Appetize.io
Dev tools
ios simulator in browser
SHOW HN2014
147points
67comments
#169of 2,272 in 2014
Top 8%of 2014 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
8 positive, 28 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 10 critical, out of 50 comments about the project. Thread score -0.10.
Execution: 3 for, 2 againstIdea: 2 for, 2 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 4 againstPricing: 2 for, 0 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Impressive technical achievement running simulators in browser
From 3 comments
This is really cool! The "video" quality is pretty bad though. From what I can see, the app streams base64 encoded JPEGs via WebSockets and draws them in a Canvas. The overhead…
phoboslab on HNI'm not sure what problem this solves but it's technically cool.
phmagic on HNI'd be willing to pay money for this, seriously. I've followed you on Twitter - let me know if anything happens. We were using and enjoying app.io[0] until they decided to pivot…
erjiang on HN
Replacement for app.io is welcome
From 2 comments
As previously the Head of BD at App.io, I applaud your efforts! Well done! Quite a few ways you can monetise, good luck! :)
daveytea on HNI'd be willing to pay money for this, seriously. I've followed you on Twitter - let me know if anything happens. We were using and enjoying app.io[0] until they decided to pivot…
erjiang on HN
Objections
Video streaming quality is poor and laggy
From 2 comments
This is really cool! The "video" quality is pretty bad though. From what I can see, the app streams base64 encoded JPEGs via WebSockets and draws them in a Canvas. The overhead…
phoboslab on HNWe've actually experimented with jsmpeg for this type of thing. The problem we ran into was that jsmpeg seemed to require every frame from ffmpeg. If the browser or network…
TheMakeA on HN
Demo can be abused and server costs are a concern
From 1 comment
Running an iOS simulator in the browser is different from using a browser to connect to an iOS simulator on a server. That said, this is still cool! My only question is how…
tuscany on HN
Sandboxing lets files on the host be read via simulator
From 2 comments
Well, this is cool, but Safari allows for loading basically any file located on the filesystem. For instance, trying file:///etc/passwd results in file found but can not be…
kaivi on HNSimulator instances aren't sandboxed, so you can transverse the master system's file system with a malicious iOS app. This is indeed an attack vector.
chrisnolet on HN
Does not work in Firefox
From 2 comments
More information about what the site does would be helpful. Also, I get this error on Firefox/Windows "no video with supported format and mime type found" Edit: also click on the…
MichaelApproved on HNI had the same issue, using Firefox 33 on Windows 8.1. It looks like switching to Chrome fixed the demo. Would be nice to have some sort of notice that certain browsers aren't…
ironcrucible on HN
Requests
Landscape and more device types such as iPad
From 2 comments
Needs landscape! Overall very awesome service.
marxdeveloper on HNAgreed! We are also working on supporting additional device types (iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 6(+)).
weiyin on HN
Xamarin or Windows build support
From 2 comments
Just having the simulator isn't enough for us Xamarin developers. One big issue with Xamarin is that you need a mac (with xcode installed) on the network in order to do builds.…
vblord on HNMake it work with Xamarin (Windows).
miguelrochefort on HN
Higher-quality video option
From 2 comments
Nice work! I might pay for a version of this to get our graphic designer off using Xcode (my app uses an art/config format which can be pulled from a web server). Especially if…
dcx on HNThis is really cool! The "video" quality is pretty bad though. From what I can see, the app streams base64 encoded JPEGs via WebSockets and draws them in a Canvas. The overhead…
phoboslab on HN
Questions
How is the backend run and how are frames captured
From 2 comments
I understand those are the web technologies, but how is this being run in the back? Tons of mac servers, with multiple IOS simulators on each? One running per user on the mac?…
B-n-c on HNThe one piece that puzzles me is how the frames are being captured from the iOS simulator. Are you launching multiples per user account, where each one is a different session at…
B-n-c on HN
How will abuse and metering be handled
From 1 comment
Running an iOS simulator in the browser is different from using a browser to connect to an iOS simulator on a server. That said, this is still cool! My only question is how…
tuscany on HN
Alternatives named
app.io demo pages service
From 2 comments
Hi, thanks for checking us out. We're happy to answer any questions in the comments. Some of you may be familiar with app.io's demo pages service which was discontinued in…
weiyin on HNAs previously the Head of BD at App.io, I applaud your efforts! Well done! Quite a few ways you can monetise, good luck! :)
daveytea on HN
Pieceable
From 1 comment
It reminds me of Pieceable: http://www.pieceable.com/
niutech on HN