DEV Community: Christopher Chhim

ChatGPT's New Features

Christopher Chhim — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 07:34:21 +0000

As I'm sure most of you are familiar with, ChatGPT is a free online chatbot that assists based on the user input in the form entry. In this blog, I want to discuss ChatGPT's new features.

ChatGPT is available as a desktop app but is only available for Mac users with Silicon chips for the time being. This feature is expected to extend to Windows but is not compatible with Intel-based macs. On top of providing a shortcut, the app has standalone features that aren't present in the browser version such as: searching for previous conversations and taking instant screenshots. A user can take screenshots directly from the app by pressing the Option and Space keys, and then selecting Take Screenshot.

Another new feature of ChatGPT is the ability to create temporary chats. Temporary chats start off with a blank state and do not have access to previous chat logs. Temporary chats can be initiated by toggling on "Temporary Chat" from the top menu. Temporary chats do not appear in history and they won't be used for OpenAI's training purposes. Temporary chats disappear when the user closes the browser or refreshes the current tab. Lastly, temporary chats can be turned back into normal chats by toggling off the temporary chat option.

Below are a list of some shortcuts pointed out by the author of a referenced post:

Shortcut Action
Command + N Start a new chat
Command + Shift + N Open a new temporary chat
Command + F Search for an existing conversation
Option + Space Bring up the chat bar
Command + , Go to ChatGPT settings
Command + W Close the current ChatGPT window
Command + Q Close ChatGPT
Command + + Make text bigger
Command + – Make text smaller
Command + 0 Reset text size
Control + Command + F Enable full-screen mode
Command + O Open chat in companion window
Left-click conversation, Command + A Select all text in a conversation

This post was heavily inspired from:
Lim, H. How to Use Temporary Chat in ChatGPT and What It Does
(2024, September 13) & ChatGPT Desktop App Features and Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (2024, September 22)
Retrieved from: [https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/temporary-chat-in-chatgpt/], [https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/chatgpt-desktop-app-keyboard-shortcuts/]

Less Screen Time, More Family Time

Christopher Chhim — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 07:00:35 +0000

I want to dedicate this post to reminding tech workers to spend less time on-screen and more time with family. While this may sound self-explanatory I see that people are dedicating too much of their time to their professions and research so they are glued to their screens as a result.

It is a good practice to spend some time away from devices and spend time doing the things you love outside of technology, one such important activity is spending time with family. If your family won't reciprocate the same gesture here are a few tips to ensure that they do:

Silent Mode

Instruct your guests to silence their phones.

Change the Wi-Fi PassWord

If people ignore your polite request to do so then you can temporarily change the Wi-Fi password to make sure that they won't use their devices in your presence.

Secure Gaming Consoles

Hide gaming consoles and anything else that has access to games.

Confiscate Devices

Pass around a box to collect all devices to make sure that guests will not be able to use them.

These are just a few tips to ensure that family time is well spent and not spoiled by technological devices. While we do want to make sure that the atmosphere is tech-free it should be done in a manner where it does not come off as strict.

This post was heavily inspired from:
Tan, L. (2024, June 30) Disconnect Tech to Reconnect: Family Time During the Holidays
Retrieved from: [https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/detech-for-holidays/]

Node.js Update

Christopher Chhim — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 05:56:01 +0000

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I last posted a blog and today might be my last of blogging on this platform. As of today, I want to share with my audience that I graduated from my full-stack development BootCamp with Columbia University! I want to cover the newest updates on Node.js because I have become familiar with the software after spending countless hours developing the back end. Node.js is a free, open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment designed for developers to create servers, web apps, command-line tools, and scripts.

Version 22 is the current release for October. One of its most significant updates is the support for require() ECMAScript Modules graphs. This improvement allows developers to use the require() function to load ESM graphs. They represent a modern JavaScript module system.

Version 22 also incorporates a built-in WebSocket client that is enabled by default. It simplifies the development of apps that are in need of live data updates.

