You Don’t Need a Lot of Time

I don’t have much free time as most people because I work full-time and head my side business, but it’s important for me to stay current with technology. I like  to read, watch or test the latest technologies. I’ll even read or watch video reviews if I’m unable to get my hands on the latest tech. I dedicate a minimum of 15 minutes each day to read up on any new updates. I use Google Alerts and Apple News. Why? Because they send the articles right to me based on keywords that I’ve chosen so I don’t have to waste time browsing for articles.

Do It First

I usually do my reading first thing in before the start of my work day. Once the work day sucks you in it’s hard to calm your mind and relax. I like to read my articles at the start of the day because I’m not tired and I’m not stressed from work yet since the workday hasn’t started yet. I sit down and check my inbox for articles/ phone for apple news notification while I have my breakfast or on the train ride to work.

Keep it Simple

I read through one or two articles depending on my mood and then continue with my day. If I read anything of interest then I’ll favorite it or kept it in my inbox. Some days I’ll have more time than others so if I enjoyed  what I read then I’ll go back to the article and read something else related to the topic if I have spare time

I’ve found it a lot easier to read about tech by having the articles sent to me. I don’t have to look for articles and risk getting distracted by something else during my search. I get to stay-up-date and save myself time.

Follow the following links If you want to know: How to set up Google Alerts or Setting Up Notifications via Apple News.

Brief Look at Potential Uses for Apple’s new ARKit

Apple announced the release of its AR Kit. If you are unfamiliar with augmented reality, AR superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world (Layman’s terms: Augmented reality draws images on top of the world we see around us). This can be seen in apps such as Snapchat, Pokemon Go, etc.

Before the announcement of the AR kit, developers would need to be knowledgeable in OpenGL development, GLKit and complex engineering concepts. The AR kit allows for an easier way to draw digital objects into the 3D space without requiring heavy engineering to do it.

Now that you’re familiar with AR, I’m sure you’re wondering what you can do with AR aside from swap faces with your pets, draw funny filters on a face or chase 3D creatures. I see potential uses for this in several industries. I’ll list a few below:

Cosmetics

You walk into Sephora. Instead of having to use the bacteria filled trial mascara and risk getting a stye, you could scan a product and see how you would look while using the product all without ever applying a single brush stroke.

Housing

You could potentially furnish your whole house with virtually created furniture without having to lug heavy furniture around while you try to determine if the sofa looks better on the left or right side of the room.

Vision

A faster Warby Parker. Currently, this company ships lenses to you to try on for free. You can keep what you like, return what you don’t, and then pay for the ones you want to keep. AR could allow you to preview how a frame or even contacts look on you without having to wait for them to arrive to you,all on your phone! And with a simple click of a button, you could order your new glasses or contacts, hassle free.

I see a lot of potential time savings with product trials and AR. ARKit still will have it’s limitations as it’s in its earlier stages of development, but it has the potential to tap into many untouched markets.

Seamlessly Go From Design to Development

Ever have a beautiful design created and when you received your product back, your product looks nothing like your design? Usually the delivery team chalks it up to your design wasn’t technically feasible. This could be avoided if the design and development team did one thing: COMMUNICATED EARLY ON. Keep reading to learn how to go from design to development seamlessly.

Traditional work cultures separate designers and developers into silos with very little communication between the design and development team. Once the designs are complete, designers hand off the files for design integration without any form of communication. There aren’t any daily discussions, no brainstorming across silos or exchanging off ideas while the designs are being created. Many times developers are left to guess what the designer means or have to reach out to the designer several times after the design has already been agreed upon. Engaging the developer into the design discussion as early as possible is key to having your final delivery look like your design.

When you involve your developer as early as possible they will be able to let you know if what you requested is possible from a technical standpoint. They can provide feedback as to whether your design fits the developer design guidelines, i.e Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, Google’s  User Interface Guidelines, etc

Ways to Bridge that Gap

Involve Developers Early On

Even if you’re using design tools such as Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc you can add developers to your client calls. They don’t have to join every call but by having them on the initial design and functionality calls helps. They can provide their insight into how things will translate into an application

Designer Hand Off

Your designer should label every single layer in their design file. One of the most important assets for developers is a style guide. This should contain fonts, font size, colors, transparencies, and any style details that will be used in your project. You want to hand off designs that are as detailed as possible.

Involving developers early on, creating a design asset and keeping open and clear communication is the sure way to have your website, app, product, etc look exactly as you expected without any unexpected surprises at the end

You’ve decided you want to build out your idea but you don’t know where to start. Will you need a website, app, or both? When it comes to deciding whether to build a native app or a website, the most appropriate choice depends on your end goals.These 6 points will serve as a good guideline for what would be best choice

• Is your budget over $10k USD?

Most complex mobile apps will require a budget greater than 10k USD while certain no-frills web applications can be built for less.

• Will you need  to deliver information in real-time?

Will you need to present your customers with relevant information in real-time? Mobile apps can do things websites can’t, like push notifications

• Will your user visit your app more than 5 times a day?

If your user will be visiting your app often then it makes sense to start with an app. It’s fast to launch, convenience, and will keep users up to date with information. Games, notes, to-do lists, reminders, alarm clock, e-mail or social media are mostly recommended to have as a mobile app

• Will mobile be your core differentiator from competition?

