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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Udacity partners with Google on android developer job placement learn-to-code news

Udacity's founder Sebastian Thrun proudly announced that Google has paid for Udacity students to fly-in to visit the Google campus and attend mini hackathons and semi career fairs. Udacity is careful to give false hope by carefully wording the letter stating thatSebastian and other hackathons judges were impressed with the progress of their students, some students are rumored to be courted by Google and partner companies. Udacity clearly has Google behind its back, given that its newest Android Development Nanodegree was announced at the Google I/O 2015 given face time in front of all Google fans.

However, prospective students of the Udacity Android Development Nanodegree program still has to take everything with a grain of salt. After all, learning to code is only the first step. Becoming a Google-worthy developer takes talent, hard work, and maybe a lot of experiences. This being said, if your ultimate goal is to work for Google, may be you should check out these Udacity courses. If you are just learning Android development for the sake of learning to program, may be Couriers courses are much better and affordable (Udacity's $200/month versus Coursera 's $49-$79 for an entire course).

I will let you judge for yourself, please see a screenshot of the email below and links to the two Udacity landing pages mentioned.

Join google summit https://email.udacity.com/pub/cc?_ri_=X0Gzc2X%3DYQpglLjHJlTQGhbR3e7hE58kwu5ze5blytrtzgWrt4lsMTCzc6aaRaumBzcqGqlWVXtpKX%3DTTART&_ei_=Eq2tf9zs59idfPO1Sc_9BbmpGyctB8ZHek2I5tk5vgiRm47ZQNEsSGWFZn5aS_b8dcJEilhhImmx7r8zxa1Zhr8X.






Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Social Media Tips : remove old tweets

The number of tweets is a key metric on your Twitter profile. If you have a small number of tweets, yet a large follower-to-following ratio, you are a social influencer. Why not boost this stat by going by and cleaning up old tweets? Remove tweets with zero interactions (no favorites nor retweets) AND are no longer relevant. For example: "another sunny day! :-) Sept 5th, 2012" should be removed! 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

eBay has the ambition to be the next Amazon but it isn't working

The Battle of Two eCommerce Sites

This year, eBay celebrated its 20th birthday and really beefed up its seller standard. Users can easily request full refunds, and even when the seller cooperates, the "Item Not as Described" still counts against the seller as a high defect rate. While eBay has added new tools like promoted listing, it became much harsher towards its sellers by implementing many new standards,  lowering its tolerance for customer-seller resolution, becoming stricter with item relisting and listing in general. These moves are alienating its younger and newer sellers for sure.

Some more senior sellers are used to standard hikes, and are used to making small changes to comply. But younger sellers like myself are seeing the increasing value of platforms like Shopify which respects sellers and allows sellers to take back control. It is a proof that happy sellers can give great customer experience.

eBay wants to make itself more like Amazon, who is knowing harsh towards its sellers and at times will shut down one's livelihood. But customers don't see eBay as a generic site like Amazon, but a very specialized used goods, specialty goods site. Without those items, and many individual sellers, eBay will have trouble attract new customers. Its brand name is simply not associated with new products. It'd better work with younger, innovative sellers to change that, rather than shutting them out with hard-to-nagivate standards that have way too much history, legacy and lack simplicity.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

How to Instagram according to celebrity Brooklyn Beckham (David Beckham's Son)

How to Instagram as explained by teen celebrity and Vogue.
Social media tips from a millennial. 

Social Media Tips from a Millennial and Teen Celebrity - Brooklyn Beckham

Miss Vogue (Britain) teamed up with Brooklyn Beckham, son of renowned world cup soccer star David Beckham and super model / celebrity and fashionista designer mom - Victoria, to teach us How to Instagram 101! Watch this video below called Brooklyn Beckham's Guide to Instagram to get a quick 5 minute tip on how to get started with Instagram, the celebrity way. This young first born of the famous soccer star and fashion celebrity has his own following in the fashion world. He frequented teen Vogue and other fashion magazine covers. The Beckham family is often seen together wearing British trench coats and boots at Burberry fashion shows.

He really fits the Instagram persona too: young, fashion-conscious, artsy, shimmering, socially vocal, and is never separated with his phone, also his best camera.


