Mintype

It’s exciting, because it’s spontaneous. 

Celebrating 30 years of Macintosh, this short clip is a showcase of how people around the world is harnessing its power to create, to entertain, and to make things they wouldn’t have dreamed up of. Apple didn’t put the power into the hands of people. Technology has. But Apple makes it accessible to everyone. Toddlers to grandparents, connecting together.

The most interesting takeaway from this is of course, knowing the entirely clip is shot using only an iPhone. In the hands of skilled cinematographers, it is possible to create something so real, so tangible and so approachable. It’s not longer ‘”good enough’”.

This is why I only used an iPhone 5 for my recent trip to Paris. I intend to do the same for this upcoming Dubai vacation as well. After all, what I really wanted to do is to tell stories, a personal journey documented in the form of pictures and words. What better way to do it than the little device in my pocket.

Watch and read the story of filming 1-24-14.

When the alarm rings, I hit the snooze button instinctively. Most times, I snoozed so much I would be better off waking up at a later time.

Half awake, I pick up the phone and scroll through the homescreen. Left to right, and right to left. Nothing in particular but the feeling of holding onto something makes me feel alive. If time permits, I would look through the tweets for interesting happenings.

The phone has become such an indispensable object in my life that it’s the first thing I look for in the morning, and the last thing I touch at night. Throughout the day, it is always with me and much of my lifestyle habits are based on this tiny but powerful gadget.

I used to wake up to the irritating ringing of the alarm clock. It is detestable for a logical reason – to be awake. Then, I wash up and have a simple breakfast, accompanied by the morning paper.

The alarm is replaced by the phone. And much of my daily news feeds are provided via RSS, neatly presented in my phone. I still love the sensation of slapping the alarm clock to get that additional minutes of eye-shut, and the sense of completeness when I’m done browsing the morning paper.

Things change. But fundamentally, the concept still remains the same. We are just using a different approach for our routine.

Staring straight ahead, I wonder what it must be liked to be in a situation like this – stranded, alone, with no food. That’s not the end. Threats are coming from everywhere. Humans and non-humans.

You can’t trust anyone. You must keep moving. Each second, decisions must be made. Your survival hinges on you making the right call. One wrong move could prove to be fatal.

DayZ is a game plying on our innate instinct for survival. One life is all the gamer has. Imagine the tension, the emotional roller-coaster and the kill-or-be killed situations they are constantly in.

I wouldn’t play this game, but I guess there are many others who would. I love reading the stories of fellow gamers though. Heartfelt experience poured through the forum. The turmoil was real. Death felt real too.

Read more about it here: My emotional experience while playing DayZ.

• Little Visuals
• Unsplash
• Death to the Stock Photo
• New Old Stock
• Superfamous (requires attribution)
• Picjumbo
• The Pattern Library
• Gratisography
• Getrefe

Thanks, Dustin Senos.

I once haboured the thoughts of building an ad-network.

I want the sites I like to be associated with the products and services I admire. It sounds like a plan. A neat idea that brings mutual benefit to both parties – the sites will be able to receive additional revenues. This can be handy to offset the cost of hosting and other expenses like engaging a proofreader for their work. For the sponsors, it’s an opportunity to get their names out to the selected audience. For the readers, it’s a tasteful way of being informed and reminded of the better brands out there. Reading experience won’t be compromised, and there would be minimal distraction.

But advertising is hard.

Marcelo Somers, ex-founder of The Syndicate gave his inputs on the stressful conditions he had to work in.

But that’s not sales, especially online ad sales when you have no existing relationships. I found myself having to schedule calls at the strangest hours, and I was hustling 20-30 hours per week outside my 40+ hour per week job. Sales also came in waves. One day I’d be scraping to get the next week’s sponsor booked, and the next I’d be booked out two months unable to serve everyone emailing me. There was even a day that I was away from my computer for my day job and my entire URL redirection platform went down for over 6 hours, meaning no sponsor links worked.

It takes hard work, perseverance, connection and a little bit of luck to be sustainable. Contacting site owners, getting in touch with sponsors, negotiating the rates and everything in between. Chasing after payment and constant liaising that goes on at the back.

It certainly sounds like a lot of work to put in, and it’s not something I can commit to on a long-term basis. Hearing it first-hand from people who have done it before confirm this.

Advertising is indeed, hard.

Whatsapp: Staple app by default. I have been using it for a while already and almost everyone I know has it.

1Password: It‘s the governing app for all my passwords. Initially I wasn‘t too keen on it but having taken the time and effort to integrate it into my workflow, it feels the investment is worth it. Now, it‘s an indispensable tool and I like the flawless sync between it and the rest of my devices.