The newest update to Node.js has incorporated AbortSignal, which optimizes APIs and the testing framework. This leads to faster operation times and aborts asynchronous operations.

Node.js' watch mode command line has become stable thanks to its newest update. It allows developers to restart their apps whenever changes are detected in the watched files and it significantly enhances its development efficiency.

Node.js' newest features help its users accomplish their tasks more efficiently. Implementing these features as standard helps developers ensure their apps are stable and deliver high performance.

This post was heavily inspired from:
Moorthy, V. (2024, September 24) What’s New in Node.js 22?
Retrieved from: [https://www.syncfusion.com/blogs/post/whats-new-in-node-js-22]

Improving the Development Life Cycle

Christopher Chhim — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 05:39:47 +0000

Hello there! If you stumbled upon this post, I hope you took something away by taking 5-10 reading this post. In making tech blogs, I not only aim to jot notes for myself but also for others to learn from my notes as well! With that being said, I am dedicating this blog to improving the workflow of teams by proposing a way to shorten the development life cycle. The web development life cycle consists of analysis, planning, design, development, testing, and maintenance/update. This process is hard to follow when programmers are faced with tight deadlines, heavy workloads, or limited resources. Thankfully, code can solve all these issues.

What is UXPin Merge?

UXPin Merge is a code-based design tool "that helps designers collaborate seamlessly with devs, build production-ready prototypes, and streamline design systems' scale and maintenance". In doing this, UXPin Merge bridges the gap between design and development by allowing users to use the same code for the entire UI development process. This makes it easier for designers to develop a prototype and they can copy code from the components. This saves a lot of time because developers won't have to go back and change the code whenever a visual change is being made. Ultimately, the tool boosts productivity and the quality of the final product.

How does it work?

UXPin Merge is a code-based design tool. Consistency between design and development is established because of how its UI components are backed with functional React code that is directly imported from the code repository. Drawn elements can also be styled with CSS. Designers can drag and drop them onto the design canvas and share the design with devs, allowing seamless collaboration.

Key Points:

UI & UX Consistency
Reduced rework and iterations
Higher quality testing
Faster product development
Designing with code

This post was heavily inspired from:
"From Design to Development" (2024, September 9)
Retrieved from: [https://tympanus.net/codrops/2024/09/09/from-design-to-development-without-translation-how-to-find-the-real-source-of-truth/]

Best Web Design Tools for Designers & Agencies

Christopher Chhim — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 22:50:37 +0000

Hello everyone! I want to share useful web design tools for today's blog! Web design is an important aspect of web development, so I wish to inform aspiring web developers of existing useful resources.

Brizy Builder
Brizy Builder is a good website builder for designers and agencies because of its White Label solutions. It allows users to add their own branding, which includes: builder name, builder logo, domain URL, support link, about link, and project subdomain.
Trafft
Trafft is a free online scheduling software solution for business owners. Its most renowned feature is the ability to operate in a multitude of languages. It facilitates the effective management of appointments and events using email, SMS, and WhatsApp messages. Trafft also offers easy backend and frontend interface navigation.
WpDataTables
WpDataTables is a good resource for businesses and individuals in need of tables and charts. It allows its users to create custom and responsive tables and charts. It is capable of managing complicated data structures and it features chart engines for displaying data for a wide range of uses.
Uncode
Uncode is an ideal solution for professional designers and agencies looking for any project. Uncode presents flexibility on its website designing tools and good customer service. Uncode's target audience are agencies and freelancers because of how it addresses the needs of customers and clients alike.
LayerSlider
LayerSlider is known for its scroll effect. It creates simple sliders and slideshows to captivate audiences with its animated content. Users have access to millions of stock photos and videos. All in all, it is a resourceful tool for marketers because of its delivery on its slider plugins.

These web design tools are just a few of the many out there! I hope this blog catches the eye of those who are just starting their own website, or to anyone who is willing to learn. I am in need of developing my portfolio so resources like these can help me access my needs and how web design tools can help me customize my personal website to my liking.