Brooklyn walks the audience through a few easy to understand tips, and follow each slide with a detailed explanation from the heart of a millennial. What's a better way to understand Instagram a tool that is best utilized by millennial and has a strong millennial following than hearing directly from a teen celebrity?








Brooklyn explains it way better and in a softer tone. We did a quick summary below for our readers, but not in his exact tone. Watch the video above, it's a quick 5-minute Instagram best practice.

No Selfie Destruction



Take it easy on the selfies. No one wants to see an account full of your self love. Capture interesting surroundings and stories instead. Too many selfies = self destruction by selfies.



Don't Ask People to Follow You

It will be awkward to ask people to please be friends with you in real life too. It's just awkward.

No Selfie Sticks

No means no. Simple as that.

Go Easy on Filters

Instagram's signature feature - image filters - and yet the most over-used feature may just be too much. 



HAVE FUN

THE ULTIMATE RULE is to have fun. No fun no follower-ship. 
Play with Instagram, be playful and have some real fun. The followers will follow. 





The Beckham family frequents Burberry fashion shows in style.





Brooklyn's younger brother was a guest Burberry winter season model!

Happy Instagram-ing!
Brooklyn Beckham's Guide to Instagram
How to instagram 101 from a millennial and teen celebrity,
David Beckham's son

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

20 Startups Unicorns that You Didn't Know

Yesterday these were mere startups, where founders sweat away to build from ground zero. Today they are already billion dollar unicorns, when you are not paying attention. From ... type ... type type.. type. There are now more than 100 "startups" that became unicorns! Unicorn companies by definition has more than $1 billion in valuation. Trivia: a lesser known "decacorn" can be used to describe ten-billion-dollar ultra unicorns like Uber, Airbnb, SnapChat, Pinterest, Dropbox,



  • Uber valued at $51 Billion August 2015
  • Airbnb valued at $25.5 Billion  June 2015
  • Palantir valued at $20 Billion July 2015
  • Snapchat valued at $16 Billion May 2015
  • SpaceX valued at $12.0 billion January 2015
  • Pinterest valued at $11.0 billion February 2015
  • Dropbox valued at $10.0 billion January 2014
  • WeWork valued at $10.0 billion June 2015
  • Spotify valued at $8.5 billion April 2015
  • Square valued at $6.0 billion August 2014
  • Stripe valued at $5.0 billion July 2015
  • Zenefits valued at $4.5 billion May 2015
  • Cloudera valued at $4.1 billion March 2014
  • Jawbone valued at $3.3 billion February 2014
  • DocuSign valued at $3.0 billion April 2015
  • Bloom Energy valued at $2.9 billion September 2011
  • Slack valued at $2.8 billion March 2015
  • Lyft valued at $2.5 billion March 2015
  • Houzz valued at $2.3 billion October 2014
  • Instacart valued at $2.0 billion December 2014
  • Domo valued at $2.0 billion March 2015
  • Blue Apron valued at $2.0 billion June 2015
  • Github valued at $2.0 billion July 2015
  • Honest Co. valued at $1.7 billion August 2015
  • MongoDB valued at $1.6 billion December 2014
  • BuzzFeed valued at $1.5 billion August 2015
  • Social Finance (SoFi) valued at $1.3 billion February 2015
  • Medallia valued at $1.3 billion July 2015
  • Warby Parker valued at $1.2 billion April 2015
  • Gilt Groupe valued at $1.1 billion April 2011
  • AppDynamics valued at $1.1 billion July 2014
  • 23andMe valued at $1.0 billion June 2015
  • CloudFlare valued at $1.0 billion December 2012
  • Evernote valued at $1.0 billion May 2012
  • Eventbrite valued at $1.0 billion March 2014
  • Kabam valued at $1.0 billion August 2014
  • Shazam valued at $1.0 billion January 2015
  • Pluralsight valued at $1.0 billion August 2014
  • Twilio valued at $1.0 billion July 2015


For more unicorns and non-US unicorns visit Wall Street Journal's The Billion Dollar Club visualization and table.  There are a few that made an exit : Shopify, Lending Club Fab.com. The reality is that unicorns take many years if not a full decade to materialize. With a few exceptions, many companies many famous products and but are still quite small in valuation. 

A sortable list of startup unicorns, its valuation,
geo location, industry and investment partners.


