Predicting the future
Up until now, we've assumed a uniform view of the world. Internet connection, when present, is always strong and reliable. If the app is online, we assume that it can synchronize with little or no trouble. Obviously, this is not always the case. The first step to embracing this is to make the app aware of dead zones in the real world.
When a phone goes from good Internet connectivity to bad or no Internet connectivity, make a note of this for future reference. When the phone nears this location again, use passive communication to warn people of impending network troubles.
Writing a predictive algorithm
We'll use location services for this. Our algorithm works as follows:
Is our location accurate within 50 meters? If not, exit.
Are there any points in our database? If not, save the current position (and online/offline state) and exit.
Are we more than ten meters away from the closest point in our database? If so, save the current position and online state.
Are we within ten...
