It took a while, but Spark now has a dedicated update service, that can be configured to routinely update a gaming account in the background. So far, the feature has been working without a hitch, though more testing is needed, and notifications need to be implemented. I’m also not convinced that the widget is updating as expected.
While monitoring the update service, I noticed something unusual – specifically, that the only time the system re-authenticates is when the Friends list needs to be updated. I tested by removing Friend update from the background task, and saw updates breeze through from that point on.
I mentioned in the FAQ that the main reason for the lackluster speed is the authentication, which tends to add a costly 10-15 seconds each time; I mentioned as well that Spark uses cookies to reduce re-authentication, which may seem contradictory vis-a-vis the previous statement. Truth is that occasionally, Spark is forced to re-authenticate (i.e. send full username and password), because XBL forces redirection, and redirection is usually a sign that the session cookie has expired.
The upshot of all this is that something is going awry with Friend update, which is forcing Spark to re-authenticate. Once I figure out the cause, browsing Spark should be considerably faster, as most pages fetch within 2-5 seconds on a 3G connection.
Tags: authentication, services, speed
HI, my name is omar. i used your app for my Mytouch. I got a problem with registering. Some time ago someone hacked my hotmail acct to spam, i simply changed the password. My hotmail acct is used for my XBL acct. now i try to log onto sparks with the new password for my XBL(hotmail) acct and it giving me this error that my username or password was wrong. at first i thought it was my phone not getting the new password change. that was a month ago. ive deleted all the catch, deleted and re-downloaded the app, but it still gives me this error. took the phone to T-mobil and they told me that the phone is trying to connect but something isnt letting it. can you help. much apreciated.
There are login issues that affect specific accounts that I can’t troubleshoot myself. Debugging this is a huge pain, because I obviously can’t ask for username or password, yet I can’t figure out what’s wrong without looking at the actual data the server is returning. There’s a possibility that Spark will go open source at some point, so just hang in there. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
I got the spark app for my backflip. I gotta say it is awesome. Its so handy and runs smooth. I can’t think of anything u need to do to it. Anyway thanks for the great free app.
I’m a avid xbl user this app is great.. though it got real laggy when I signed in more than two accounts and even crashed and had to reinstall app.. I have HTC Evo 4G.. Nice app though.. can’t send txt msg from silver accounts.. u can from 360 but not from xbox.com
[...] mentioned in an earlier post that the Friends list was responsible for a considerable slowdown in Spark’s performance. [...]