This post was heavily inspired from:
Adams, M. (2024, February 15) 10+ Excellent Web Design Tools & Resources to Use in 2024
Retrieved from: [https://webdesignledger.com/10-excellent-web-design-tools-resources-use-2024/]

E-Commerce: Present-Day Entrepreneurship

Christopher Chhim — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 01:22:15 +0000

Tired of reading my posts? Worry not, this is the last one I'll be posting for today. With this post, I am glad that I have finally caught up with my blog posts and that I am continuing to learn. A major factor for my tardiness is because of procrastination as well as an overallocation of time in investing in my business. Therefore, I want to attribute this post to fellow business owners. As I had previously mentioned, I have been managing my own online business as of late June.

Digital products can generate a lot of revenue because they provide a scalable and cost-effective way to cash in on an individual's expertise and creativity. I will be providing a guide on how to leverage digital marketing to share your products with consumers.

Variety:
Digital products is an umbrella term to categorize the various products that can be sold through digital platforms such as: eBooks, online courses, software, templates, digital art, music, etc... The benefits of selling digital products is that they can appeal to a wide range of consumers and generate income online. The main benefits can allude to but are not limited to: low production costs, scalability, passive income potential, global reach, method of delivery, methods of revision, etc...
Niche:
Target trending topics that you're knowledgeable on and let your passion develop products and formulate genuine connections with your audience. Explore the market demand and look for niches that aren't too competitive and catch people's attention.
Audience:
Knowing who your ideal customers are and identifying their needs will help create products to appeal to them. Reach out to customers and ask them about their needs through the use of online survey tools or conduct personal interviews. Analyze your competitors' audience. Using analytic tools can help gather data on your existing audience.
Digital Marketing:
Creating a strong online presence is essential for marketing your products. This can be done through social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Make quality visuals and chat with followers through comments and messages to highlight your niche. Blog about your products to have your website show up on search engines' SEOs.

These key points are just a few of the many aspects an entrepreneur has to focus on when building their online business. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I wanted to bring these focal points to the attention of potential entrepreneurs as well as reinforce my understanding of entrepreneurship. I recently started my career in this field and I have so much more to learn!

This post was heavily inspired from:
MrPugo (2024, June 2) How to Create and Sell Digital Products – A Beginner’s Guide
Retrieved from: [https://pugo.studio/how-to-create-and-sell-digital-products-a-beginners-guide/]

Leveraging AI to Upskill!

Christopher Chhim — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:34:11 +0000

To whoever stumbles this post, I sincerely appreciate the time you have taken to read this and previous posts I have blogged. I have had trouble consistently blogging on a weekly basis and was 3 blogs behind. I wanted to post on a weekly basis because I was advised to do so by my bootcamp but I eventually came to appreciate reading and blogging my thoughts and discoveries on a platform. Without further ado, I like to attribute this blog to a popular topic I've been researching - AI!

I have been researching the impacts AI has had on the tech industry and the innovations that have been made thanks to this technological breakthrough. I wanted to share my thoughts on how AI is currently impacting enterprise teams. If you're stuck on or don't know where to start, ChatGPT is a great tool to provide guidance. AI can be used as a machine learning model to extract data and illuminate new ideas, pain points, and opportunities that employees are sharing. ChatGPT is a useful tool that can help analyze large amounts of data and synthesize that information to highlight opportunities, ideas, and feature requests.

I wanted to share the author's use case of using AI to accommodate for their lack of knowledge on a certain subject. The reason for this is that I want to bring attention to one of the many ways we can teach ourselves on the job to contribute to our enterprise teams. AI has come a long way and helps save a lot of time by automating the generation of workflows and being an online assistant that is readily available 24/7!

This post was heavily inspired from:
Rodriguez, L. (2024, August 24) How enterprise teams want to use AI: Upskilling for insights
Retrieved from: [https://uxdesign.cc/how-enterprise-teams-want-to-use-ai-upskilling-for-insights-bd8613bab37d]

Intro to Wireframes

Christopher Chhim — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:11:22 +0000

Hi everyone! I always wanted to come back to blog posting but I have honestly been putting it off. This week was my first week back at school and I'm trying my best to accommodate for my incoming priorities. Anyhow, I wanted to blog about an important component in web design, wireframes! I wanted to blog about wireframing because I also need to learn more about wireframing.