Spotify: I‘m not a regular music listener but when I do, the ease of having access anywhere is an option I‘d like to have. Though the songs are not entirely comprehensive in my region, I will accept the compromise for now. It‘s a trade-off for the convenience it provides.

Simplenote: It’s the depository for all my notes, mostly long forms which doesn’t belong in Scratch. It contains all kind of information – from dining places to blog ideas to inspiring quotes from books.

Flipboard: Occasionally, I like to browse through Flipboard. The page flipping interface is addictive. It doesn’t make for a more refined reading experience as compared to iPad, but for reading and browsing on-the-go, it’s good enough.

Reeder: The latest version spots a clean and sleek interface. In the morning commute to work, I catch up on all the news happening in my RSS feed. It‘s a well designed product that provides a very capable platform for reading within the app or glancing through the pile of articles in a hurry.

Instapaper: The scene for read-later is competitive, with services like Pocket and Readability offering a strong alternative. Instapaper, however, is my first choice due to its highly refined UI. I like the way it brings up the article to the section where you last read, and the sync between devices has been flawless.

Day One: A favourite of mine. Before I discover this, I journal sparingly and the snippets are often discarded all over the place. Now, Day One holds my memories – the jovious and the grevious thoughts. It‘s much more than just an app to me. It‘s a trusty companion I return to day in day out to document my life in.

Scratch: A new addition. Before this, I have been using Draft. Both are very similar in that they‘re gateway notepad. A place to temporary hold your thoughts before delgating them to the rightful place. These days, I prefer Scratch over Draft as the UI appeals more to me.

Todoist: It used to be my primarily GTD tool until I switched to a more traditional approach of pen and paper. There are times though, when entering a task in my phone is more convenient and appropriate. This is when Todoist comes in handy.

Fantastical: The best calendar app there is. Obviously, adding an entry using natural language is a big plus but the overall feel and presentation of the app is very polished. I like the way when you tilt the screen to landscape mode, it shows you a summarised schedule of the day. The reminder system is well integrated with iOS and I recently uninstalled Checkmark in favour of this.

Newsstand: I only have one publication in there – Offline. It feels polished and the choice of writing spans across varies interests. In time to come, I will probably subscribe to The Magazine and a few others as well.

Phone & Message: I still make calls and send lots of messages. To me, a phone wouldn‘t be a phone without these two core functions.

Camera: Camera phone has progress leaps and bounds since its inception. Now, it is a capable of taking very competent shots and this is my primary camera.

In the dock, I chose to have three apps instead of filling them up with four. It‘s a personal preference as I think it makes the space appear less cluttered. I‘m not alone in this, as shown by some of the guys from 37 signals and also many others out there.

Guilty pleasure

App Store. I love wandering around in there. It‘s like a big world. Sometimes I surf aimlessly and clicking always lead me to be discovery of other apps. It‘s an addiction and now I have the App Store hidden in the folder, away from my sight.

Social apps like Instagram, Tweetbot, Riposte and Path are relegated to the second page. They are addictive and I find myself looking through all the time if they’re within sight. So far, adding a barrier has limit my usage to a more manageable level.

In The Morning

The first thing I wake up in the morning is to pick up the phone. It’s my alarm and much more. Waking up in the morning is hard enough, so a neat way to start the day right is by looking at things I like. That means I customise the message when the alarm goes off to “Time for coffee”. It definitely makes me happier than reading the default word “alarm”.

Throughout the day, the iPhone is always never far from me. It’s my control system and almost all the things I want and need to do, this little pocket gadget can handle them. I bet I’m not the only one that thinks making call is the least used function of the phone. Primarily, it still serves what phones are originally made for – communication. It’s just that we are adopting a different approach on how we keep in touch.

The feeling of “new” enveloped me when I first arrived in Paris. The people, culture and the climate were vastly different from what I’ve experienced before.

I explored the city, tried their food, and take in their culture. I was fortunate enough to stay in a very hospitable and obliging Parisian’s place and experience the local way of life first-hand. 

Almost every morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the gentle sun climbing steadily up into the clear blue sky. Downstairs, the freshly baked pastries and a cup of warm coffee would be ready for us. Taking in this scent and sight was delightful.

How do we define delight?

Delight is an experience. I would also add that delight is in the unexpected.

Take for example, sports. In sports, there is no promise of a victory. Even in the case of David vs Goliath, you are never assured of who’s going to win. We all love to root for the underdogs. The victory taste especially sweeter when the underdog triumphs over the hot favourite.

Delight is the way Tweetbot dismisses an image. Tapping and holding on to it, you can toss it out of your screen. It feels natural and satisfying to be able to “throw” unwanted pictures away. The first time I experienced, I was delighted to discover such intuitive action.

