series going public, and I hope you are too!

My first app!

The latest version of WatchMaker let's you convert your .watch file into a proper Android Installation Package (.apk) that can be uploaded to the Google Play app store.  It takes some developer skills and a copy of Android Studio (free to download), but I managed it in an evening.

So I've decided to release my next watch face there instead, to see how popular it is.  My first app!

Blue Bubbles for WatchMaker

This is a watch face which will only with WatchMaker (http://goo.gl/FMxUfY). It is circular, designed and tested on a Moto 360.

The background is blue with a bubble affect. The time is displayed in 24 hour digital format, with the hour of the day in the middle, pointing the correct way for the analog hour, and the minute of the hour displayed at the back.

I hope you like it!

Add your own Wear notifications with IFTTT

There are now a range of apps available from IFTTT - IF This Then That.  In my opinion the original one is also the most useful, and that's IF (originally IFTTT).  This app lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement - if this then that.

Essentially you can link other applications, such as Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. These are referred to as "channels".  There are also some generic channels that you can add, including date/time, phone (including SMS, calls, wifi, location, etc) and smart watch.

Once you've activated the channels which you are interested in and linked the related accounts, you can then start building "recipes".  These are rules that follow the "if this then that" pattern.

The "if this" part of the rule can be thought of as the trigger.  When this event occurs, the recipe will be run.  As far as your smart watch goes, there is only one trigger available - "Tap a button".  Once the recipe has been run, the "then that" part, which can be thought of as the action, will be completed.  For your smart watch, the only action is "Send a notification".  For now, let's focus on the later of these.

You can browse for and create new recipes either online, or in the app.  But let's take a look at the website.  You'll need to start by creating an account of course, or logging into the one you already have, and then clicking the Create a Recipe button...

Then you can click on the "this" link to select a trigger from one of the channels...

Only channels with triggers are displayed initially, and you can search for the one you're after, or select it from the list.  I think it would be better if it only showed you the channels that you've activated, but currently it shows all of them.  For the purposes of this demonstration, I'm going to select "Feed"...

Now I have chosen a channel, I get to choose which trigger from the ones available.  For me, I want to be notified about all new feed items, so I'm going to choose the one on the left.  However, you may want to apply some particular keywords, if there's something you're particularly interested in.

So the next step for this trigger is to enter the feed URL that you're interested in, and obviously I'm particularly interested in this blog (obviously!).  Then click "Create Trigger" to move on to the next part...

Now click "that" to select the channel for your action - I've searched for "android" to make it easier to find...

And click "Android Wear" to get a list of available actions, which as I've already said, there's only one...

So click "Send a notification" to move on...

You now get the option to specify how you want the notification to appear, both the text and the image.  You can use tags in order to pull in information from the feed item itself, or add your own hardcoded text.  Click "Create Action" when you're happy...

The final step is to add a "Recipe Title", and then you can finish off by clicking "Create Recipe".  Shortly this will sync to your phone as well, and then you should find that next time this blog is updated with a new post, your watch will light up to tell you!  

You can also view this recipe on the website, already created for you, and ready to add to your collection... Wear360 blog notifications on watch.

There's great flexibility here, with the ability to combine so many different channels and point them all at your watch.  Many apps on your phone will notify you already (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, etc), but for everything else, there's  IF!

The biggest limitation at the moment is that you can only have one account linked per channel.  This means that if you've got multiple Gmail accounts, or multiple Twitter accounts (for example), then you have to choose which one you wish to use, you can't link them all.  Luckily this is something that IFTTT are working on for a future version...

Browse recipes with smart watch "tap a button" as the trigger
Browse recipes with smart watch "send a notification" as the action

New favourite app - Authenticator Plus

It's official, I have a new favourite app!

I think it's universally accepted that Two Factor Authentication (2FA) is a good idea.  In short, many sites allow you to add an extra later of authentication.  Typically this works by having a code that needs to be entered whilst logging into a new device, which is tied physically to the user in some way...

• SMS message to register mobile number
• One Time Password (OTP) created by an authenticator app
• One Time Password (OTP) created by a Yubikey

It is also common to have two factor authentication using additional information, such as a pin number or security question.  However, this is still something that can be guessed more easily, so I personally don't count these as proper two factor authentication.  And there's also biometrics, but we've all seen Minority Report!

With each of the options in the list above, you have to register your device in some way.  Once registered, you log in by entering your username and password as before, but then you are taken to a second screen.  This second screen insists that you enter a code, which only you can generate/retrieve using your registered device, thus proving that it is you who are logging in.  You usually get the option to make this a trusted device, which means you won't be asked for the two factor code on this device for a while, usually 30 days.

Initially I setup my main accounts (especially Google!) to use SMS authentication.  This is easy to setup, as all they need is your mobile number.  However, there can sometimes be a delay in the site sending your message, or it being delivered, especially if you're in an area with poor reception.  So I had to investigate other options.

I have a Yubikey and it is pretty cool, you plug it into a USB port and when required you put the cursor in the code field and click the button on the device - it is registered like a keyboard so it can generate and spit out a code directly into the field.  It even clicks enter for you, submitting the form - very cool!  Unfortunately, not many sites support them, and you then have to make sure that you have the Yubikey on you all the time.

The best option I've found is to use an authenticator app.  This is on your phone, and who doesn't have their phone on them all the time anyway?  There are a few options, but here are a couple of examples...

Google Authenticator                    Authenticator Plus

Originally I loved Google Authenticator, but now I prefer Authenticator Plus, and here's why...

1. It uses the Material Design - this is a Google thing, so I'm sure they'll catch up soon.
2. It shows the icons appropriate for the account, making them more easily distinguishable at a glance.
3. It can backup and restore the linked accounts from the cloud - mine is saved to Dropbox, which is also one of my linked accounts).
4. You can also see the codes on your smartwatch - no need to get your phone out of your pocket!

I find this so convenient, I love it.  I'm a big user of Dropbox, which means I'm often finding I want to grab a file on a public computer, and this means I often need to grab a new code.  The voice command is "Start Authenticator" and then you immediately have your first linked account on the screen, with the current code.  Swipe up and down to move between the linked accounts, simple as that.

If you don't have two factor authentication in your digital life, get it!  And if you don't have Authenticator Plus on your phone and watch to manage your linked accounts, get it!