Will having an app simplify a workflow specifically for mobile devices? Will having an app help you stand out from more established companies? If, yes then a mobile app makes sense

• Will you need access to features native to your phone like the camera?

Camera, Gyroscope, Sensors will always work better with a native mobile app. So, if one of these are crucial for your app – You should consider building a native app NOT a web app although you can access a your mobile camera, gyroscope and geolocation via the web

• Will you need to provide content offline?

If you need to provide offline access to content or perform functions without a network/wireless connection then an app makes sense.

Finally Thoughts

Generally speaking, if you want to just develop a web presence then a mobile website should be considered your first step. Apps are useful for a very specific purpose that cannot be effectively accomplished via a web browser.

Back Story

My laptop is 5 years old and has been running painfully slow lately. My laptop was so slow I could finish my morning routine by just powering it on and opening XCode:  Boot up my computer (walk away take a shower, login in (walk away brush my teeth), load XCode (walk away have breakfast)… you get the point. I was on a budget but needed an upgrade!

It was definitely time for an upgrade! I finished I’d buy a new laptop since I was much overdue for an upgrade. I went to the online Apple store found the newest MacBook and added all the features I wanted (15””, 520GB SSD, retina display etc),  put it in my cart and stopped. The total came out to $3000! I hovered over the buy button for quite some time before deciding to leave their site. I decided to look into other alternatives before make a decision (It took me 3 months to think about this decision, to be honest)

Obviously, the easiest thing for me to do would’ve been to buy a new Mac and be on my way but that ease would cost about 3000 dollars (Retina display, SSD, fancy touch bar, etc)! As good as those features sounded $3000 for a retina display and a the touch bar wasn’t worth it to me.

Other thing I could do with $3000… hmmm

• Buy bitcoins ( tempting  but we all know how well this story ends…or do we?)
• Travel to Cuba, Mexico, Aruba., Jamaica and Canada
• Put this money into savings
• Buy more hosting and domain names
• …… You get the point

A Bit of Research

So off to Google I went (Google search: upgrade 2012 MacBook Pro ): http://bfy.tw/FWdw and found upgrades for memory and SSD that my Mac would support. I was already the maximum memory capacity my 2012 MacBook could support so the only thing left to upgrade was the hard drive. I found a Crucial 520GB SSD for $140.00. What do you think I did?!?. (Plot twist I bought the shiny new MacBook Pro. The end. jk) Yes, I bought the new SSD,  $2860 dollars saved.

Being that I’m a techie I also did the data transfer and replaced the hard drive myself. Don’t fret, if you aren’t handy, a techie or simply don’t  want to be bothered, there’s a nice installation option you can purchase for an additional 120  more dollars.

Estimated Time

Overall I spent about 7 hours to transfer ~260 GB of data and install the new hard drive. I spent  6 hours for data transfer/image cloning (a full night’s sleep – Seriously, I started the transfer then fell asleep) and 10 minutes to disassemble and reassemble the MacBook chassis and replace the hard drive.

Tools Needed:

• • SSD (Crucial MX500 250GB)
  • Tiny screwdriver
  • USB to SATA connector (10 bucks) USB 3.0 to SSD

The Results

Once I booted up my computer I could see the speed enhancement almost instantly. Start-up, loading bulky applications such as XCode, Illustrator, Fireworks, Spotify etc was at least 5 times faster. I was happy with the money saved and the enhancement that I was able to achieve.

Pro Tip

You don’t always need to break the bank in order to gain the speed you want. I definitely could’ve bought a new MacBook but,  “Did I need a new one?” What I was looking for was a speed enhancement. I didn’t need the bells and whistles (retina display and touch bar). A little research and time can end up saving you a lot of money. You may have to dedicate a bit more time to the research and installation but if it comes down to spending a few hundred versus a few hundred for an easy fix then it just might be worth it!

If you’re unsure about whether you should upgrade or buy a new machine or need help upgrading your MacBook,  I added two useful links below.

Useful links:

How to Replace your MacBook Pros Hard Drive to SSD

Upgrade or Buy a New Computer

What the Heck Is an Emoji?

An emoji is a small image we use in digital communications in place of text to express an idea or emotion. These are not to the same as their counterpart, the emoticon:

Emoji –    

Emoticon –  ;P

Emojis are actual pictures.

Now What the Heck is An Emoji Domain?

Emoji domains are exactly what they sounds like, domains  that include emojis. Just as you could send a text saying  I , you could create a domain using emojis:

Typical domain: www.ilovepopcorn.com

Emoji domain: www.i.ws

A few companies have even jumped on board

Should you Run Off and Buy One?

At the current moment I haven’t seen many other uses cases outside of fun marketing campaigns: Coca-Cola and their February campaign.

There are a few things you should keep in mind however, while they’re fun and attention grabbing, it’s very difficult for users to navigate to those websites if they aren’t on their phone.  Another issue to consider is the fact that not all emojis consistent across every platform, which can cause some confusion when translating from one version to another.

If you are still interested you can generate your own emoji link at http://www.xn--vi8hiv.ws/ and then buy an emoji domain at https://domainoji.com