Tag: books

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Waiting for my Website Stencil Kit from UI Stencils

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Last December 2014, I decided to buy Website Stencil Kit directly from UI Stencils website. Actually, I wanted to buy the other stencil kits, but since this is my first-time experience buying from this site, I purchased an item only. This is not my first international order since I have been ordering items from outside the country (Indonesia) few times. I had no issues purchasing books from Amazon, Smashing Magazine, and also some other goods from online stores. So, this is a valid reason to buy some stuff online.

I understand that it takes time. I had my Smashing Magazine’s The Mobile Book after waiting (and made another confirmation) for about 6 months. Amazon usually took 3-4 weeks.

I had my order confirmation from UI Stencils on December 26, 2015. Yes, I was aware that it might take a little bit longer since it was during Christmas and New Year holidays. The total transaction was $35.50 ($6.50 for shipping). A week after that, I got another email confirmation informing that my order have been shipped.

It’s been almost 6 weeks and I haven’t received my order. Well, I think I just need to wait a little bit longer.

Update: I reached UI Stensil Twitter account (@UIStencils)  about the situation and got a quick response via email.  Thank you! I was informed that it might take upto 6 weeks to arrive. And, they asked me to inform if I do not receive my order until the end of this February. Since they’re responsive, I think I can wait until first week or second of March.

Update March 20, 2015: Finally, I have just received my order. So, it took around 10 weeks to arrive.

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Goodbye Readmill

Readmill
Readmil has been my favorite ebook reader so far. I have shared my thought on this long time ago. I have a good really good experience. But, it seems that I have to find another alternative in the future since Readmill will be closed permanently in next July 2014. Sad.
This Berlin-based team will be joining Dropbox, a file hosting company. Dropbox does not offer ebook reading feature. The reason is more about the talent. For now, I will keep having Readmill on my iOS device (iPhone 5) and Android. I have it installed in both devices. For iPad? Well, I don’t have it anymore since I lost it last month. When Readmill is really gone, I think I’ll move back to iBooks on iOS. For Android? I’m still searching the best alternative.
Goodbye Readmill, you’ll be missed.

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37signals' REMOTE is now available

When I found out that REMOTE was available for pre-order, it didn’t take minutes for me to make a pre-order from Amazon. I have read Getting Real, and it’s inspiring. Or, you probably have read REWORK.
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And, yesterday I got an email informing that the book is available. Here is how the book is described:

As an employer, restricting your hiring to a small geographic region means you’re not getting the best people you can. As an employee, restricting your job search to companies within a reasonable commute means you’re not working for the best company you can. REMOTE, the new book by 37signals, shows both employers and employees how they can work together, remotely, from any desk, in any space, in any place, anytime, anywhere.

To find out more about this book, or read some sample chapters, go to REWORK’s website. Also, I received a notification from Amazon.com about my pre-order status. I made the pre-order on August 10, 2013 for $13.80. Yeah, more than two months ago. It’s estimated that I will have this book — together with another item from Amazon.com — in the mid of November.
Actually, I also want to have the ebook version from Apple’s iBooks Store. But, it seems that it’s not yet available for the Indonesian Store. You can buy from iBook Store for $12.99.

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Ordered: Smashing Magazine's The Mobile Book (Printed and Digital Edition)

… but,  still haven’t got the printed edition with me (after for about 5 months).
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When I heard that Smashing Magazine’s The Mobile Book was ready for pre-order, I decided to pre-order it. It was back in October 2012. I paid $42.31 ($5 shipping handling included) using Paypal to get this good deal:

  • The Mobile Book (Printed Book)
  • The Mobile Book | Digital Edition (eBook)
  • Mobile Design Bundle (4 eBooks)

A good deal, wasn’t it?
That was not the first time I bought something from outside the country. Previously, I bought Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs from Amazon and had it delivered without issues. Yes, it took for about three weeks using the standard delivery method. I had no problem with it. I could wait. In short, I convinced myself to buy The Mobile Book since I had a good experience ordering books from outside Indonesia.
In December 2012, The Mobile Book was launched. Got an email notification also. Nice! So, I waited. I could not wait to have it delivered. Well, not only because that was the biggest amount I spent for a single book purchase, but since I could not wait to read it.
I waited.
The book would be shipped from Berlin, Germany. And, it was estimated to arrive in Indonesia in 9-15 days. Well, I didn’t expect much to be on-time. Even an additional 7 days was still acceptable.
I waited… and waited.
On January 18, 2013 I contacted them asking for the delivery status. I got a quick respond from them.

Dear Thomas,
Thank you for pre-ordering our new Mobile Book! We are very sorry that your Mobile Book has not arrived yet.
The Mobile Book was release on 12th December 2012 and the shipment of the pre-ordered books started on 14th December.
Since the delivery of your book is indeed overdue, we will investigate what happened to your shipment and get back to you as soon as possible.
Of course we will make sure that you receive your purchased book.