On CBInsights you can see a sortable table of unicorns by geographic location, industry and investors. It's very helpful for entrepreneurs thinking about founding a startup or raising funds. CBInsights The Unicorn List: Current Private Companies Valued At $1B And Above


The lesser known founder of Didi Kuaidi a Chinese startup unicorn
which is No.6 on the Fortune's Unicorn List

 



Learn AngularJS with Codecademy.com detailed walkthrough lesson 1

Codecademy.com now provides a realistic interactive in-browser course that teaches AngularJS! It's pretty exciting. But AngularJS isn't exactly a beginner topic. Many experienced developers of other languages would like to pick it up too. It's hard to control the tutorial difficulty.  I have recorded and shared two videos below one is a detailed walkthrough of Lesson 1, giving necessary information about AngularJS and its role in web development. The second video focuses more on the actual exercise and does not provide detailed background info.



One correction: in video 1, I said Firefox does not allow me to open and edit the code files. That is incorrect. Codecademy.com is compatible with firefox. You just have to find the green Open button in the middle panel. This will open the file and allow you to edit. This is actually very realistic simulation of web development! Good job Codecademy.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Tutorial : Getting Started with SQL and Database Basics in Minutes



This video tutorial demos how to get started with SQL and practice it easily in a browser / on the web without installing additional database components. It also provides an intuitive example and analogy for beginners to visualize database and database tables using Excel. I did a quick walkthrough of how to use W3School's Try SQL feature to practice SQL language on the web.

Essential Product Management Skills | How to Become a Product Manager in Silicon Valley

This is a short list of essential skills that a product manager in Silicon Valley will want to have. Ideally, the candidate has a lot of experiences and a computer science degree if he/she wants to work for Google / Facebook. This is a first post, will add follow-up posts about 1. a day in life of a product manager 2. interviews of high paying Silicon Valley product managers 3. sample interview questions.

In practice, you don't have to have all skills. Experiences and results really speak louder than a traditional resume. In a later post, we will cover the "touchy feely" "soft" side of Product Management. Comment and ask questions below.

Skills & Tasks
Wireframing prototyping skills
Web analytics skills
Marketing, campaigning the product, Public Relations (PR), "getting the word out"
Product marketing, publicity
Managing prioritizing backlog
Presenting roadmap, flow chart
Engineering estimates
Leading teams
Gathering and researching inputs from stakeholders and customers:

  • From internal teams such as sales, business development, marketing etc.
  • From customers through customer research, define target customers and personas
  • On external market forces such as competition, market dynamic etc.


Deliverables
Product vision
Feature requirements
MVP wireframes (product feature list)
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Roadmap
User flow chart
Use cases, epics
Presentation
Product launch plan
Product description
Product release (beta programs)

Testing
User testing
Functional testing

Tools & Techniques
Agile tools and techniques
Waterfall versus agile
PM best practices

Managing / Coordinating people
Designers
Engineers
Product development teams
Stakeholders
Product owners


Beginner Tutorial: Getting Started with AngularJS Hello World in Minutes



This demo tutorial (as opposed to follow-along tutorial) shows that you can hook up AngularJS to your html file in just minutes. Things we cover including how to start the ng-app, evaluate an expression {{ 1+2 }}, set up a controller, even debugging AngularJS.

AngularJS is a big topic and I am not the best developer to explain it. However, I want to demo that just like jQuery, AngularJS requires some initial setup. It takes a bit of muscle memory to get used to. After that, you can start your AngularJS app quickly, and take your time to get better at it.

FAQ


Why do we use a Mac?
Many modern web developers use Mac for various reasons. For beginners, it's easy to program on Macs. The configuration and setup is usually smooth. Some languages are preinstalled and readily available like Ruby and Python.

Why do we use Sublime?
It's a free powerful and clean-cut text editor, which makes it great for beginners.

Why do we use CDN or a hyperlink for the AngularJS source code?
It's easy, readily available, optimized. We don't have to download a copy of the source code and that's nice.

How to debug AngularJS?
AngularJS is JavaScript after all. For beginners, console.log is always your best friend. Use console.log often to make sure your scripts and code is connected.

Comments

  • We like to use a basic expression {{ 1+2 }} that AngularJS can compute to demonstrate that AngularJS code is connected successfully.  We think an AngularJS hello world example is to make this expression evaluate to 3.




Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Codecademy Adds Command Line Class Unit 2 Learn to Code Resource



This is a busy year for the sleep giant of Learn to Code movement - Codecademy.com. Thankfully it has come back with a bang, launching solid courses in Ruby on Rails, Authentication, AngularJS, and now Command Line, Unit 2. +Codecademy #commandline #learntocode

It covers the basics ls, pwd, nano in Unit 1, now it's ready to show some serious chaining and piping, two shell command concepts that professional programmers constantly use. It's easy for beginners to lose track.

What is 



$ sort deserts.txt | uniq > uniq-deserts.txt

What is uniq, what is in deserts.txt and uniq-deserts.txt, and what will be returned in the terminal or shell. 

During professional front-end interviews, senior JavaScript will often ask tricky questions that can be easily tested in the command prompt, but interviewees will have to come up with the answer in their head, by logic.

As a learn-to-code junkie, I can safely say Codecademy.com made JavaScript learning really easy. It's still the best way to iron the grammar of JavaScript in beginners. Unlike others, Codecademy is a habit-forming interactive coding and learning environment that's strangely addictive as it is black & white. Now with these flashy Rails, AngularJS and Command Line, projects added onto its outdated API pack, Codecademy.com is luring its users back. And we are very happy to be back.


Tuesday, June 23, 2015

New Codecademy Course Review Command Line

Codecademy launches new BETA course on Command Line.
Useful for beginner Ruby on Rails and Python coders.


Recently Codecademy.com more than stepped up its game to launch new blockbuster and real-world relevant courses like Rails Authentication, AngularJS and Command Line. The new command line course is short, 1-hour long, aims to introduce learn-to-code students to basic shell commands like ls, pwd, touch. As usual, the practice is completely interactive and self contained in the browser. Students equipped with desktops of all Operating Systems can easily play with code as long as there's internet connection.

While the Codecademy.com website is responsive, the exercises, however, are not responsive. It is the best to use a Chrome browser to complete exercises and avoid unnecessary browser-specific complications.

Investing in learning Command Line early is a wise choice (personally, one of the best choices I have ever made). Command line basics are extremely important in Ruby on Rails, Python and Django development, and Heroku Deployment. It's like JavaScript, there is no escape.

The early BETA course set is quite easy, at most, 1-2 lines of commands per exercise.


Monday, June 22, 2015

Developer Tools to Keep in Mind - A Learn to Code Guide for Beginners


Fitness Tracking with Pebble Time - Use Pebble Time with Jawbone UP


The new Pebble Time works with Jawbone UP fitness tracking using its build-in accelerator and manual sleep tracking app, no Jawbone UP device required. Jawbone UP is an official Pebble Time partner. The feature requires a bit of a setup but essentially is well supported and work seamlessly.

Up for Pebble watchface displays time with progress
proportionally to your daily goaln


Setup requirements


Caveats :

The UP for Pebble watch-face displays step progress along with digital time. The upward app has small dots that represents your daily goal (which you can set in the UP app). The dots will proportionally turn into little squares as you progress towards your daily goal.  See picture

Note the UP for Pebble "app" is actually a watch face (versus a  pebble app) that you would install on Pebble Time.  Search for "up for pebble" in the "watchface" tab.

Jawbone UP purple app works well with
Pebble Time no additional device required



Just like the Pebble Time requires a different iOS app from the old Pebble, Jawbone UP app requires you using the UP app with a purple icon if you have no UP device (versus the blue account). The Jawbone UP app "purple" is essentially a free and awesome fitness step tracking app for anyone with iOS!

Here's a longer video I found on Youtube that explains this in details. Caution the beginning is a bit loud

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Udacity Adds 3 More Google Courses - Online Education MOOC News

Announced via +Udacity  newsletter today: Udacity adds three more +Google Developers  sponsored software engineering, development, programming courses to its growing professional curriculum. All basic course material access is free of charge. Udacity is digging deeper in its specialization in real-world professional software development curriculum. This time it teaches you how to build apps with Google. Pretty impressive. Grab your free Google Development course content now.

Developing Scalable Apps in Python with Google App Engine

a course on Python and cloud computing with Google App Engine

Already 1500 students strong. Learn how to really do Cloud Computing with Google's App Engine, leveraging Google data centers. 6 weeks of advanced coursework.

