1) You can go to passsource.com and create your own to test. There servers have been swamped so good luck if you do.
2) From what I've seen it's just some basic fields with no ability for executable code so I think it's pretty safe.
3) You have me worried about the success of Passbook. If you, one of the smartest people on this forum (and that I know of), isn't wrapping their head around it then that tells me that it's not as straightforward as I think it is. Nothing is worth for tech than a great idea that people don't readily understand.
I don't know if its all that difficult. But sometimes I just want to be a user of a service without delving into the internals. I haven't bothered to find out much until now. So I do know about the server, but flipped it off. It just wasn't interesting enough to me.
Thanks for thinking I'm smart, my daughter doesn't always think so.
Rather than posting misinformed guesses, why don't you just browse the developer docs? How it works is spelled out in black and white.
It's simple JSON text and a few images, with a code to tie it to a developer account (and a code to tie it to a specific user). It's also digitally signed. There may be a way to hack it, but it isn't easy.
All Passbook does is act as a dumb conduit. It displays whatever the 3rd party company (Starbucks, etc.) tells it to, as long as the signature is correct. (It's not a dumb conduit in terms of geolocation, time of day, screen brightness, etc. There are a few nifty things that Passbook has that normal apps don't.)
If there's a delay in updating a pass, the delay is the cause of the 3rd party company, *not* Apple or Passbook. Passbook displays what it's told to immediately. If your Starbucks pass isn't being updated quickly, blame Starbucks, not Apple.
And, yes, the Mail, Messages, and Safari apps on iOS all recognize Passbook passes and allow you to add them to Passbook with a tap.
Rather than posting misinformed guesses, why don't you just browse the developer docs? How it works is spelled out in black and white.
It's simple JSON text and a few images, with a code to tie it to a developer account (and a code to tie it to a specific user). It's also digitally signed. There may be a way to hack it, but it isn't easy.
All Passbook does is act as a dumb conduit. It displays whatever the 3rd party company (Starbucks, etc.) tells it to, as long as the signature is correct. (It's not a dumb conduit in terms of geolocation, time of day, screen brightness, etc. There are a few nifty things that Passbook has that normal apps don't.)
If there's a delay in updating a pass, the delay is the cause of the 3rd party company, *not* Apple or Passbook. Passbook displays what it's told to immediately. If your Starbucks pass isn't being updated quickly, blame Starbucks, not Apple.
And, yes, the Mail, Messages, and Safari apps on iOS all recognize Passbook passes and allow you to add them to Passbook with a tap.
As I said, not interested in the internals. Sometimes I get too involved. This time, I decided not to. It's interesting being on the outside for once. It gives me perspective on what the average person is going through. I'm trying to attack it from that angle, rather than from an insider's viewpoint.
I have been saying that the delays are from the outside. Credit card companies don't always update the account for some time. So unless Starbucks, as the example we've been using here, is updating the numbers without actually waiting for your balance to change in your card company's account, we have to wait for that. If they're waiting for the card company to update first, then we need to wait for both.
What I don't understand though is why my Starbucks app updates a good couple of hours before the Passbook window updates. That seems odd.
UPDATE on Sturbucks Passbook usage: For the past couple days my phone hasn't shown the Starbucks pass on the lock screen when I've taken it out of my pocket to use at the store. I have this store set up as one of my Favorites in the pass. Everything is enabled for the app properly.
So after I've been there studying for awhile it will eventually show up, even if I had used it recently to purchase a beverage. I will get rid of it and it will then show up later. I'm not sure of the exact time frame but I'd say it's about a 15 to 30 minute interval. They really should have a window in which passes can be set to not appear again after usage/dismissing (as well as a time of day you can set that passes won't come up at all, like after store hours or times of the day you simply wouldn't likely use it).
No passbook for UK either - strange as the app contains the barcode card page, so presumably the scanning infrastructure is present here.
And to correct the above comment - Passbook passes ARE dynamic. The server will push down an updated version of the pass when, for instance, your balance changes. This was explicitly demoed in the WWDC keynote.
Comments
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
The latter would be case of hacking the algorithm for generating codes. Either way, it's no different than any other coupon scam already in existence.
COUPONGATE. Just give it a few more months for adoption to breed experimentation to breed results.
"Apple is responsible for creating a system for stealing tens of billions in product from all manner of companies."
I don't know if its all that difficult. But sometimes I just want to be a user of a service without delving into the internals. I haven't bothered to find out much until now. So I do know about the server, but flipped it off. It just wasn't interesting enough to me.
Thanks for thinking I'm smart, my daughter doesn't always think so.
Rather than posting misinformed guesses, why don't you just browse the developer docs? How it works is spelled out in black and white.
It's simple JSON text and a few images, with a code to tie it to a developer account (and a code to tie it to a specific user). It's also digitally signed. There may be a way to hack it, but it isn't easy.
All Passbook does is act as a dumb conduit. It displays whatever the 3rd party company (Starbucks, etc.) tells it to, as long as the signature is correct. (It's not a dumb conduit in terms of geolocation, time of day, screen brightness, etc. There are a few nifty things that Passbook has that normal apps don't.)
If there's a delay in updating a pass, the delay is the cause of the 3rd party company, *not* Apple or Passbook. Passbook displays what it's told to immediately. If your Starbucks pass isn't being updated quickly, blame Starbucks, not Apple.
And, yes, the Mail, Messages, and Safari apps on iOS all recognize Passbook passes and allow you to add them to Passbook with a tap.
As I said, not interested in the internals. Sometimes I get too involved. This time, I decided not to. It's interesting being on the outside for once. It gives me perspective on what the average person is going through. I'm trying to attack it from that angle, rather than from an insider's viewpoint.
I have been saying that the delays are from the outside. Credit card companies don't always update the account for some time. So unless Starbucks, as the example we've been using here, is updating the numbers without actually waiting for your balance to change in your card company's account, we have to wait for that. If they're waiting for the card company to update first, then we need to wait for both.
What I don't understand though is why my Starbucks app updates a good couple of hours before the Passbook window updates. That seems odd.
So after I've been there studying for awhile it will eventually show up, even if I had used it recently to purchase a beverage. I will get rid of it and it will then show up later. I'm not sure of the exact time frame but I'd say it's about a 15 to 30 minute interval. They really should have a window in which passes can be set to not appear again after usage/dismissing (as well as a time of day you can set that passes won't come up at all, like after store hours or times of the day you simply wouldn't likely use it).
And to correct the above comment - Passbook passes ARE dynamic. The server will push down an updated version of the pass when, for instance, your balance changes. This was explicitly demoed in the WWDC keynote.