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Show HN: Create a beautiful timeline with TimeKiwi

145 points by mihar 15y ago

geekytenny 15y ago
It is nice.
mihar 15y ago
This was a weekend project and started as a proof of concept that a timeline can be created completely on the client side. That's why don't get fooled by the occasional choking of our kiwi squeezer, it's just the APIs that are unstable. Depending on the feedback we'll receive, we also have a business version in the works.
bprater 15y ago
Would be nice to see a full page sample of what it looks like!
- mihar 15y ago
  Agreed, it's really simple to create your own though.
  - mistermann 15y ago
    Perhaps, I have no way of knowing without trying it, and I've been disappointed too many times before so I'll just pass. Having a pre-existing demo would have been so easy for you, but I'm sure you knew that already.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- mihar 15y ago
  I just added examples of companies and individuals on the front page. Good tip.
  - garry 15y ago
    Wow, honored to be on your homepage! Thanks. Can I claim my account? =)
  - tadruj 15y ago
    garry: no accounts, everything in a link, fully client side. But we'd be curious to see your Instagram connected, which only you can do.
davidu 15y ago
Nice UI -- The application doesn't move the needle for me, but it's certainly a nice looking service. As an aside, I think one of the things people like about Facebook's timeline is the intelligence involved in deciding what to show and what not to show (and how it evolves over time).
- mihar 15y ago
  It's true, but as this was a simple client-side only experiment I couldn't go into those depths. In the future, when the paid version is server-side we'll probably implement more intelligent aggregation, grouping and other stuff.
mieses 15y ago
do you see any difference between a chronological log and a timeline?
- tadruj 15y ago
  log being all things and timeline being important things ?
  - mieses 15y ago
    There is more to the time dimension than just chronology. The amount of time between events, the frequency of events, etc?
monkeygus 15y ago
pretty cool. nice ui , but it does react strangely when you hit the back button in the browser
- mihar 15y ago
  Yep, it's one of those kinks we'll iron out as this goes into more serious use.
yogrish 15y ago
Very neat UI. Love the feature of "Rotate" to view timline in both ways.. ..Does this app show data of prev 1 month. If so Period selection would be awesome. My fav.time line till now: http://37signals.com/about http://37signals.com/about
drac 15y ago
I really like the idea and UI, thanks for sharing. Minor typo: Let it be investors, founders, owners or just jourself should be "yourself".
Shenglong 15y ago
Really awesome idea, it's gorgeous too.
dbz 15y ago
It looks like they liked the new Facebook timeline and put it on Twitter
- user-id 15y ago
  No kidding. This however has a lot more potential thanks to support for multiple sources. That said, I can see Facebook adding support to Timeline for content aggregation using other online services.
- tadruj 15y ago
  We liked the Facebook timeline, but it felt a little claustrophobic.
mihar 15y ago
Just shipped Posterous support.
navs 15y ago
I'm curious. Why the 'Kiwi' in TimeKiwi? Are you based in New Zealand?
- tadruj 15y ago
  Low or non-existing SEO and a thing that everybody knows. No New Zealand, but we'd like to go there :)
- zb 15y ago
  Nobody from New Zealand would ever refer to a kiwifruit as a Kiwi ;)
alphakappa 15y ago
This is probably awesome, but it might be nice to show a few example timelines. I don't really want to fill out a bunch of fields before I understand what this is all about. Not just because I'm lazy, but also because it's in your interest to show me (and others) what this is about. Always assume that your visitors are itching to hit the 'back' button.
- gokhan 15y ago
  Check the bottom of the page for "Examples of People", "Examples of Companies". Here's one: http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=vertical,twitter=garrytan,posterous=garry.posterous.com http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=vertical,twitt...,
LeandroLovisolo 15y ago
Minor typo: "Timekiwi fetches activities from tiwtter".
pyrtsa 15y ago
Hmm, I think the months menu [1] that opens when you take the mouse to the bottom right corner should have months listed in the opposite order. It feels more logical to get the most recent months down, closest to the mouse cursor, and the least recent furthest up. [1]: http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#posterous=garry.posterous.com http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#posterous=garry.posterous.... Edit: Ok, it might not feel that natural anymore with the scrolling behavior, since the timeline itself has time pointing upwards. How about moving the menu to the top?
- mihar 15y ago
  Yep, also we were also thinking about the order in the horizontal version [1] to be reversed. What are your thoughts on that? [1]: http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=horizontal,posterous=garry.posterous.com http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=horizontal,pos...,
epaga 15y ago
Nice! I'm curious - do you guys plan an API or something? Why I ask is I'm one of the devs of LineTime, an iPad/iPhone app which displays world history as a zoomable timeline. I could envision an app where people can view or download their own custom timelines using your data and our timeline visualization... Anyhow, here's a demo video of LineTime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW__WZ6pxJ8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW__WZ6pxJ8 Shoot me an email if you're interested: john @ linetimeapp com Edit: Just noticed the timeline stuff is created client-side only, so maybe it isn't as good a fit as I thought. Are you planning on enabling clients to store timeline info on a server and create their own timelines?
Qa8BBatwHxK8Pu 15y ago
Why can't i drag with clickhold?
cedlimed 15y ago
sweet ui, would have loved a clickable scroller on both ends of the horizontal timeline though
- mihar 15y ago
  Good tip, I was pretty struggling with providing some logical navigation in the horizontal mode. I settled with some vertical-scroll translation to horizontal-scroll in order to facilitate people with mice with scroll-wheels...
alexkearns 15y ago
For a second, I thought you were referencing our app - http://www.tiki-toki.com http://www.tiki-toki.com !
- chanux 15y ago
  Yours is a neat app too. Kudos!
- ordinathorreur 15y ago
  Another timeline HN guy checking in here! I built http://www.timetoast.com http://www.timetoast.com a couple of years ago and I love seeing new timeline apps pop up. Good luck guys, they both look great :)
swah 15y ago
Perhaps you guys could try auto-converting some Wiki articles (or a category page, like US Presidents) to generate content?
listic 15y ago
Interesting idea, beautiful timelines. But I can't figure what goes on the left and what on the right. Vertical line implies those are two distinct types of information.
- mihar 15y ago
  Hmm, vertical line was planned to be just a node, from out of which events in time grow out. That being said, there's no difference between left and right.
swiecki 15y ago
You jerks! Don't you dare tell me not to try it now. I saw that and thought, "Dammit I'm trying this immediately!"
graemem 15y ago
Your page says "Don't try it now", so I didn't.
freejack 15y ago
I would have tried to buy "timelime.com" - or maybe they did and had to settle for timekiwi.com Either way, great looking app. Good luck.
itsnotvalid 15y ago
Can I put my facebook profile to this too? (the one in facebook seems to be broken)
- mihar 15y ago
  Facebook connect is in the works, but it will likely require the server-side version.
kilian 15y ago
You can make those timelines instantly more cool by using oEmbeds, for example via http://embed.ly/ http://embed.ly/ ;)
yogrish 15y ago
what is the stack/web technologies you have used?
- mihar 15y ago
  So as this was an experiment in client-side scripting and to see if I can create something viable just with that: - HTML5 - CSS3 - JavaScript Ok, I have to admit, I used a server-side proxy to convert RSS to JSONP. :) That one's a sinatra app.
kra 15y ago
Add support for more feeds, ideally a plain default for RSS/Atom, and I'll be excited to try it. I'm currently using http://memolane.com/ http://memolane.com/.