Browser Rending Optimization 

aka Building 60 FPS Web Apps
a course on web performance

Already 3500+ students strong. This month-long advanced course. Learn how to build 60 frames per second (FPS) web apps and learn how to improve web performance. Developers will learn how to build apps that render smoothly.

Responsive Images

a course on working with images front-end development

This is an intermediate two-week long course with nearly 3000 students. Google will teach you how to use responsive images responsibly (LOL). This class will walk through the <picture> HTML element, <img> and the srcset attribute. A great short course for front end developers.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Learn to Code Full Stack with Udacity Nanodegree

I recently submitted Project 1 of the Udacity Full Stack Nanodegree curriculum. This blog post is my reflection and review on the experience. Overall, it really exceeded expectations. The price is still too expensive, but Udacity is really offering effective, engaging, alternative online education for programming, development #learntocode movement. It starts to distinguish itself as an online ultra-premium vocational school for software engineering using modern technologies, programming languages, and software frameworks like MongoDB, D3.js, Bootstrap, Github, Salesforce.com, Android, iOS and more.

 Udacity took a long time to ramp up its course content by focusing on video-intensive, interactive basic courses for a long long time. It got famous, then got quiet until it re-entered the arena with a bang. Last year, it came back strong with blockbuster partner names like Google, Facebook and Salesforce, but it's not until this year's Nanodegree offering did it become clear that all the work and focus on fundamentals paid off. The full stack nanodegree and the data science nanodegree clearly integrates fundamental classes like intro to computer science, programming with Python, data analysis etc. These fundamental classes have been improved and adapted to the nanodegree, but the majority of the content stays true to its originals.

The leverage becomes clearer when students are struggling to submit assignments using Git and Github (in the iOS nanodegree). Udacity just added the Git and Github intro curriculum into the nanodegree after project one, and the content already exists elsewhere on Udacity, the process was super simple. Udacity's content is so much more integrated compared to Coursera, whose content is largely organized by university departments and specializations.

Project 1 of the Udacity Full Stack was intro to python programming. I expected the course to be a cruise for me as I already learned to code, and it was, but I was surprised to learn many useful Computer Science concepts which I missed out not having that formal education in college. The mini exercises were extremely useful, resulted in scripts that I could immediately use to make my daily professional life more productive e.g. find a secret message is really a python script for organizing files for content management.

The project is advanced for the level (I will explain this more in my iOS nanodegree reflection talking about the really challenging project). To complete Project 1 students must write the code to utilize a "fresh_tomato.py" library / mini API to dynamically generate an HTTP file. i.e. generate an entirely new locally hosted website on the fly. Students can choose to ignore the file, all together, or can choose to dive into the mini API and learn how HTTP files are generated using Python. It was pretty cool.

The integrated grading process prefers students sharing completed work via Github integration with Udacity. There's some real life commit and code sharing practice. The content is rich and may be bit jam-packed for first-timers, i.e. they really mean what they say "minimum 10 hour weekly commitment" (the iOS commitment is really much longer than that, I previewed the data science one briefly and saw that it requires quite a bit of statistics background to make the curriculum a cruise). It seems that the essential goal of each nanodegree project is to generated presentable mini, relevant projects which can be showcased on Github, preparing the student for the interview / job seeking process. In that case, Udacity did a good job elevating its curriculum to real-world job relevance, distinguishing itself from the more academic counterpart -Coursera and the more fun gamified Code School and Treehouse.

Say More with Twitter Comment Replacing Twitter Quote Tweet

Read about Twitter Comment update on the official blog
Twitter updated its Quote Tweet feature, previously a retweet feature that will grab texts from the original tweet leaving only a few below-quota characters for commentating. Quote tweet used to look like RT "@name  .... original... tweet... takes up most of the space", now it almost looks like a shared link, freeing up 140 characters to express opinion and highlight relevance of this RT. You can now say so much more with this Twitter Social Media feature update.


The original tweet now looks like a shared URL freeing up space for 140 additional characters
This can be Twitter's response to the recent surge of unofficial infinite tweet apps (rendering words as images) which allow users to share unlimited number of characters and have gotten popular even on ProductHunt. Twitter Comment can really change the dynamic of Twitter conversations, making the "replying" process more cohesive. You can now comment, @ mention people, add detailed opinions that are relevant to the original tweet. This can really be a game changer. 

