Little Things 309: Ophelia Offline, Starlight Online

It’s been four months without my MBP, ever since I turned off Ophelia and decided it was time to let her rest. I’ve been using my office MBP all this time, waiting for the right moment to commit to yet another pricey device.

Now, I finally have a new one to replace my old MBP from 2016. I ordered the new M4 MacBook Air 13-inch, thinking I’ll probably use it for minor editing while letting my iPad handle the heavy-lifting illustration work. Kot. I don’t know.

With God’s plan, I might be with IG for a long stretch of time. It’s cozy here (chaotic, at times), but the people I work with are great. For the first time, I feel like I can actually see our future together. It’s everything I need: consistency, full support, aroha, flexibility, and work-life balance. If I don’t need freelance jobs to fill the gaps, I don’t need a super-powerful MBP, just something reliable for “work” work.

Maybe the MBA + iPad combo is good enough.

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Thought process:

I didn’t buy the base model, I added more RAM and storage. Hopefully, it can handle the design work for another six years and the basic stuff for maybe ten. Downgrading from 15 inches to 13 inches feels significant, but sizes don't matter, I’ve got an extended monitor to make up for it. Plus, I might travel a bit, so I wanted something lighter and smaller.

I’m a bit nervous because the last time I used an MBA was in 2015, and it wasn’t powerful enough for design work. Hopefully, the M4 changes that. We’ll see.

I went with Starlight, the “yellow one”  because my iPad is the bold yellow version, and matching them felt like the right narrative choice. Yellow isn’t even my favorite color, but it pairs well with green, which is my current favorite. Together, they sit on my desk like two cheerful NPCs, plotting side quests for me while I work. Plus, they don’t match my personality at all, which is exactly the point, like I bought the sun and the vibes to balance out my serious tone. (Tapi in reality, langsung tak kuning, just slightly goldish from certain sides).

So here we are: a lighter laptop, a hopeful heart, and the quiet promise to make this one last as long as possible. If Ophelia taught me anything, it’s that our tools are more than tools, they’re archives of our early morning, our good work, and our half-finished dreams. 

Time to start filling this one’s memory banks, and perhaps with a lot of writing. 

Let's call her Starlight and my ipad the Sunlight.

Little Story 228 : A is for the Apple that you Gave to Me

Way back in 2012, I wrote this.

Gahh. Fast forward to 6 years after, and so many changes : I now own an iPad. I no longer hated the idea of having an iPad. I think this happened after they have created an Apple Pencil and at the same time a lot of companies created apps for people like us. I found it exciting to be able to draw/doodle anywhere without having to bring my MacBookPro (even though my MBP is small, it is still heavy to bring everywhere + wacom tablet + wires). So I always leave it at home.

But this is different, they have evolved. 

I loved it, I wanted it, I've put it up in my Patreon wishlist as an investment for my small business. I thought I'll be buying it next year probably after my next 2 trips because I need to invest on my trips first. So although it was in my mind, I didn't think much about it.

Blog title credit to Ms Langtree ♥️

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Until came to our 3rd wedding anniversary last month. During our dinner, Af suggested exchanging our presents. I didn't have anything to give to him because I already promised to buy a new shoes for our next trip. I can't buy a surprise shoes, he needs to try it on and chooses it himself. So I didn't have anything at all :F

He passed to me a small wrapped gift and when I opened it, it was an Apple Pencil. I felt grateful, sure, but it was still a long way to go for me to buy an iPad - to give me an Apple Pencil is a bit mean (or so I thought). 

"Why give me something that I can't use ? - this makes me feel the pressure of having to buy one soon". But I said my "thank you" nonetheless. 

But then, he passed me another plastic bag with a box in it. 

This one wasn't wrapped and it was an iPad. 

" Nooooo, freakin' way ". 

It was definitely an iPad and it was not a joke. I've never seen this one coming, so I was a bit overwhelmed :

• I didn't have anything to give to him at that time
• My budget was limited to buying him a nice shoes
• I thought I'm not going to have an iPad for at least another year

So I was excited + mixed with emotions.

Af bought me an iPad and Apple Pencil ! 

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:F I'm so happy, can't argue with that. 

I  installed all my nerdy apps for work + travel use (because I'm that kind of nerd) :

• Procreate (for digital illustrations + doodles)
• Wunderlist (for checking ✓ lists, of course)
• Scribd (for all my digital + audiobooks)
• Airbnb (for accommodation)
• Agoda (for other accommodation option)
• XE (for money exchange currency)
• TripIt (for our travel plans)
• Dashlane (to organize passwords)
• Sell on Etsy + Etsy (to manage my estore)
• Netflix (to watch Will Graham anywhere I want)

I also bought a cheap-o iPad cover that I can use to keep my iPad and the Pencil from Lazada. I'm serious guys, I'm at the state of needing to use almost all my money to prepare for 5 events and 2 international trips in less than 5 months :F 

So if you are big-hearted and want me to be a successful independent illustrator, you can pledge at my Patreon here. 

Every pledge means so much to me ♥️

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Aaanyway, that's a little story about how I got my unplanned iPad and Apple Pencil. Af said I've always wanted to be able to travel and still work/manage my business. This should be a nice investment for Azreenchan T^T And I want to cry all over again.

Thank you LOVE,

Happy 3rd Anniversary ♥️

Review : Apple Machines - for a designer

I'm an avid Apple user, from my first iPod shuffle, to iPod Touch, to iPhone 4S, and also my first Macbook Pro to iMac *previous office and Macbook Air *current office. It's fair to say that I can roughly summarize the machines that I've been using in this post. Because I am still considering which machine to buy to replace my dying Macbook Pro.

