While using the Tweetie 2 Twitter client on my iPhone a couple of weeks ago, I realized the app developer saw fit to include the option of using any URL shortening service I might desire if the shortening service provided an appropriate API.

API stands for Application Programming Interface. An API allows software to interact with other software. Twitter clients use the Twitter API to implement features of Twitter and access tweets, Twitter uses the Bit.ly API to shorten links using the Bit.ly service, and we have made creative use of various APIs on sites like Columbus College of Art and Design (which uses the Google Calendar API to power its deep set of event and news listings).

Since dynamIt already has a URL shortener built into our site, all we needed was a suitable API. I was able to use the existing scripting to generate and store the shortened URL, and only needed to adjust how the shortened URL was returned for suitable API use.

TinyURL has set a precedent for the simplest response possible—just the new shortened URL. Try calling the following action in your browser where [URL] is the URL you would like to shorten:

http://dynamit.us/url/api.dT?url=[URL]

The response will be the resulting shortened dynamit.us URL in plain text. You can optionally include the title of the page whose URL you are shortening as well:

http://dynamit.us/url/api.dT?title=[TITLE]&url=[URL]

While this simple plain text response can be interpreted by most applications, some developers may prefer a Bit.ly / JSON style response that looks something like this:

{ "shortUrl": "http://dynamit.us/222" }

If so, just add the URL variable “json=true” to the API call (with or without the optional [TITLE] variable):

http://dynamit.us/url/api.dT?json=true&url=[URL]

The Tweetie 2 application I use on my iPhone will accept either format. In Tweetie 2, go to Settings > Services > URL Shortening > Custom and enter:

http://dynamit.us/url/api.dT?url=%@

Or if you want to use the Bit.ly / JSON format just for fun:

http://dynamit.us/url/api.dT?json=true&url=%@

Tweetie recognizes “%@” as where it should include the URL in the API call. Now whenever I am tweeting from my phone and want to include a URL, Tweetie will automatically use the dynamit.us URL shortener to shorten the link for me!

Are there other places where you might like to use our URL shortener?

How to Do It

1. Open Firefox.
2. Type “about:config” into the address bar. After a warning about voiding your warranty (on a free open source product), screwing up your browser, and/or creating a wrinkle in the space/time continuum, this will bring up the Firefox configuration options.
3. Use the filter box to search for “gesture.swipe” and you should see the results below.
4. Double-click on the values for “browser.gesture.swipe.left” and “browser.gesture.swipe.right” and change them to “Browser:PrevTab” and “Browser:NextTab” respectively.
5. Resume browsing as usual and enjoy your new tab-swiping functionality!

MUCH better than the default back/forward swipe functionality!

UPDATE (12/14/09): If you are interested in doing much more with your Mighty Mouse than this, you might want to check out BetterTouchTool, a utility for adjusting all sorts of gestures for both the MacBook touch pad and the Mighty Mouse (they have good taste in WP theme also)!

Get a Google Account

If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Google/Gmail account at gmail.com. If you don’t use your Gmail account for anything other than this, that’s fine. However, your Google account will also be good in the future for logging in to all sorts of other cool Google online services.

Google Calendar

Now visit calendar.google.com and log in with your new Gmail account. It asks for a couple additional bits of info to activate your Calendar, and then you will be set to go. The default calendar will be named after your Gmail address, but you can edit the name to something more appropriate like “Work.” Also, you can add additional calendars for other types of appointments (I have a “Personal” calendar for myself and a “Family” calendar that I share with my wife in addition to my GroupWise-synced “Work” calendar). Note that when you initially sync your iPhone to Google Calendar, all existing appointments in your iPhone will be wiped clean, so take time to fill your Google Calendar with anything you want to keep from your iPhone calendar.

Delegate GroupWise Appointments to Gmail

Open your desktop GroupWise client (web version won’t work) and create a new rule much like you would for an out of office auto-reply. The new rule should do the following: “When event is “Filed Item” to “Calendar” folder, if conditions are “Appointment,” the actions are “delegate to (your username)@gmail.com.” In the delegate action, type “GWDelegate” in the comments to recipient.

This new rule will automatically send a delegated copy of any appointments you accept in GroupWise to your Gmail address (which is attached to your Google Calendar). We will use the “GWDelegate” comment to keep your Gmail inbox from getting flooded with your appointments in the next step.

Filter Out (Delete) the Messages to Gmail

Log into Gmail and click “Create a filter” up near the search box. Filter out messages “From: (your work email address)” that “Has the words: GWDelegate” and click “Next Step.” On the actions menu, check “Skip the Inbox” and “Delete It.” This will send all of your delegated appointments straight to your Trash (they will already be added to your Google Calendar).

Test the Connection Between GroupWise and Google Calendar

Create a new appointment with yourself (an actual appointment – “Posted Appointments” don’t seem to work). Accept it and check to make sure it shows up in your Google Calendar soon after you accept it. You can also check your Gmail Trash for the delegated appointment that was automatically filtered from your Gmail Inbox.

You will need to open all of your existing accepted future appointments and manually delegate them to your Gmail address with the “GWDelegate” comment in the message body to add them to your Google Calendar. The new GroupWise Rule will take care of all future appointments from this point forward.

Synch iPhone with Google Calendar

Make sure your Google Calendar contains all of the appointments that you will want to have in your iPhone, because your iPhone calendar will be wiped clean during the initial synch with Google Calendar. Google has very clear instructions about synching your iPhone with Google Calendar. You can use Safari on your iPhone to select which calendars you want to synch with your iPhone (multiple calendars will show up on the iPhone as different colors, and new events you create on your iPhone can be assigned to any of the calendars!).

Enjoy Your New Synchronized Life!

Your accepted GroupWise appointments will now show up on your iPhone minutes after you accept them in GroupWise! As an added bonus, any events you manually add in your iPhone will sync back to Google Calendar as well. If you share a calendar (like the “Family” one my wife and I share), then either person can add items to that calendar on their iPhone, and the item will sync to the other person’s phone as well!

I still don’t know what took me so long to do this!