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Puppylab crew Interview

Nov 21, 12:16 PM by Marko

Jonathan Snook Interview


Interivew with people at Puppylab

Marko: Hello m8s !
All members: Hallo!

Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)

Huinee: : I’m 22 this year, currently doing my Masters in Computer Science at UNL.
Alvin: I’m 23. I’m the Interactive director for puppylab.com and also work full time as a web developer for an internet marketing company
Ryan: I’m a 23 year born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Currently in Lincoln, NE, pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science.
Joyce: I’m 21 years old, currently residing in LA. I’m born in Malaysia but have spent the last 3 years in the US.

Marko: How are you doing these days?

Huinee: : Pretty good.
Alvin: Busy but cant complain much _.
Ryan: Too busy for anything exciting. Not even much time to dedicate to my own projects/hobbies.
Joyce: Since I’m on holiday in Malaysia, I’ve been doing nothing but bumming, shopping, and stuffing my face with food.

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?

Ryan: : Back in the days of those big ol’ floppy disks, you know, those big flat squares of paper-like things.
Alvin: When my dad bought me one of those PSP-alike electronic dictionary. That thing can cripple your fingers!
Huinee: I think it was an Apple ][ that was some 15 years ago or so. Then, the computer was for playing games. To be honest, I don’t really remember.
Joyce: That’s a tough one. Probably when I was… five. Playing a Sesame Street computer game. The screen was black and neon green.

Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?
Alvin: There’re a lot but ryan sim’s justwatchthesky comes up as one of the most memorable one.
Joyce: I like Roy Lichtenstein.

Marko: when you launched Puppylab are you happy with the result of the site?
Ryan: & Huinee: Absolutely.
Joyce: Of course!
Alvin: Development wise, I’m still unsatisfied. there’re certain areas, especially in regards to semantic mark up
and CSS code optimization that I can improve on. But overall we’re overwhelmed by the publicity/attention generated by the launch. The web community has been extremely generous to us. Puppylab has featured on a handful number

of showcase sites and We’re deeply grateful for that.

Marko: What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in this context, is pretty relative)?

Huinee: : Shop!
Alvin: Read, carry shopping bags for Huinee.
Ryan: I catch a few winks. I never seem to be able to get enough sleep. If I
have some extra energy, it is usually spent in the gym
Joyce: Eat. Sleep. Shop. Once you start working you begin to really cherish the weekends. ?

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?

Huinee: : Milk! A cup a day! Haha!
Alvin: Anything with caffeine. at least once per day but not after 5pm.
Ryan: How much? I’d say at least 8 glasses per day.
Joyce: Actually, I don’t think I have a favorite drink.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for the Puppylab folks?

Alvin: Hmm that’s a toughie, considering two of the puppylabians are still doing their masters in Computer Science, one living in California

and me living a double life and working double shifts. But we have so far meet all our datelines. That’s something to be proud of i suppose. Email and IM are what keeps puppylab running, even though Ryan, Huinee and I live in the same building. We hang out a lot, despite being busy and all.

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?

Huinee: & Joyce: From Alvin? :P
Ryan: Not me. This isn’t my specialty. Alvin gets the work for me. :P
Alvin: Yeah I am responsible for distributing works around. In general, we had been very lucky as works pretty much flow to us through that magical

little thing called contact form. You wont believe how many project inquries we got from that thing. We never really have to do any marketing or selling on our part and being able to focus fully on what we love to do so much, we are thankful for that. Plus, we are bad at selling, very bad.

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?

Huinee: : I’d like to say Gandhi or Mother Teressa, but no, unfortunately it’s more like Keanu Reeves.
Alvin: Jeffrey Zeldman definitely. Its not about how he champions the web standard all this while. Its how he sticked with it despite

all the scepticsm and criticism. People laughed at you when you mentioned web standard back in the early days. That guy should win the noble prize man.
Ryan: The biggest influences are the people I hang out with.
Joyce: My two older brothers.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like? How did that take place and why?

Joyce: My background is definitely in design, and because I am an Advertising major, I frequently work with print. It’s hard to progress to web due to the element of interactivity. One needs to think about how a user navigates around a web site – something definitely different from print.
Alvin: I’ve been designing ever since i know how to use the PC, even though i have a degree in Computer Science. Being able to know how CSS works helps to tranform

even the most sophisticated design into xhtml 1.1 workng page with apparent ease_.
Ryan & Huinee: My background isn’t in design.

Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?

Huinee: : Artist.
Alvin: Cheesecake tester
Ryan: I’d be a world traveller. I’d go round places sight seeing. Of course,
that is not the case. :(
Joyce: Someone famous for creating something stupid, like the pet rock.

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?

Alvin: I’m sure neither Jacod Nielson or Steve Krug will like it. But hey, you guys have a great bunch of interview articles here!
Ryan: Awesome and cool.
Joyce & Huinee: It’s nice.

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
Huinee: : Classical, hip-hop.
Alvin: Alternative Indie.
Ryan: Typically music on virginradio.co.uk.
Joyce: Anything that sounds good.

Marko: What’s your favorite food?

Huinee: : Indian food!
Alvin: Any seafood will do.
Ryan: Malaysian spicy food.
Joyce: Anything Malaysian!

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?

Huinee: : My living room.
Alvin: & Ryan: WE’re a bunch of web geeks, what you think?
Joyce: In L.A.: Visiting friends at Irvine.

In Malaysia: Chilling at pubs.

Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?
Huinee: : Chinese.
Alvin: Korean
Ryan: Chinese AND Thai
Joyce: Both are good. Isn’t Thai food a lot like Chinese food?

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?

Huinee, Joyce and Alvin: Coke
Ryan: There’s a difference? Obviously I’d fail the Coke-Pepsi blindfold test.

Marko: html or asp?

Huinee: : asp!
Alvin: Huh? They are oranges and apples dude.
Ryan: php
Joyce: errr?

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?

Huinee: , Ryan: Nope.
Alvin: 24, CSI and The OC (fine! my only guilty pleasure)
Joyce: CSI and Desperate Housewives!

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?

Huinee: : Links to porn sites…...that I got from Alvin. Haha!
Alvin: I swear i dont have porn bookmarks. I swear!
Ryan & Joyce: Nothing of parti

Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.

Huinee: : Other people’s success stories.
Alvin: Underdog’s triumphant stories. David beats goliath kind, you know.
Ryan: friends.
Joyce: Everything and anything. You can get your inspiration from places where you’d really least expect it.

Marko: Thank again for having this interview, cheers m8s!
All: thanks for having us.

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