It seemed that I only need to wait. No problem. At least I got a respond from them. On the next day, I got another email regarding the shipment status with the subject: “Your shipment #100028609 for order #100063512”.
smmbookresend
Until today (May 24, 2013), I haven’t got it delivered in my hand. I write this because I just remember about this book order. I am not blaming anybody here. I just want so share a little bit of my experience. I do love Smashing Magazine. It’s a useful resources, great site. I think I’m just unlucky this time. Few hours ago, I sent another email to them. If I still can’t have it delivered, I will stop asking. I promise.
And, I promise myself to think twice before making another order — not only at Smashing Magazine, but at any other stores. Probably, the digital version is a better choice. But… sometime I want to have a real book.
Update May 25, 2013: I got an email from Smashing Magazine Support confirming the shipping address for the delivery. They will try to send it again. Hope to have it delivered.
Update: I had my book delivered.

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Umum

Alasan mengapa saya ingin punya iPhone 5

iPhone 5. Ya, saya ingin memilikinya.

iPhone bukanlah produk pertama kali dari Apple yang saya miliki. Produk pertama yang saya beli adalah sebuah MacBook Pro pada Agustus 2010 lalu. Kecintaan saya pada produk Apple mulai muncul ketika saya menggunakannya sehari-hari. Saya merasa bahwa produktivitas saya semakin bertambah, beban di pundak juga semakin ringan karena MacBook lebih ringan daripada komputer jinjing saya sebelumnya.

Tahun berikutnya, saya membeli sebuah iPhone 4 (16 GB) di bulan Agustus 2011. Saya merasa bahwa ini keputusan yang tepat. Saya suka bagaimana produk tersebut didisain, dan tentu saja fitur-fitur yang ditawarkan. Saya suka produk yang bagus yang bisa menunjang kebutuhan saya sehari-hari, baik pekerjaan, maupun aktivitas sehari-hari. Setahun kemudian, New iPad (64 GB) menemani saya dalam keseharian.

Di bulan 14 Desember 2012, ini iPhone generasi terbaru (iPhone 5) hadir di Indonesia. Dan, saya menginginkannya. Memang benar ada alasan untuk tidak membelinya. Misalnya harga yang terlalu mahal, fitur yang sebenarnya banyak dimiliki oleh ponsel lain, dan masih banyak lagi. Tapi, tentu saja ada alasan untuk membelinya, dan alasan tersebut bisa sangat subyektif. Ini alasan saya mengapa saya menginginkan sebuah iPhone 5.

Disain: Dimensi Baru

iPhone 5

Dari tampilan salah satu perbedaan mencolok adalah dari sisi ukuran yang lebih tinggi. Pertama kali saya mengikuti informasi peluncuran produk iPhone 5 ini, saya merasa penasaran. Lebih tinggi, tetapi tidak lebih lebar. Saya merasakan iPhone 4 yang saya miliki sudah memiliki ukuran yang pas dalam genggaman saya. Walaupun kadang karena saya merasa bahwa jika layar lebih tinggi, harusnya tidak menjadi masalah. Jari saya memang mungkin tergolong agak panjang. Paling tidak sampai dengan saat ini, saya bisa menjangkau semua bagian layar ketika saya memegang iPhone 4 saya dengan satu tangan. Saya sudah mencoba beberapa ponsel pintar dengan ukuran layar lebih tinggi, kadang tidak terlalu mudah untuk bekerja dengan satu tangan.

Continue reading “Alasan mengapa saya ingin punya iPhone 5”
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Too Much To Read

Too Much To Read. A Universal Readmill Library. Books from Project Gutenberg. Created by Johannes Wagener. It’s Readmill-friendly.

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Readmill: Another reading experience

One of the reasons I bought an iPad this year was that about books. I have to admit that my reading habit has changed in the last few months. I read more books and magazines on my iPad. But, it does not mean that I don’t read real books. It’s easy to mentioned two last books I bought: Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs and Listomania.
But, I bought more digital books. I subscribed to National Geographics Magazine for iPad, and purchased some other books directly from iBook Store. I have some editions from A Book Apart and Smashing Magazines, too. My reading experience has been shifted.
Readmill
Recently, I moved some of my books to Readmill. iBooks and Readmill share the similar reading experience. But, after using it for few days, I think I’m falling in love with Readmill. I like the idea that it’s not only about reading. I like its social features, and I love the way the site is designed.

Readmill is a curious community of readers, highlighting and sharing the books they love.
We believe reading should be an open and easily shareable experience. We built Readmill to help fix the somewhat broken world of ebooks, and create the best reading experience imaginable. (source)

In short, it happens like this:

  • Buy some books, and you usually you will get them in some formats like PDF or ePub.
  • You can easily open them using iBook app (on your iOS devices). If you’re using Readmill, you upload them to your Readmill’s Library.
  • Start reading.

