BlipADeal Daily Deals - Mobile Web Now Available

BlipADeal, Daily Deals, General No Responses »
Jul 242012

As part of a mini release we have now deployed a mobile web interface that allows users with devices that dont support javascript heavy sites to also view deals that they like whilst on the go. The new interface has been created without any javascript and contains only very basic CSS to allow almost all mobile devices to view all deals successfully.

We developed this interface to target users within some major asian regions that love to purchase deals but where smart phones technology is not yet as prevalent as they are in regions such as Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom or Singapore.  The current design is very basic so as to allow all devices to view the deals however, if you do own a smart phone that is able to support javascript heavy sites then switching between the basic mobile web and the full standard BlipADeal site is simple.

We have noticed that in many regions such as Indonesia & Philippines, the rate of growth for internet and mobile devices usage with internet capabilities is very large with massive potential in the coming years however, there is still a large number within the population that still do not yet own smart phones that can render javascript heavy sites correctly. We want to ensure that we support these regions early so that once the technology becomes affordable for the majority of the population they are already accustomed with using BlipADeal as their primary source of deals.

Below are some screenshots of the BlipADeal mobile web basic version.

 

Posted by sid at 2:58 pm

Online Education & Learning

General, Startup, Technical Talk No Responses »
Jul 202012

Ever since I’ve had dial up internet at home in 2002 it has changed so much and one of the areas that excites me the most is in the area of online education and learning. After discovering khan Academy I am now absolutely hooked. The videos are very easy to follow, there is so much material in areas that I am interested in and it is all absolutely free (kudos to Sal for starting it all and for the teams progress on the service). Since the time that I initially found KA things have improved greatly, I can see that the team has grown and whenever there are any new topics that tip my interest I go through the material.

One of the problems with online education is that it is *online* and sadly the people that can most benefit from this material are the same group of people that dont actually have sufficient access to the internet. I have some family members in indonesia that have this problem and this comes about because of the cost of wireless and the quality of service. This makes it very difficult to stream video directly from the internet so whenever I go back I try to download the videos that I know may help and put it on a cd for them so they can watch it offline.

I tried to do a project around solving this a few years ago using VSAT technologies but I just wasn’t able to get around the red tape and simply ran out of my personal resources that I had dedicated to complete the project. At completion I was only able to implement the project in one site. Things however are improving and the internet in many of the areas are getting better. Hopefully in the near future KA will make its way to the people that will benefit the most because I can personally see how much of a difference it will make once its accessible.

In Addition to KA new online education platforms such as coursera and an entrepreneurial studies course called venture-lab has also been developed. All courses are online, they are free and they are taught by some of the most experienced lecturers in their field. The courses are amazing and simply blows me away. It is probably why there are so many teens popping up in the media building companies, apps and online services so early on in their lives, all the information is there and they just need to utilise it.

Its a great sign of things to come. The new generation leveraging of what the previous generations have learnt at such a large scale in such a quick period of time just holds so much potential. It will lead to faster breakthroughs, better technology (and as long as we dont obliterate the planet and each other) a much more exciting future.

 

Below are some of the great educational services that I use online. Enjoy….

 

Venture Lab

Khanacademy

 

Coursera

Posted by sid at 11:29 pm

DailyDealMedia - Coupon Management Features

Daily Deals, General, Startup No Responses »
Jul 072012

Thanks to the DailyDealMedia guys for the write up about our new coupon features found in this article @ http://www.dailydealmedia.com/789coupon-storage-service-reminds-daily-deal-users-when-their-coupons-expire/. We appreciate the support and will be releasing new features in the up coming weeks which also includes our new mobile applications that integrate this new coupon feature. We hope to continue simplifying the process of managing daily deals both pre and post purchase and will drive to find new ways to continue to innovate in this space.

 

Posted by sid at 9:27 am

Nostalgia - BlipADeal Site Improvements

BlipADeal, General, Startup 1 Response »
Jul 072012

This post is just to trip down memory lane. Since the first time BlipADeal went live we have made 4 different changes to the design to either cater for new features so that they integrate together better or to simply give a fresh new look to the site. Digging through my old screenshots of the past BlipADeal design’s I am not able to find the first version that we did however I do have the proceeding ones.

I think we may be staying with this new design for a while, specially as we improve various other aspects of the website, however if have any comments or feedback on the new design please dont hesitate to let us know !

 

 

 

With the new design, our goal was to successfully integrate the new coupon and preferences feature without making it feel “tacked on”. We felt that for the new additional features to be integrated successfully the design needed to change as well to give it a better, complete coherent feel.