145 points by mihar 15y ago

It is nice.

mihar 15y ago

This was a weekend project and started as a proof of concept that a timeline can be created completely on the client side. That's why don't get fooled by the occasional choking of our kiwi squeezer, it's just the APIs that are unstable. Depending on the feedback we'll receive, we also have a business version in the works.

bprater 15y ago

Would be nice to see a full page sample of what it looks like!

mihar 15y ago
Agreed, it's really simple to create your own though.
- mistermann 15y ago
  Perhaps, I have no way of knowing without trying it, and I've been disappointed too many times before so I'll just pass. Having a pre-existing demo would have been so easy for you, but I'm sure you knew that already.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
mihar 15y ago
I just added examples of companies and individuals on the front page. Good tip.
- garry 15y ago
  Wow, honored to be on your homepage! Thanks. Can I claim my account? =)
- tadruj 15y ago
  garry: no accounts, everything in a link, fully client side. But we'd be curious to see your Instagram connected, which only you can do.

davidu 15y ago

Nice UI -- The application doesn't move the needle for me, but it's certainly a nice looking service. As an aside, I think one of the things people like about Facebook's timeline is the intelligence involved in deciding what to show and what not to show (and how it evolves over time).

mihar 15y ago
It's true, but as this was a simple client-side only experiment I couldn't go into those depths. In the future, when the paid version is server-side we'll probably implement more intelligent aggregation, grouping and other stuff.

mieses 15y ago

do you see any difference between a chronological log and a timeline?

tadruj 15y ago
log being all things and timeline being important things ?
- mieses 15y ago
  There is more to the time dimension than just chronology. The amount of time between events, the frequency of events, etc?

monkeygus 15y ago

pretty cool. nice ui , but it does react strangely when you hit the back button in the browser

mihar 15y ago
Yep, it's one of those kinks we'll iron out as this goes into more serious use.

yogrish 15y ago

Very neat UI. Love the feature of "Rotate" to view timline in both ways.. ..Does this app show data of prev 1 month. If so Period selection would be awesome. My fav.time line till now: http://37signals.com/about http://37signals.com/about

drac 15y ago

I really like the idea and UI, thanks for sharing. Minor typo: Let it be investors, founders, owners or just jourself should be "yourself".