What will you do with an additional 140 characters? 

Monday, March 23, 2015

Have a coffee chat with Dilys via Square Cash?

Let's chat over a virtual latte using Square Cash.

Why coffee? I love coffee, which makes me really happy so I give better advice.

What's in it for you? The right advice at the right moment can change your life! For a cup of coffee, you can pick my brain for 15 minutes. We can chat about: growth hacking, e-Commerce, learn to code movement, consulting, startup, Y Combinator, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and more...

Why you want to chat with Dilys? She's unconventional and had a fabulous year in the learn to code movement, read about it here. She also has a shiny linkedin profile http://www.linkedin.com/in/dilys


  1. Use Square Cash to send me some "tips" https://cash.me/$buydilyscoffee
  2. Select a hashtag # topic that you want to chat about for 15 minutes. See my twitter profile for ideas http://www.twitter.com/i_stanford
  3. We just had a virtual coffee chat worth celebrating! It will go down in micro consulting history! The advice-giver is happy the advice-receiver is happy. The world is a better place.

Let's have a cup of coffee via Square Cash




Coursera Verified Signature Track Certification Takes WEEKS!


Update : I have finally gotten my certificates for both courses. The plus is that they can be shared on Linkedin. Courser certification is integrated perfectly with Linkedin Profiles. The minus is that the manually reviewed long winded Signature Track process took away the instant gratification of gamification and achievement. To finish the course, students must be disciplined at following step-by-step time-sensitive requirements of the course syllabus, making this process exactly the same as taking a college course, putting Coursera closer to "sharing college courses online" than "providing alternative and innovative education online". Udacity Nanodegree on the other hand, graded my highly individualized programming and coding assignments within a couple of hour thanks to its seamless Github integration. Github integration for submitting assignments is really a game changer.

An online learning junkie complains about the turtle speed of Coursera to stamp verified certificates from Signature Track. Coursera has innovated by adding some seriously awesome offerings (see last paragraph), but the certification process is off. Paying customers, suckers for gamified badges, online learning junkies like me are not getting the instant gratification of accomplishment and are prone to become massive dropouts, i.e. Coursera is doing good work but having no fun!

Just "finished" my first course on Coursera that is verified with Signature Track. Submitted all the assignments, I hope .. I won't know until later, because this "innovative" coursework still relies heavily on syllabus. You are on your own for keeping track of fragmented tasks (a few surveys, a few assignments, some multi-stage, peer-reviewed projects. There's no roadmap to showcase progress, nor instant gratification of completion. 

For people, who had trouble sticking to syllabus in college? Or didn't like the college studying style? Good luck. You are on your own. No wonder why MOOC's massive dropout rates or attrition is notorious too. Major media reports all covered this Massive Dropout Out Online phenomenon. 

Despite its innovative feel, the Coursera verification still relies heavily on manual verification that will take 2-3 weeks after the class hard deadline (meaning there's a long wait even after the class no longer accepts the late-beyond-imagination submissions). 

There's not much VIP treatment for those who become paid users, and that should be a big deal for all "startups" (FYI Coursera.com domain redirects to .org). There's quite a big of confusion for paid users, and there's no access to direct contact with any support staff (very different compared to Udacity - instant email replies). Coursera seems to focus on social support (Stanford research paper about MOOC dropout). While frustrated at the process, I was able to find fragments of answers in the forum, and even connect with someone who has completed those certificates before. He helped me understand that this may take weeks.

On his splashing Linkedin Profile, he proudly displays multiple signature track certificates from advanced and prestigious university courses! That was impressive. I instantly recognize him as a peer, despite that he's in Israel and I know nothing about the education system there. I also realized that there are people who finished some advanced classes I signed up for and consequently dropped out of in the past - guilt and shame creeps in. 