Wireframes are used during the initial stages of web development to give developers a blueprint of the website and its functionality. I will discuss three different types of wireframes: low-fidelity, mid-fidelity, and high-fidelity.

Low-fidelity wireframes are basic sketches that focus on the general structure of the website and do not contain much detail. Its purpose is to visualize its early conceptualization and make way for brainstorming sessions. They contain minimal detail, often just outlines and basic shapes. It focuses on the layout, placement of contents and navigation flow. They are sketched using pen and paper, whiteboards, or basic digital tools.

Mid-fidelity wireframes contain more detail and are more structured than low-fidelity wireframes because they label elements and focus on the functionalities of the website. Its purpose is to help refine early design concepts and get feedback about its structures and functionalities. They contain simple interactive components such as downtown lists, sliders, and navigation menus. They are designed using digital tools such as Sketch, Figma, or Adobe XD.

High-fidelity wireframes look similar to the final design of a website. They contain everything except the visual styling of the website. It contains specific content, and comprehensive annotations and frequently simulates how interactions should flow. Its purpose is to finalize both structure and interaction before finalizing the design of the website, it also serves to provide a blueprint for developers who are interested in developing a website. They have in-depth explanations about functionalities, interactions, and how elements behave. They are designed using advanced design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or Axure.

This post was heavily inspired from:
Sapkota, S. (2024, August 25) How Wireframing Boosts Product Design and Development Efficiency
Retrieved from: [https://blog.jobins.jp/how-wireframing-boosts-product-design-and-development-efficiency]

Healthy Workforce Culture

Christopher Chhim — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 05:34:08 +0000

Hey everyone! Today I would like to blog about an important topic regarding the workforce - group projects! On certain occasions, we will be tasked to work with others in the tech industry. I believe that knowing how to develop a project with others is a crucial skill in the workforce because it helps bolster creativity and the success of a product. My recent failure at my bootcamp project inspired me to write this post. I was not satisfied with the finished product and I did not get along with my group during the entirety of the project development, so I hope I can help those who are facing the same issue by writing this post. I also hope to learn from this experience and perform better in future group projects.

Community learning is an essential component for successful engineering organizations because it emphasizes a nurturing culture for those who are eager to learn. These communities are composed of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and have a desire to do it better as they interact regularly. Developers need to come together because they can share their insights and experiences to identify emerging problems and the best possible solutions for those problems. "Communities of practice encourage developers to share their mistakes and what they’ve learned from them, so the whole community can benefit from those learnings".

Reading this article from Stack Overflow reiterated my desire to make tech more accessible for everyone. Being a first-generation immigrant makes me understand the privilege we have here in the US to be able to have access to technology and solve problems through coding. Coding is a really important skill to learn in today's society and I think a lot of society's problems could be either solved or reduced if we had a lot more developers in the workforce. For this reason, I want to spread the growth of coding communities and make others aware of the importance of coding.

This post was heavily inspired from:
May, E. (2024, June 19) The real 10x developer makes their whole team better
Retrieved from: [https://stackoverflow.blog/2024/06/19/the-real-10x-developer-makes-their-whole-team-better/]

Intro to Image-To-Text And Text-To-Speech Models

Christopher Chhim — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 08:00:37 +0000

Hello everyone! I decided to blog on this topic because it reminds me of my hackathon project with my team. I attended my first-ever hackathon at UC Berkeley's AI Hackathon and developed "StoryTellerAI", an AI that tells stories to children. Integrating image-to-text and text-to-speech models was one of the hardest parts of our project. Hopefully, this blog will help those who need help on integrating image-to-text and text-to-speech models.

First, we need to learn the components of using this AI-generated model, so let's start with VLMs. Vision Language Models (VLMS) are a form of artificial intelligence that can understand and learn from visuals and linguistic modalities. A VLM can analyze an image or video and it will then generate a corresponding text description to the visual content.