While you’re reading, you can take notes, highlights. Readmill has a nice approach about the reading behaviours. Readers can interact each others by sharing highlights. Try to visit a book profile called “Designing for Emotion” by Aaron Walter.

But, what about the reading experience itself? On my iPad, I have a pleasant reading experience. Readmill app offers a simple and key features readers really need: adding highlights, bookmarks, etc. And, not to forget its social features, they’re just great.

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Five Simple Steps Books

I think I want these books.

And, all books in collection including:

  • A Practical Guide to Designing Grid Systems for the Web by Mark Boulton
  • A Practical Guide to Designing the Invisible by Robert Mills
  • A Practical Guide to Strategic User Experience by Leisa Reichelt
  • Creating Web Content by Relly Annett-Baker
  • Designing Web App Success by Dan Zambonini
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Superman's Secret Cartoon History

Superman’s Secret Cartoon History

Superman was one of the most famous American creations of the 20th Century. The first true comic book super-star and a cultural icon, the caped character quickly leapt from ten cent comic books to daily newspaper stardom and a popular radio show. Then Hollywood called. Republic Pictures tried to license him for a twelve chapter serial, but Paramount placed a higher bid and the Man of Steel became a cartoon pioneer–the first science fiction adventure cartoon, setting the bar for all action animation to come.

via Khoi Vinh

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EMPRNT

EMPRNT is a resource for designers who love design books and design related items.

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Google Offers More Than 1.5 Million Public Domain Books

books sm2
Google Book Search offers a great deal. We can now find more than 1.5 million public domain book for free. Not only that, we can also enjoy reading them in mobile devices like the iPhone and the T-Mobile G1. Use this address: http://books.google.com/books/m
If we’re using the mobile edition, it will display text for faster download. Nice!

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Flickr Homepage New Design

New Flickr Home Page
I think Flickr homepage new design is much better, that’s what I feel. Even the new design has not been rolled out for public, but you can have it now. Read Flickr blog for more details about the new design.
So, what’s hot there? Here are few things I found/like:

  • The main content (column) — it’s on the left — has more useful items.
  • On the front page, you will have this “box”.
    • Your recent photos. It’s 5 now instead of 4 photos, and recent activity info. You can toogle between these menus, and your settings is saved automatically. Flickr will remember your recent “tabs”.
    • Your contact — We can see 10 photos, not only 4.
    • Photos from Groups. If you’re joining groups in Flickr, you’ll see the recent photos from certain groups. And, it seems that they’re displayed in random order.
    • If you like to explore photos in Flickr, there is another random items on the bottom area. Click the refresh icon, and you’ll get different content.
    • New post from Flickr blog resides on the top sidebar.
    • There is also random tips (?) for Flickr users. For example it says: You can post photos straight to your blog from Flickr!, It’s the “dos” and “don’ts” of Flickr citizenship, Making your own posters, books or backup disks is easy, etc. Click the refersh icon to randomize it.
  • The recent activity is improved. If you go to http://flickr.com/activity/ .. you’ll see the differences. You can made some adjustments about the activity settings. If you’re Flickr Pro user, some short stats about your photos is available from that page.
  • On the recent activity page, we can stop the updates/changes from certain items. There is an icon/menu says “Mute activity on this item”.

Overall impression? It looks great! And anyway, this is our (Lala and I) Flickr photostream page.

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ISBN-13

Effective January 1, 2007, the length of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) will officially change from 10 to 13 digits. This change will require book industry organizations to use 13-digit ISBNs instead of 10-digit ISBNs when identifying books in global trade.

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Was: Hari Anak Nasional

Yesterday, July 23rd, 2003 (all? not all I think) Indonesian children celebrated Hari Anak Nasional. TV stations broadcasted many news about this. Govt’s concepts and plans for kids, coming actions, etc. Once, I found a fact about children’s education. And that’s a true story.
Education has become hot issues for years. I still remember the “Wajib Belajar 9 Tahun”, “Aku Anak Sekolah”, “Bebas Tiga Buta”, etc. What about the street children, getting money by begging or becoming street musicians? Ten thousand rupiah will be enough for food, yeah, at least for meal. School uniforms, books, stationary are quite expensive. Are school uniforms so necessary?
Few days ago, I got a counter argument (from TV news) for that question. By wearing school uniforms, there will be no differences who is rich and poor. All the same, equal. And by having the same uniform, the students will have more solidarity, having the concept of equality.
But that will be different when time to wear new school uniforms comes. There will be new and old school uniforms. And I’m sure jealousy is there. Well, too complicated huh? Hehehe.. I’m not an educational expert. Happy National Children’s day! How did you celebrate it what you’re a child?