My two cents: those who buy expects premium services, so don't just offer a support page. Get more peer staff, community staff to hand hold students. Despite that I  graduated from a great university, I have learning obstacles (adult ADHD) and focus issues sticking to a text-heavy screen. This may be the case for many "students" seeking the likes of Coursera and Udacity out as learning alternatives.  When signup is massive and difficult to manage, peer evaluation helped, community-based peer support and Q&A FAQ will definitely help too. True story: a lot of us who don't have parents who went to ivy league elite colleges, struggle with one big thing when landed in an university like Stanford - I had no idea how to navigate and organize around the massive resources that are available. I didn't know how to manage my course load and catch up on materials for which everyone else attended two AP classes in the past. I didn't know how to track a syllabus and finish things on time. Plus, last but not least, if I am paying for a certificate with a brand name university / organization, yet no actual credention, to show off, I am a sucker for badges of gamification, and give me those badges ASAP for instant gratification! If I have great self-discipline for delayed gratification and self-regulation, I really won't be chipmonking and spazzled on the internet.

Final thought: I am finally discovering the beauty of Coursera this month. Until now, I never finished a course, nor paid for things, because the text-heavy interface seemed so boring for me who has adult ADHD. The fact that it offers some sort of verification, partners with name-brand universities (some even in China, very impressed), integrates with Linkedin to display your badges, and offers classes that are unique and impressive like a 101 on dinosaur, is something that deserves serious applause!

Monday, March 9, 2015

Many faces of the Apple Watch apps - What do the apps look like?

What do the Apple Watch apps look like?

Here are some fresh screenshots from the Apple live event today showcasing new apps designed for Apple Watch. 

The many faces of Apple Watch

A visual overview of the Apple Watch apps



Apple website displaying a mosaic of Apple Watches

A blooming flower as a newly imagined watch face for Apple Watch

Disney Mickey Mouse as the classical playful design on Apple Watch

The traditional watch face with augmented rich details of tech enabled daily lives. #AppleWatch

Apple Watch as the ultimate fitness device to replace FitBit Fuelband and Jawbone UP delivers heart rate.



Take incoming calls and send text messages with Apple Watch.

Apple Watch's built in mic and speaker allows incoming and outgoing calls on the wrist.

Digital touch records and sends hand drawn mini art.
Digital touch sends recorded animation of personalized emoticons #AppleWatch 


Apple Watch trying to be cute allowing you to send your loved ones a beating heart.

3 Ring data visualization for personal fitness tracking on wearable devices.


WatchKit allows easy development of Watch apps with Apple's Swift programming language.
Apple Pay, photo view, video play, dictation, iTune, Passbook, maps all work on Apple Watch

A day in the life of an apple watch starts with important reminders and notifications.

Apple partners with WeChat appeals to its Chinese customers.

Apple with WeChat allows emoticons.

Apple Watch allows uses of emoticon and emoji in text conversations appeals to its Asian customers.

Apple Watch works with Instagram



Apple Watch can call and get a Uber cat in minutes.

Check in to flights and view flight status with PassBook built in for Apple Watch.

Apple partners with Starwoods hotels and properties to allow on-the-wrist check-in and unlocking rooms. W Hotel


Apple's Brand New ResearchKit Apps for Medical Research

What do the ResearchKit apps look like?

Here are some screenshots freshly picked from the Apple live event showcasing apps built with ResearchKit for medical research for hospitals and universities. Apple wants to utilize the 700 million user data and healthcare partnership to turn Apple devices into futuristic diagnostic tools.

ResearchKit : enables iPhone to be used for Medical Research as a surveying tool and a diagnostic tool.

ResearchKit : enables iPhone to be used for Medical Research as a surveying tool and a diagnostic tool. 

ResearchKit Logo

ResearchKit framework as a diagnostic tool.

ResearchKit partnership landscape.

Parkinson's Disease partnership with University of rochester Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, Sage Bionetworks. 

Finger tapping diagnostic approach to identify patients with Parkinson's disease.

Apple wants to help diagnose Parkinson's Disease right on the iPhone.

Diabetes partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital.



Cardiovascular disease partnership with Stanford Medicine and University of Oxford.



Asthma partnership with Mount Sinai Hospital Well Cornell Medical College.

Breast cancer partnership with UCLA school of public health, penn medicine, sage bionetworks, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Five health apps available today as a featured download in the App Store.

Voice recognition as a diagnostic tool

React UI, UI UX, Reactstrap React Bootstrap

React UI MATERIAL  Install yarn add @material-ui/icons Reactstrap FORMS. Controlled Forms. Uncontrolled Forms.  Columns, grid