Not sure that this really counts as an API, but I'd like a converter between things in my life which require polling and a push sort-of interface. Here's an example: I ordered some things from eBay, and I'd like to confirm that they arrived in one piece. After clicking "buy it now", I have to somehow remember to confirm within a couple of weeks that the items arrived. I used to add a calendar task N days out with a note like, "ensure delivery of XYZ". However, I've fallen off the wagon on this of late. The fundamental problem is that there is no ebay-originating tickler event which lets me know that it's time to validate delivery. As an analogy, I think I'd like a way to add cron jobs for my life. Imagine your phone asking you, "Hey, did your package arrive?" If you affirm delivery, nothing more happens. If you say no, a task gets added to your todo list to figure out what went wrong (wife mis-placed package, etc.). You can also say "bug me later."
I'm not sure that I've done a good job articulating what I want, in part because I only have a vague notion of what would help me out. I do know that keeping all sorts of "polling lists" in my head (or even in a calendar/todo list) is very stressful. I'd love to offload the work of remembering this stuff to a trusted assistant.
What other things in life are missing async callbacks?
- Cancelling X service before it auto-renews next month/year/whatever
- Generally, any task with the word "confirm" in it
- Audit-related tasks such as making sure my client writes me a check for the amount I invoiced.
One could implement basic "tickler" functionality at first without any back-end integrations and then build one-off interfaces for common use cases -- for example, use the eBay API to observe purchases I've made and add ticklers based on the auction's stated delivery dates. Maybe this service also grabs tracking numbers and digs a level deeper for you. "Remember to grab your package from the front porch -- there's a 90% chance of rain tonight!"
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Not sure that this really counts as an API, but I'd like a converter between things in my life which require polling and a push sort-of interface. Here's an example: I ordered some things from eBay, and I'd like to confirm that they arrived in one piece. After clicking "buy it now", I have to somehow remember to confirm within a couple of weeks that the items arrived. I used to add a calendar task N days out with a note like, "ensure delivery of XYZ". However, I've fallen off the wagon on this of late. The fundamental problem is that there is no ebay-originating tickler event which lets me know that it's time to validate delivery. As an analogy, I think I'd like a way to add cron jobs for my life. Imagine your phone asking you, "Hey, did your package arrive?" If you affirm delivery, nothing more happens. If you say no, a task gets added to your todo list to figure out what went wrong (wife mis-placed package, etc.). You can also say "bug me later."
I'm not sure that I've done a good job articulating what I want, in part because I only have a vague notion of what would help me out. I do know that keeping all sorts of "polling lists" in my head (or even in a calendar/todo list) is very stressful. I'd love to offload the work of remembering this stuff to a trusted assistant.
What other things in life are missing async callbacks?
- Cancelling X service before it auto-renews next month/year/whatever - Generally, any task with the word "confirm" in it - Audit-related tasks such as making sure my client writes me a check for the amount I invoiced.
One could implement basic "tickler" functionality at first without any back-end integrations and then build one-off interfaces for common use cases -- for example, use the eBay API to observe purchases I've made and add ticklers based on the auction's stated delivery dates. Maybe this service also grabs tracking numbers and digs a level deeper for you. "Remember to grab your package from the front porch -- there's a 90% chance of rain tonight!"
A simple todo list with a "later" option could do that. I.e. you write
So, your todolist is empty but you can safely remove that task from your mind as it will remind you in any due time. (I.e. 2 weeks in this example)