Shenglong 15y ago

Really awesome idea, it's gorgeous too.

dbz 15y ago

It looks like they liked the new Facebook timeline and put it on Twitter

user-id 15y ago
No kidding. This however has a lot more potential thanks to support for multiple sources. That said, I can see Facebook adding support to Timeline for content aggregation using other online services.
tadruj 15y ago
We liked the Facebook timeline, but it felt a little claustrophobic.

mihar 15y ago

Just shipped Posterous support.

navs 15y ago

I'm curious. Why the 'Kiwi' in TimeKiwi? Are you based in New Zealand?

tadruj 15y ago
Low or non-existing SEO and a thing that everybody knows. No New Zealand, but we'd like to go there :)
zb 15y ago
Nobody from New Zealand would ever refer to a kiwifruit as a Kiwi ;)

alphakappa 15y ago

This is probably awesome, but it might be nice to show a few example timelines. I don't really want to fill out a bunch of fields before I understand what this is all about. Not just because I'm lazy, but also because it's in your interest to show me (and others) what this is about. Always assume that your visitors are itching to hit the 'back' button.

gokhan 15y ago
Check the bottom of the page for "Examples of People", "Examples of Companies". Here's one: http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=vertical,twitter=garrytan,posterous=garry.posterous.com http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=vertical,twitt...,

LeandroLovisolo 15y ago

Minor typo: "Timekiwi fetches activities from tiwtter".

pyrtsa 15y ago

Hmm, I think the months menu [1] that opens when you take the mouse to the bottom right corner should have months listed in the opposite order. It feels more logical to get the most recent months down, closest to the mouse cursor, and the least recent furthest up. [1]: http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#posterous=garry.posterous.com http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#posterous=garry.posterous.... Edit: Ok, it might not feel that natural anymore with the scrolling behavior, since the timeline itself has time pointing upwards. How about moving the menu to the top?

mihar 15y ago
Yep, also we were also thinking about the order in the horizontal version [1] to be reversed. What are your thoughts on that? [1]: http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=horizontal,posterous=garry.posterous.com http://timekiwi.com/timeline.html#orientation=horizontal,pos...,

epaga 15y ago

Nice! I'm curious - do you guys plan an API or something? Why I ask is I'm one of the devs of LineTime, an iPad/iPhone app which displays world history as a zoomable timeline. I could envision an app where people can view or download their own custom timelines using your data and our timeline visualization... Anyhow, here's a demo video of LineTime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW__WZ6pxJ8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW__WZ6pxJ8 Shoot me an email if you're interested: john @ linetimeapp com Edit: Just noticed the timeline stuff is created client-side only, so maybe it isn't as good a fit as I thought. Are you planning on enabling clients to store timeline info on a server and create their own timelines?

Qa8BBatwHxK8Pu 15y ago

Why can't i drag with clickhold?

cedlimed 15y ago

sweet ui, would have loved a clickable scroller on both ends of the horizontal timeline though

mihar 15y ago
Good tip, I was pretty struggling with providing some logical navigation in the horizontal mode. I settled with some vertical-scroll translation to horizontal-scroll in order to facilitate people with mice with scroll-wheels...

alexkearns 15y ago

For a second, I thought you were referencing our app - http://www.tiki-toki.com http://www.tiki-toki.com !

chanux 15y ago
Yours is a neat app too. Kudos!
ordinathorreur 15y ago
Another timeline HN guy checking in here! I built http://www.timetoast.com http://www.timetoast.com a couple of years ago and I love seeing new timeline apps pop up. Good luck guys, they both look great :)

swah 15y ago

Perhaps you guys could try auto-converting some Wiki articles (or a category page, like US Presidents) to generate content?

listic 15y ago

Interesting idea, beautiful timelines. But I can't figure what goes on the left and what on the right. Vertical line implies those are two distinct types of information.

mihar 15y ago
Hmm, vertical line was planned to be just a node, from out of which events in time grow out. That being said, there's no difference between left and right.

swiecki 15y ago

You jerks! Don't you dare tell me not to try it now. I saw that and thought, "Dammit I'm trying this immediately!"

graemem 15y ago

Your page says "Don't try it now", so I didn't.

freejack 15y ago

I would have tried to buy "timelime.com" - or maybe they did and had to settle for timekiwi.com Either way, great looking app. Good luck.

itsnotvalid 15y ago

Can I put my facebook profile to this too? (the one in facebook seems to be broken)

mihar 15y ago
Facebook connect is in the works, but it will likely require the server-side version.

kilian 15y ago

You can make those timelines instantly more cool by using oEmbeds, for example via http://embed.ly/ http://embed.ly/ ;)

yogrish 15y ago

what is the stack/web technologies you have used?

mihar 15y ago
So as this was an experiment in client-side scripting and to see if I can create something viable just with that: - HTML5 - CSS3 - JavaScript Ok, I have to admit, I used a server-side proxy to convert RSS to JSONP. :) That one's a sinatra app.

kra 15y ago

Add support for more feeds, ideally a plain default for RSS/Atom, and I'll be excited to try it. I'm currently using http://memolane.com/ http://memolane.com/.