We also tried to ensure the new design felt cleaner and easier to navigate, with less widgets and moving timers (as it seems this is no longer as necessary as it used to be). From a technology perspective, much of the HTML was removed and was moved into the CSS to give the page a quicker load time. As we move away from our MVP product into something more mature the code base and performance aspects will also be gradually enhanced.

Just a quick (two) screen shot of the site in its close to original form those months ago !

Posted by sid at 2:00 am

What to eat ... What to eat ... daily deals to the rescue

BlipADeal, Daily Deals, General No Responses »
Jun 302012

Eating out and relaxing on weekends is one of the most simple yet enjoyable things one can do. For those running a business or having a busy schedule, having the time to do this can be few and far between. However, no matter how busy we are, we must take the time when we can. When the opportunity arises organising the time to enjoy good food, good wine and having good company must not be missed. Enjoying a weekend at a great place to eat with friends and family is one of the most easily accessible, simple pleasures specially when the weather is good and the restaurant has that nice scenery.

The great thing about having access to so many daily deals in the food and beverage category is that it helps us choose where to go and eat. There are so many choices of restaurants (from all around the world) and eateries that finding what suites the occasion is not only easier but now so much cheaper.

A few weeks ago I had a friend come from overseas who hadn’t ever had good middle eastern food. A quick browse of the food and beverage section of BlipADeal revealed many great middle eastern restaurants. The place we decided to go to however was a combination of middle eastern food and a Brazilian churrusco grill which tasted absolutely fantastic, specially with so many choices of salads, sauces and meats. The food was great, the service was great and going back there in future is definitely on the books.

Having so many daily deals also reveals so many different restaurants that you just didn’t know existed. As daily deals is a great way for businesses to promote their services many new businesses make a splash on different group buying websites which eventually end up on BlipADeal radar. This exposes many new places to eat that otherwise you may not have known about. If your anything like me and have many visitors come from overseas then knowing whats good to eat around town always makes you look good because taking friends and family to that restaurant that no one knew about before (or ones that are new) is always a good way to show off your skills as a local !

We all know that Daily deals is a lot more then just finding good places to eat but the food and beverages are one of the most popular daily deals types that still attract many customers… i guess its quite easy to understand … cause … everybody needs to eat right !

Below are some of the daily deals from the food and beverage’s section that look very tempting from all different parts of the world… maybe its time to take a break and get together with some friends and family for a nice dinner next weekend.

You and a buddy score an authentic Indian feast at Raj Mahal in Westmead for a rather marvellous $29! Includes your choice of four entrees, two mains, two desserts, rice and naan brea

 

Tuck into a Lebanese feast for TWO at Jasmin 1 Lebanese Restaurant in Leichhardt for a splendid $26! Use it for lunch OR dinner, dine-in or take-away and buy as many as you like!

 

Dine on Course After Course of Authentic Greek Cuisine! Slow Cooked Lamb on the Bone with Lemon & Oregano, Traditional Creamy Mousaka, Spicy Grilled Saganaki, Crisp Salt & Pepper Calamari, Fresh Greek Salad, Housemade Taramasalata, Tzatzik

 

Get big Malaysian flavours for a tiny price at Bombay To Kuala Lumpur in Parramatta! Only $35 for two people to enjoy a three-course dinner! That’s a spicy saving of 64%!

 

Great food from all around the world @ a budget ! who can beat that

Posted by sid at 7:49 am

Apple & Steve Jobs ...

General No Responses »
Oct 062011

Every morning I start the day by getting my daily dose of tech news via hacker news but today logging onto Hacker News led me to some bad news about Steve Job’s passing. As a technologist and a developer for many of apples platforms  (macbook, iPhone and iPad)  I felt a certain sadness when i heard this news. I felt sad because even though I am not an apple fanboy, the company that steve jobs founded and the products his company has built has had an impact on my life in a very big way.

I remember 2-3 years ago being very angry i had to buy a whole new computer for $1400 and learn a whole new OS just so I can develop for the iPhone. I was angry about the cost, the lock in, the $99 developer license (which became $120 AUD even though AUD was stronger then USD) and the whole approval process for publishing.

However I swallowed all that because I felt learning new things is always worth the pain and i had a keen interest in learning iPhone development. After I bought the required products and began hacking away I couldn’t help but think for the first few months after my purchase that I have just been *locked in* and taken for a ride by yet another big corporate.

