UI for the app

So I got about 60% of one app working on my iPhone to a satisfactory extent. I still need to add a couple of features before it can used as an app. I thought this is perhaps a good time to think about and generally fix the horrible UI that I have created so far. Thinking about it, I suck so bad at UI that I have never written a GUI application all my life....

July 21, 2015 · 3 min · abishek

Spending time with your unborn kid?

What I am about to discuss here is not a basic need. It is more of a luxury, good to have setup. Nobody quite misses it now, but maybe it will become essential in the future. Or maybe not. During the formative years of the foetus, parents get to see their baby(-ies) take shape through the months with the help of the ultra sound scans that the doctor uses. For the first 6-7 months, the baby is still not very active....

July 20, 2015 · 2 min · abishek

Real Estate Ads

The sector that really needs better marketing folks is the real estate sector. At least the residential real estate market in India and to some extent in Singapore also. Today someone from India wanted me to buy a house in Bangalore. Apparently I could do that with just a 7lac payment and then rest upon possession. I had a couple of problems with the call: It was made at a completely inappropriate time....

July 15, 2015 · 4 min · abishek

Medium as a blog

I attended the Singapore MiniMakerFaire this weekend at Tampines. It was fun. I had to keep it a short trip for other reasons, but am happy that I didn’t miss the faire at least. Next year, I really should present something or volunteer at the least. One of the things about attending this event is, it kinda puts me to shame. I can give you reasonably detailed steps on how to make most of the stuff in display....

July 13, 2015 · 3 min · abishek

iPhone 6 among other things

After a lot of deliberation, discussions, depressions, planning and meticulous budgeting, Noni convinced me to just stfu and pick up that damn device. So we did just that. I am still a little unsure whether I like the feel of the device. I love my iPhone 5 because the form factor is just about perfect for me. This is my first 4.7″ device in the last 4-5 years that I have held a smartphone....

July 8, 2015 · 3 min · abishek

UX thirst

I sometimes wonder if I should just enroll and do a certificate course in UX. UX, not UI – my visual sensibilities are a tad retarded, but I am good at spotting failures. And I love research. I may not be the best guy to talk to people yet, but I haven’t tried that first hand as well. So maybe I can learn. I think UX is a very interesting topic....

July 3, 2015 · 1 min · abishek

The problem with being a software guy…

… is that you may end up having little to no understanding of domains where there are actual problems worth solving. For instance, Noni and I were discussing one of Noni’s ideas for payment processing. As software people, both of us can quickly locate the api and frameworks required and even build an MVP in little to no time. But neither of us are aware of what regulatory aspects control such finance apps....

July 2, 2015 · 2 min · abishek

Aggression

In general, aggression is not a good idea. But I think aggression is the fundamental reason I have come some far in my life. I believe you need to be aggressive in your work. This has nothing to do with the proverbial rat-race. Of course, you need to be very aggressive to actually achieve something in the race as well. But that aggression possibly only gives you bad health and nothing much else....

July 1, 2015 · 2 min · abishek

Work Environment – Going beyond just sounds

I got this idea as I was in the middle of my yoga session. I have this app called “noizio” installed in my mac. There is nothing special about this app and there are many variants on this app as well. It can generate ambient noises like being present in a cafe, beach, grass, etc. You can choose if it is raining, windy, thunderstorms, riverside and others. It works quite well, especially if you like to work in a noisier environment....

June 30, 2015 · 2 min · abishek

And what if?

Isn’t it a tad surprising to see that so many vegetables and fruits are so good for a human body? As in, there are specific fruits that can help improve specific organ functions. You can see it as a wonderful gift from God, or as an evolutionary thing. But what if they aren’t either? What if these organs are essentially evolved from those fruits or vegetables? After all you can trace human species as an evolutionary successor in a chain....

June 24, 2015 · 1 min · abishek