Delight is using Day One. The thoughtful design and the way it automates many of the passive elements like weather and location makes it such a sublime app. It reduces the friction between digital journaling. Now, all you need have to do is write.

Delight is returning to the same coffee joint you know and be served and greeted by passionate owners. Enjoying the brew, you take comfort in being recognized as a regular.

Delight is in reading Offscreen and be welcomed by the thoughtful choice of typography, tugging you to read the content. Then, you read the “behind-the-scene” story of the considered approach on the choice of font, layout and paper. Then, you appreciate the decision and understand the compromises and struggles.

Delight is writing in Moleskine. Watching the pen glide across the alluring paper and the ink so delicately absorbed, it makes me want to write, doodle and just put my signature in the notebook.

Shawn Blanc said delight is in the details. The little things matter. Not settling for good enough and strive for excellence by sweating the details.

I would like to define delight as unexpected moment of positive experience. While we slightly differ on our definition, the baseline is that great products and services are all delightful to use. 

Details can sometimes be hidden in unexpected places. They are overlooked for more prominent and obvious features. But, they are equally important in creating delight in user experience. 

Can you still experience delight doing the same thing again and again? Will delight diminish over time? 

Well, I’m still happily and joyfully tossing pictures out in Tweetbot. Likewise, it still feels great writing and revisiting past entries in Day One. 

Rarely has an extremely good piece of writing been produced under strenuous and harsh condition. Not physically, but mentally. Good things need room to breathe, to prosper and grow.

My thoughts feel restricted. In the pressured mind of mine, ideas can’t take shape. They are being shoved to some dark corners, and will probably not be surfaced for quite a while. It’s not just the act of writing that’s difficult. The going-about of daily activities like reading, net-surfing, watching football and doodling feel uncomfortable. There’s always something that’s occupying my mind – and that’s where my worries take their roots from. 

I’m worried about my future. Part of me is looking forward to something new and unknown, while another part of me is looking at the bleak future with a little desperation. Any job would be fine, this little voice would sometimes whisper to me. You need that salary to pay off bills and be accountable for the essential stuffs. 

While I’ve always been interested in branding, design and advertising, it doesn’t always translate to our dream job in reality. Morale will inevitably get sapped when I don’t hear from places I applied to. And when they wrote back, it’s an unfortunate rejection. I don’t know how this will work out, I can only trust that my decision will be justified in the future. 

Too many times, I have avoided the hard truth. This inability came back to haunt me during movies, shows, reading book, writing. They are always lingering in my mind, snapping at me when I most needed to focus. The only way to move forward, I realized, is to accept and acknowledge the problems. To be in control of the situation is to assess and understand the issues before me. 

Now that I’ve gotten this out of the way, it’s time to pursuit the things I love. Writing here is a privilege. While I don’t always enjoy writing, I simply enjoy the feeling of having written. Each article, long or short, research intensively or impulsively expressed, is an expression of me. It’s a place where I can channel my interests into something tangible – in the form of words. 

Penning this down really helped to clear my mind. It makes me think through the process – deeply and cohesively. Now, I’m slowly feeling the zest and delight that makes writing here such a pleasant experience. 

When it comes to scotch tape, we all fumble to find the edge. It’s not just time consuming, sometimes it’s pure frustrating when the edges snapped off and you need to repeat the same tedious process again.

Solution comes in the form of a makeover, courtesy of Nanoin Design. It solves this persistent problem by not having glue at the sides. This way, you can lift it up easily and there’s no need to determine which direction to scratch and peel.

To top it off, it was awarded the Red Dot Design Award 2013.

Last week, I bought my first book – On Writing Well by William Zinsser. It’s a different experience, my first time reading from an e-reader. The transition has been smooth and I like the way e-ink is rendered on the screen.

The book started off well. It got me hooked in flipping (well, technically page-turning) through in double-fast speed. The honest and easy-going tone makes for a light and comfortable read. The great thing about e-reader is I can look up words instantousely and highlighting the phrases I want to revisit. It’s a wonderful time-saver and so much more convenient than referring to external sources to verify the uncertain words. I wouldn’t have highlighted the phrase in the actual book, most times I prefer to write them down in either my notebook or Simplenote.

As I go on, I realize my capacity and desire to write dwell. I no longer have the urge to write whatever that comes to my mind. As I have written before, the feeling feels similar to looking through the dry well – empty and deprived of water. Rain would definitely help, but exactly when it will sprinkle down I’m not sure. I have experienced this before, the sinking feeling of running dry of ideas and nothing good to give.

The well needs to be replenished. Hopefully a downpour will bring a gash of ideas that will reignite my writing interest.