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GeyserLog 2.2 Available


For the past year or so, GeyserLog app for iOS devices has been available in the Apple App Store. I'm constantly updating it, adding new features and fixing bugs and generally trying to keep making it better. Yesterday I updated the app in the store to version 2.2.

The app is more than just a substitute for the GeyserTimes webpage. It also includes a Today widget which can display information even when the device is locked.

The Latest Activity tab has three sections. At the top is the Main section. These are features that the user cares about most. These features are the ones that are shown in the Today Widget. Below that is a section for other features the user would like to display. A third section is hidden, but can be used as a place to park features that the user wants quick access to.

If the user chooses, predictions can also be shown for features that are predicted by either the NPS, or by GeyserTimes. The user can also add a "local" prediction window for any feature in those cases when you'd like to have some sort of reminder for when to start paying attention. There's also "Night Mode", which will tint the display red and reduce the brightness.

The user can also add rows that show the current weather conditions and the current weather forecast. (This information is provided by DarkSky) There's also an Almanac row which will show the current sunrise, sunset and lunar info.

The Activity Timeline shows all activity in the order in which it happened. The user has the ability to filter this list, to only show those features that are part of one of the Latest Activity sections. (This is where the Hidden Features section becomes useful.) The user can also choose to show or hide notes.

The Eruption View is a stopwatch with added functionality. When the user chooses the "Submit" button, a record for submission to the server is created with most fields filled in. This includes not just the eruption time and observer info, but the feature and eruption duration. Ideally, all the user needs to do is touch the "Submit" button to finish the process. Submitted events are queued up and the app will keep retrying to send them when network connectivity is poor. (Like most days in the UGB...)

The WebCam tab is just that. It shows the current webcam. (Useful if you want to check on where its pointed...)

The Video Camera tab allows the user to record videos directly from the app. It works with the Eruption View's stopwatch function, so the user can get an eruption time without needing to look at another timing device. It can also impose a timestamp on the recorded video. (Note: this function can cause some stuttering of the recording on older, slower devices. Imposing an image over live video requires consderable work, or at least I've yet to find a better way.)

The Predictions tab will show all the predictions that the user has selected, with the next up first.

The Almanac tab will show solar and lunar information (including lunar eclipses). It defaults to the current date/time, but can be adjusted for any given day. (Solar eclipsed will be added someday, but the priority is now pretty low.)

And... There's also an AppleTV version of the app. It's primarily intended as a way to view the webcam on the AppleTV, but does provide the ability to show the Latest Activity and Activity Timeline. It also includes most of the filtering options.

The app is not free. The price helps pay for the costs of software tools and graphics tools needed for app development, along with fees for the weather information and licensing of graphics icons. Geyser gazers are welcome to contact me and get a Promo Code which will allow downloading of the app for free. I'm also open to suggestions for features users would like to see added, or bugs that need to be fixed.