Artisan - Discover your Idol today!

Been a while since I last blogged. Today's post feature a new web-application that was created as part of the Human Computer Interaction Design module.

Artisan links fans to their idols through the power of Internet. Fans will be able to keep themselves updated on their artist status, music and progress in their careers. They will also be able to discover new artiste and get to listen to their songs in the application.

Thoughts
It was certainly quite a fun and challenging project given that the application was finished in 4 days. Being in-charged of the whole project reminds me of the time back in the days where I would do everything about the application itself from the code to the graphics.

Motivation
We were given the freedom to do any web-application with a nice interface and I knew from the start what I want in the end. Artisan was created more to solve my own problems then anything else. I guess that helps me to relate to the application even more. Firstly, I needed a central location to keep myself updated about the news of my idol. On the other hand, many of such information are combined together into gossip sites and magazines. It was never about the fans.

Process
Artisan was created using Chocolatechip-UI to render the mobile interface. That being the critical requirement of the project, I started exploring how a music platform would work given the mobile screen size limitation. It turned out quite well in the end.

End Note
I had fun doing this application, and hopefully I would have chances to do it again in the future soon.

Here are some fancy screenshots.

Small application, but it works.

Here's the link to try it all out:
http://jaychua.com/cs3240/artisan

Jay Chua

MARIA - Desktop Based Task Manager

Developed under CS2103T module over at my studies in the National University of Singapore. MARIA poised to solve users dilemma when planning their daily routines and task.

Check out MARIA over here.
http://www.jaychua.com/showcase?id=10

First and foremost, what a heavy project it is. The project require us to developed a to-do task manager for a keyboard user. Together with my team, we were able to come out with a fairly good looking program. It looks good, could be better if we had the luxury of time. In my opinion, more options that are recognise by the program would be nice.

I was involved in the project as the guy who does the graphics. I was in-charged of making sure the program look nice. One of the project's requirements was to churn out a good GUI. A visualphile like me will not let go of the chance to satisfy this criteria. Doing it kinda fulfil my needs in exercising my right brain, hopefully my left brain don't mind.

Building under the QT Framework, I developed an animation system to deal with moving labels and images to accommodate the core purpose of the program. The result is a Windows like software that moves and flows smoothly. I am actually quite proud of it.

Enough said. Here is the demonstration video showcasing MARIA.

I think my post pretty much covers everything about MARIA.

Jay Chua
PS: Meanwhile, I am still very new to blogging. If there is anyone out there that do actually bother to read. Thank you.

String Copy

I've stumbled upon this piece of code earlier in the day and I have found it quite amusing.

while(*s++=*t++);

Guess what it it does? It copies a string. It actually meant this.

while (*t != 0) {

    *s = *t;

    s++;

    t++;

}

Basically the process goes as follows, the contents of t (*t) are copied to s (*s) at every loop. Both s and t are then incremented with (++). And when (*t) couldn't get any further, it breaks out of the while loop. A string is then copied through that one lines of code, while being written in a much more compacted way.

By Jay Chua

Euro Trip

Last December, I went on a trip to Europe with my extended family.

Amazing food, amazing views, amazing people.
Here's some panoramic views of Europe


Colosseum - Rome - Italy


Piazza S. Pietro - Rome - Italy


Trevi Fountain - Rome - Italy


Piazza del Campo - Sienna - Italy


Tower of Pisa - Pisa - Italy


Piazza del Duomo - Florence - Italy


Random Interior - Florence - Italy


Docks near St. Marks Square - Venice - Italy


St. Marks Square - Venice - Italy


Canals - Venice - Italy


Outside Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Milan - Italy


Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Milan - Italy


Ride up Jungfraujoch - Interlaken - Switzerland


Jungfraujoch - Interlaken - Switzerland


Mona Lisa, Lourve Museum - Paris - France


Lourve Museum - Paris - France


Siene River - Paris - France

Post Trip Stopover in Dubai

Burj Al Arab - Dubai - UAE


Somewhere in the middle of the desert - Dubai - UAE

By Jay Chua

A new beginning

After a long hiatus on the development of my previous portfolio website, I've finally found the time to pick up the pieces and complete it. The whole website has been overhauled to better showcase works. The old one in my opinion was too cramped and niche.

Oh and this is my first venture into blogging too. So pardon the lack quality in my writing. Hopefully I will improved with time. There are still some things missing around the corners, but I'll try to update as often as time allows.

So yeah, welcome and thank you for your time and attention.

By Jay Chua