Second, the next component of this AI model is TTS. Text-To-Speech (TTS) is the usage of human speech mimicry to read text aloud. This is done through phonemes -text broken down into the smallest units of sound. AI uses data on human speech patterns, tones, and rhythms to generate its own voice. This would allow the generated voice to have a personality instead of it sounding robotic. The system combines phonemes with AI to render a fully expressive speech output. Modern TTS systems are extremely advanced because of their remarkable capabilities in replicating different tones and voice inflections, working across languages, and understanding context.

These concepts are the backbone of TTS systems and its functionality is dependent on the client. TTS can be used to accomplish many things and will only continue to improve with research. Because its use is so diverse, TTS systems have a diverse library at their disposal and it can be altered however the user sees fit. The various implementations of TTS systems signify its flexibility and how it can be improved for future development.

This post was heavily inspired from:
Pambou, J. (2024, July 24) Integrating Image-To-Text And Text-To-Speech Models (Part 1)
Retrieved from: [https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/07/integrating-image-to-text-and-text-to-speech-models-part1/]

A Few Tips for Freelancers & Entrepreneurs

Christopher Chhim — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 07:13:27 +0000

Hello! I decided to blog a tutorial on how to add value for freelancers and entrepreneurs. I decided to do this because I am an aspiring entrepreneur, given that I started my e-commerce business in late June. I also want to leave a note for my future self on freelancing if I will be unable to find a job once I finish my bootcamp.

Tips:

You should always aim to exceed your boss' expectations. This would help change work in your favor.
As a freelancer, clients come and go and doing the bare minimum puts you at risk of losing your customer.
Your future is dependent on your performance as a freelancer. (CONSISTENCE IS KEY)
Ask for customer feedback to see what you can improve on and stay up to date on technology. Polish your skills to attain mastery over certain skills customers might need.

These are the principles of Minimum Expected Value (MEV)- the minimum value they expect to derive from their interactions with you.

This post was heavily inspired from:
Balasa, V. (2024, July 24) How Entrepreneurs and Freelancers Can Add Value to Grow Their Business
Retrieved from: [https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/add-more-value-find-another-job/]

Making E-Commerce Sustainable

Christopher Chhim — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 22:53:50 +0000

Hello everyone! I decided to blog about e-commerce this week because it is something that I have recently been working on. Although I still have yet to make any sales, I have been educating myself through finance books and podcasts daily and attending e-commerce functions and team meetings. I stumbled on an article online discussing how we can make e-commerce experiences more sustainable, something I'd like to contribute to. Another reason why I am choosing to blog about e-commerce is because it is a huge component in our day-to-day lives, we are all consumers and there will not be a day when we will eventually stop being consumers.

The obvious problem with e-commerce is that people purchase too many extravagances. This would increase the volume of packaging and deliveries to satisfy customer wants and needs. As a result, excess carbon emissions are released into the atmosphere and continue deteriorating the planet's health. One major factor behind consumer purchases is because of discounts and scarcity. People tend to place a higher value on items that have a low volume, increasing demand.

What makes e-commerce sustainable? Sustainable e-commerce refers to green delivery, recyclable packaging, and using sustainable UX for site development so it is energy-efficient. We should push for Kind Commerce (a philosophy where designers encourage consumers to rethink their financial decisions instead of deceiving consumers into purchasing unnecessary products). Deceiving customers can also be hurtful for a business in the event of customer complaints, refunds, manufacturing defects, etc...

Implementing Kind Commerce can help save a company's time from having to deal with return policies, lawsuits, deploying employees, etc... This is also a huge step in saving the environment because helping customers make smart financial decisions would reduce energy consumption, resource consumption, employee expenditure, etc...

This post was heavily inspired from:
Ratkai, A. (2024, July 10) When Friction Is A Good Thing: Designing Sustainable E-Commerce Experiences
Retrieved from: [https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/07/designing-sustainable-e-commerce-experiences/]