After I really got into it though (and because of my unix background) I just began to absolutely love my MacBook.  It had the power you needed for the power users (shell over dos) and the GUI was just so nice to use. After a while my windows machine and even my spare laptop with linux installed on it began to gather dust as my main weapon became my macbook. Even when developing blackberry apps and being no native support for blackberry on macbook’s I went through the pain of trying to make blackberry development work on the macbook.

To me personally, this was such a clear indication of just how good the products are such that it turned me into someone who initially had deep resentment for having had to spend so much money on something he felt wasn’t worth it to someone who can’t go without his macbook anymore. After using the macbook and totally loving it, it didn’t matter to me anymore about all the other crap just cause the product (the macbook in my case) was so good. Its a tribute to Steve Job’s focus on what the users want and in general the products that apple delivers.

Even more of an impact now is that the iPhone apps developed by small startups and individuals along with the eco system that apple has created makes it easier to gain exposure around the world. It makes it easier for us small startups to develop apps that millions can get their hands on in an easy well defined process. I think this is why i felt the most sad. I felt sad because Apple under steve jobs leadership provided a way to make a living doing the thing that we love and that is developing apps for the mainstream market. I can’t speak for everyone but I know personally that I love developing apps for the iPhone and making a living out of it.

Apple created this market and everyone that followed suite has enriched this market and made the playground for developers bigger and better !

Rest in peace Steve Jobs, thanks for what you have done with apple and how you have revolutionised the tech industry as a whole …

 

Posted by team at 5:26 am

Coding & Health ....

General, Startup No Responses »
Jun 112011

Coding is an activity that we here at Blipcom really enjoy doing. Its obvious we enjoy it otherwise we wouldn’t be able to sit hours on end in front of the computer bashing away at the keyboard and occasionally on the table when things don’t work :) . I personally have enjoyed coding since I first started to learn back at high-school. I found the idea that you can sit on your backside with nothing more then a computer an idea and ultimately create something totally awesome/useable/useful with just abit of time as investment really alluring. No wood, no metal, no chemicals, no materials nothing …. its awesome right ?!

Well Yes ! it is … For the most part, however therein lies part of the problem with coding. Coding is purely an intellectual activity, other then the slight movement of your fingers you get absolutely no opportunity to use your body or get any exercise. This means that as coders (without any inherit body activities within our work scope) we need to spend extra time outside of our working day to get the exercise that we need.

With a startup however time is one of the things you dont really have much of especially if you are bootstrapping and juggling other responsibilities also. As a result you might have to make tradeoffs.

Sometimes an idea or a solution comes to you during your “alloted” exercise time  and a choice needs to be made, “do I sit on the computer and fix the problem” or do I stick with my exercise schedule”. In my case, i would say, “if i forgot this solution or idea i might loose 2-3 hours thinking about it again” SO i would choose to sit on the computer and work on the problem. Eventually this can happen enough times that you start to loose motivation to continue with your exercise regime and you slip back into getting lazy about your daily gym or jog session.

So there is a deeper question. Should i risk bits and pieces of my health (lack of sleep here, missing lunch or dinner there, eating crap food at a coding session or skip the morning jog session) for a short term product progress gain ? The simple answer is NO however im sure at some stage all of us coders have done it. Making the choice is something that i struggle with myself. Its never been difficult for me to exercise and keep a schedule but because ensuring that progress is made within our product is very important to me, its one of those things that may override my daily planned schedule.

As I type this post, im doing so with a bit of a flu and a headache and I think its probably because i didn’t have enough sleep and rest. As a result i lost yesterday’s progress which i had planned for our mobile application along with parts of today. In retrospect i probably should have got enough sleep and not pushed it as hard the last 3 days.

So the moral of the story is, in my attempts to get things done faster by sacrificing sleep and rest, i have instead managed to get delayed further because i got sick and unwell. This can be thought of as the same in the longer term if you dont watch your health in general. I think sacrificing many things for the pursuit of success in a startup is OK, but i think one of the things which you shouldn’t sacrifice (even if its hard and even if you cant help it) is your health.

Basically without health having all the success in the world means nothing ….

Posted by team at 3:25 am

Welcome Guys ... The Blip'in team welcomes you ...

BlipADeal, General, Startup No Responses »
Apr 282011

Hi Guys,

Hi & welcome to our service and our blog ! Please stay tuned as we bring more of stories , updates & upgrades to our blog and our service …

Posted by team at 3:21 am
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