I'm going to spend some money on this so I need to do a huge amount of research before making a decision. So the research begins ! :

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Macbook Pro :

Based on 2010 version, 2.4Ghz Intel Core i5, 15 inch, Snow Leopard OS

Pro - 

• Powerful - I have no problems on any designing softwares I used before.
• The 15-inch screen size is big enough for designing. 
• I just love it. 

Cons - 

• Ridiculously heavy - including the wires and adaptor might take around 4kg on your back. So it is not suitable for frequent travel. Not quite sure the latest one, that one time I tried to pick it up at the Apple store, the alarm went off =.=' 
• Super expensive - The one I used was is around RM6k in 2010, the latest one is much pricier. 
• After the 3rd year, I had a massive problem - the blue-screen death, so I changed my hard-drive, downgraded it and it was okay. This is the 5th year, it starts to go black almost all the time nowadays - for any reason. 
• Only 2 USB ports

The rationale in buying this :

Maybe I can afford to buy the 13-inch one because it is powerful enough for my freelance works, portable and easy to bring to places - *hello Japan! But it is around RM5k, quite small for any designing works. Maybe?

Current price range - RM 4, 999 to RM 11,299

Buy here.

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Macbook Air :

Based on 2014 version, 1.4Ghz Intel Core i5, 13 inch, Yosemite OS

Pro - 

• Really light, it's portable and easy to bring to places and meetings.
• The battery can be up to 9 hours :D - I don't have to bring back the wires and adaptor back home everyday to use at night after work

Cons - 

• Slow, especially when I do digital illustration on Photoshop, most of vector works on Illustrator works fine. Perhaps you might want to find a lighter substitute application for digital illustration on App Store. 
• Quite small, not quite suitable for designing except if you have extra extended monitor. 
• Only 2 USB ports

The rationale in buying this :
No, it's not for designing. It is too slow, too sluggish for my likings. Maybe one day I will decide to be a full-time writer and not do any designing anymore, I might buy one because it is so slim and light. It's great for everyday life, but definitely not for designing purpose.

Current price range -  RM 4,099 to RM 5,449

Buy here.

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iMac

Based on 2014 version, 1.4Ghz Intel Core i5, 21 inch, Yosemite OS

Pro - 

• The size, it's huge. I love designing on iMac, I can see everything and use many artboards for designing at once.
• Got 4 USB ports. 

Cons -

• Not portable.
• A bit slow on Maverick OS, haven't tried El Capitan yet. Ditto on Photoshop, and huge AI files. 

The rationale in buying this :
If I want to work as a full-time freelance designer and manage to find several long-term contacts with clients, I'll make a nice studio at home and having this machine would be great. But for now, I'm searching for something portable.

Current price range - RM 4,999 to RM 10,399 

Buy here.

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You might want to upgrade these :

• Apple Care for another 3 years : Around RM 850
• Time Capsule 2 TB : RM 1,329
• Wacom Tablet : RM 699 +
• Monthly Adobe CC : Annual plan , RM 155 per month for all app.

So yes, I know we need to spend some money on the machine and softwares before even starting to make our investment pay-off. But, that's the life of a designer lah, if you choose to be one. And perhaps you choose to use PC and windows, the powerful machine will usually cost some money as well. Did you checked the price for Alienware? - everything is RM5k ++

This, will make sense if you are an active freelance designer/illustrator and in need of a powerful  machine in making extra money rather than waiting for our monthly salary from the formal working job. But if you don't want to work outside of the working hours, you don't have to spend so much of personal machines lah, untuk apa kan, membazir.

What do you think?

App : Runkeeper

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Hello !

A mobile application that I love to use during my exercise : Runkeeper.
There is also a web-based edition for Runkeeper.
Click here for iPhone version and here for Android version.

Features that I love :

1. Easy to use and straight forward

When I go out jogging, I will click open the application, choose an activity : running or walking, and click on the "Start Activity" button right away. It will then automatically track my location, how far, time, map, and such. 

Why it helps? It is a very convenient application to use. Click "Start" and off you go !

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2. Achieving your Goal
I am aiming for 50 km running and 30 km of walking in 3 months.
Runkeeper gives you a platform to keep track your goals.
Why it helps ? Tracking how far you've achieved and how much farther you need will keep you on your track. Well, at least it helps me. 3 km more to go before aiming for 100 km run ! :D

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3. Save your Activities 

How far, when, map, time taken to complete it, how much calories burned and such.

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4. Share and tweet.

Why it helps? Everything is about social network nowadays! Share it with your friends, compete, drag them along. 

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The web based can 

- list down events that you can join near you

- find street team

- save your routes & share

- make training plans

- give you visual statistic like this :

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I work as a conceptual designer for mobile application and during my free time, I explore the beautiful wonder of arts in current digital medium mainly in tablets and smart phones. I'll share my finding here from time to time. Enjoy the geeky side of me ! :D - azreenchan

Little Thing 38 : iPhone 5

I am an Apple user. 

I use many Apple products daily, from the littlest ipod shuffle to an iMac. Yesterday, Apple introduced the latest iPhone 5. If I haven't bought iPhone 4s early this year, I might be stumbling on Apple's website everyday just to pamper my eyes. 

But the thing is, I bought my iPhone 4s , eight months ago. It is still shiny, still new, and still scratch free. It delivers great job in promoting my works, keep in touch with people, snap memories and ideas, keep me entertained, and help me in my daily life. I love it. 

I've tried Blackberry, and Samsung, but they can never make me feel satisfied as much as an iPhone did. I don't mind really, on who got the better camera, or the bigger screen with clear pictures. It is not a childish competition on comparing who is better. 

Technology runs fast, so stop comparing.

This post is just a personal thoughts after hearing many childish mouth fights over smartphones. I wouldn't mind much if you just stop teasing my choice :D

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