Sorry if I haven’t been making an entry into this series. Things have been kinda challenging for a while (just a lot of ups and downs). It feels almost like I’ve been on an emotional (and psychological) roller coaster ride for the last few weeks of my life. But what really matters above all else, is that I will be starting my new career officially on the 27th May. No, it’s not today. To be fair, I only just collected the MacBook today, and I need some time to set everything up and tune the environment to my personal needs. That takes time. It is a good thing that I already know what I need, and everything is very clear to me. I think having such clarity right now is very important. I’m at a stage, both in my personal life & career where I cannot afford to be unclear, or confused about what I need to do.

While I was sitting down with my employer today to have the whole getting started briefing, one thing we both agreed upon is that this job/responsibility requires someone that is very focused. Someone who isn’t distracted by all the other things. Someone like a specialist. Also, knowing that I have a purpose and passion in this area of work also means that I will be a lot more focused than I used to be.

I got back to the library at around 3pm today and decided not to waste any time. I got the MacBook set up and I began downloading and installing the different softwares that I’ll be needing. I’m not done yet, and quite honestly, there’s still quite a bit to go. I’ll definitely need more time tonight, and the most of tomorrow to get everything tuned and setup the way that I want it.

I shared my career update on LinkedIn earlier. In my update today, I wrote that even though I am unable to celebrate this significant milestone the way I wished, I am still going to celebrate it quietly inside my heart. Call it a quiet celebration. Right now, I simply cannot afford it. Maybe I will be able to delay that celebration until a month later, or two months from now when I am actually in a much better place.

My Area of Focus/Concentration

When it comes to focusing my skills on something (think of it like using a laser to cut something), it is always my belief that it is good to not be distracted by too many things. In the world today where a lot of companies are managing only one or two products within their official portfolio, this is actually a good thing.

Maxthon Browser

For those of you that may not be aware of this, when mobile apps were beginning to become a thing (this was probably in the early- to mid-2010s), one mobile app that I was really into at one point was the Maxthon web browser. At a time when FireFox and Google Chrome were duking it out for dominance, this underdog app was able to beat both of the now-popular web browsers. Back then, as a front-end developer who cared about performance, both on the desktop and mobile devices (I was also looking for something that offers better UX), Maxthon appeared to be the most obvious choice. I called it the “golden age” for Maxthon. It was doing so well at one point.

But then eventually, the app just kinda disappeared into the background. After redownloading the app recently and using it on both the desktop and my mobile devices, I’ve noticed that there were quite a number of things that could be improved. And after meeting with my employer today, I had a chance to share my feedback with him as well. And he agreed with my assessment.

So it is therefore my joy and privilege that I will get this opportunity to work on a web browser that I used to love. At a time when other web browsers were so distracted with competing with each other, Maxthon was focused on being the best version of itself. And it excelled that way. Now, as the guy who will be working on Maxthon web browser myself (together with a team of people all over the world), I hope to take this opportunity to help Maxthon reach the next golden age. Perhaps it is time for this underdog web browser to once again show all the other big brands like Google and Mozilla that it has something unique to offer. A product that can punch above it’s weight.

Starting with Android and then Eventually iOS.

I believe that this would be the most logically progression for me as a front-end specialist in this new company. I already know that my first order of business is to work on enhancing and improving the Android version of the browser (this includes on both normal mobile devices and tablets). My scope of work isn’t just limited to development too. I have been given the permission to look at all other areas, which includes UX and UI design. I will make notes of everything that I have observed, as well as all the thoughts and ideas of what I think can be done better, and then once that has been discussed, I will then proceed with the necessary work.

I suspect that once I can prove my value, and also earn the trust of my boss, I know that he will eventually give me greater freedom to really help improve the web browser. But again, one step at a time. I am also really looking forward to the opportunity of working on the tablet version of the app. In most modern day mobile app projects, you don’t always have the opportunity to do something that is relate to the native tablet devices. I mean, not every app is required to run on a tablet device to be fair. Unless it’s like media player apps, and yes, in this case, web browsers. So from a UX/UI and front-end development perspective, this is one of the best opportunities to gain experience in this area.

Continuing with My Software Setup

Alright, I think I’ll end my entry here for now. There are still other tools and software that I need to install onto my the MacBook. And it will take me a while to get through all of them. So I need to make the most of my time. I’ll check in with you guys again soon. Hopefully, I will have more to share in the coming days/weeks when things really start to get better for my personal situation.