Commit

Curb at Xtreme Skatepark East Coast Parkway Singapore

To commit to something you want to do is easier said than done.

You know what you want to do and you run thru the steps in your head.

You look at the challenge infront of you and  tell yourself you can do it.

You step up to the challenge and choke.

 

You step up to the challenge again and choke again.

 

Each challenge is new, each challenge is more difficult than the last.

You think to yourself on the worse that can happen and realise it can’t be that bad.

You step up to the challenge again and you fail.

 

People around you laugh at you.

People more experienced tell you what you are doing wrong.

Some just shake their heads and walk away.

You tell yourself its hard, but you know you know your stuff.

 

Commit.

 

You step up to the challenge and you fail.

You step up to the challenge again and you fail.

You step up to the challenge again and you fail again.

You step up to the challenge again and you almost done it.

You step up to the challenge again and you fail.

You step up to the challenge again and you wipeout.

You groan in pain.

You feel like giving up.

 

Commit.

 

You step up to the challenge again and you fail.

You step up to the challenge again and you were  slightly better.

You step up to the challenge again and you fail.

You step up to the challenge again and you nail it.

You smile.

 

No one celebrates with you.

Nothing really happened.

 

Commit.

Hillsong – Stronger

There is Love
That came for us
Humbled to a sinner’s cross
You broke my shame and sinfulness
You rose again victorious

Faithfulness none can deny
Through the storm
And through the fire
There is truth that sets me free
Jesus Christ who lives in me

You are stronger
You are stronger
Sin is broken
You have saved me
It is written
Christ is risen
Jesus You are Lord of all

No beginning and no end
You’re my hope and my defense
You came to seek and save the lost
You paid it all upon the cross

So let Your Name be lifted higher
Be lifted higher
Be lifted higher

User Interface Elements

CK Editor
CK Editor

One of the most frustrating things to happen after a web project closes is that the client still does not know how to achieve nicely styled content. Clients are not required to know HTML let alone CSS, so how can they achieve nicely styled content?

I find many times web designers don’t design all possible User Interface elements and because of that, HTML/CSS coders don’t style them and developers don’t have these styling options in the Content Management System delivered. So if they are not even present in the system, how can anyone expect clients to be able to use the Content Management System to style content nicely in the first place.

So have the project been under-delivered? I don’t blame the web designers if its not within the brief. So dear project managers, pls know what the base UI elements are required and include that within the brief.

Have a look at:

So after looking at UI pattern galleries such as Pattern Tap, UI Patterns and others, I wanted to see if there is a complete list of possible UI elements that a web designer need to think about. I think there are just too many, see the consolidated list I’ve put together below.

Display of Content / Data

  • Headings & Subheadings
  • Paragraphs (with and without images)
  • Highlighting Content
  • Lists (ordered & unordered)
  • Search Results
  • Tabular data (with and without sorting)
  • Modal Windows and Boxes
  • Autocmoplete
  • Content Listing Filters

Navigation

  • Main Horizontal Navigation & Vertical dropdowns
  • Sub Vertical Navigation & Horizontal dropdowns
  • Accordion Menu
  • Carousel
  • Listing (text, text with visual, thumbnails)
  • Search Results Listing
  • Archive Listing
  • Calendar
  • Tags & Tag Clouds
  • Sitemaps
  • Pagination
  • Footer
  • Drop downs
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Tabs
  • Links
  • Utiltiy Links (text resize, print, email, etc)
  • Icons
  • Buttons

Getting Input

  • Input Boxes
  • Errors
  • Form & Form Elements
  • Input Prompt
  • Password Strength Meter
  • Feedback
  • Captcha
  • Calendar Picker
  • Wizards & Steps
  • Rate & Vote
  • Inline Help Box and Highlights

Tasks

  • Presenting Instructions
  • Registration, Sign up
  • Payment
  • Confirmations

I know its not a very coherent list, but you get the idea. So dear web project managers, remember to include such UI elements into your brief and also remember to cost your client for these efforts.

my 27″ iMac from Epicentre MBS

nickpan's 27" iMac
my new 27" iMac

Never did I guess I would get a desktop ever again. But with my old MacBook Black in 2007 and MacBook Air in 2009, the 2011 me wanted more power with a bigger screen. I got the new 27″ iMac. FTW!

Was told by friends that the iMac is due for refresh and I waited. I waited. I waited. Apple.com announced casually that the iMac is refreshed, news spread on twitter, then Epicentre announced it on their Facebook wall on 3rd May 2011.

On 7th May I got a Facebook message from Bernard from Epicentre MBS. He asked me if I wanted to be notified when they have stock for the new iMac. Yeah sure I thought, helps me from monitoring. A week later he kept his word.

Facebook Customer Service from Epicentre
Facebook Customer Service from Epicentre

Not only did he help me reserve stock, he even helped me check if I could get complimentary carpark if I made a big purchase at MBS. With such good customer service, I had to buy it from him and I did so the very next day.

While carrying the 13.6 kg machine to my car, I asked him if he was involved in the Epicentre Facebook page. He wasn’t. He was just a salesman who was interested in his company’s Facebook Page on his off day, saw an opportunity to provide customer service and did. He closed a sale and made a customer happy.

Dear sales people all over the world, this is retail sales in 2011.

Just for my record:

  • 27″ iMac (June 2011)
  • S$2,748
  • 27″ LED TFT 2560 x 1440
  • 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
  • 4GB (two 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 memory
  • 1TB (7200 rpm) HDD
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB of GDDR5 memory
  • Two Thunderbolt ports
  • Wireless Keyboard
  • Magic Mouse
  • Wi-Fi
  • 13.8kg

Say hello to productivity. ;)