Nexus 7 Becomes Interesting with Ubuntu Tablet →

Update: As of April 5, 2017, Ubuntu Tablet is no more. See this blog post for the details.

Due to my use of iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPad mini, I have not been interested in any Android devices. None of the available devices have had any advantages over whatever iOS devices I have been using at the time. That appears to be changing but it has nothing to do with Andriod. I still have no interest in Android at all but I do have an interest running Ubuntu on a tablet. As was announced a couple of weeks back, Ubuntu is pushing into the phone and tablet markets.

A couple of days ago I discovered the Ubuntu installation instructions for the Nexus 7 tablet. I'm interested in any feedback from someone who has tried this process. I will probably wait until after Ubuntu 13.04 is released on April 25, 2013 but running Ubuntu on a Nexus 7 might just be worth it.

elementary OS Looks Promising

Last night, I was investigating some alternative operating systems to the instability I have experienced with Ubuntu 12.10 on my Lenovo ThinkPad X230. Because of virtualization software, I need some form of Linux that works well with Intel HD 4000 graphics and is pretty stable. I installed Linux Mint 14 Cinnamon two days ago on my X230 and I am somewhat impressed. On a forum post, I discovered something even more interesting.

Like Linux Mint 14, quite a few other distros are based on a Ubuntu core. One I had never heard of before is elementary OS.

The above screenshot of a Pantheon desktop sure looks like what I like in Apple's OS X. The dock at the bottom and menubar at the top is great. I'm tired of the Windows-modeled taskbar at the bottom that KDE, Cinnamon, and most other desktop environments employ. I also just discovered that version 4.10 of Xfce appears to have some similarities to OS X as well.

I am put off somewhat by elementary OS Luna's status as Beta 1. There still appears to be some work to do to get to a stable release but once it does, elementary OS looks like it might be a very attractive option. If elementary OS interests you, now is a great time to get involved.

BSDCan 2013 Coming up in May →

If you haven't, like me, been to a BSDCan Conference before, this might be the year to go. The schedule looks great with lots of excellent presentations. This is also the 10th annual conference and the schedule looks excellent. All the details are available from the BSDCan web site. I'm not sure if we will be there yet but we shall see how the next few months pan out.

Thoughts about the iPad mini for Photographers →

Jeff Carlson's Thoughts about the iPad mini for Photographers points out some great points about how the iPad mini is an excellent tool for photographers just as the iPad with Retina Display is. The lack of a Retina Display is helped by the smaller physical pixels in the iPad mini's 1024x768 resolution display as opposed to the iPad 2 with its larger 1024x768 resolution display.

Which to buy? It's a hard choice. In every way but the display, I would prefer the iPad mini. I expect that in the next revision or two, the iPad mini will also get a Retina Display. Once that happens it will be no contest and I would definitely recommend the iPad mini for nearly all scenarios. For my uses, the iPad mini will be my choice. I am currently using a 3rd generation 32GB iPad with Verizon 4G LTE. This will shortly be replaced by a 64GB iPad mini with Verizon LTE.

Merry Christmas and Exciting New Plans

Today marks the first Christmas for our fourth and youngest child. I remember each Christmas since my wife and I were married a few days short of five years ago. I'm in a different place in my life as I appreciate the quiet time with our kids more than I have in the past. Each year is precious. They grow up so quickly.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope that all of you have been able to focus on family, friends, and God, the source of all our blessings. In the next few days as 2012 winds to a close, remember the things that have been most important to you over this year and each year before it. Cherish the most important things in life.

We have some amazing new plans for 2013 that we will reveal as the time gets closer. Look for updates over the next three months as everything falls into place. I will continue writing more articles as well. Some personal events in the last few months have kept me from writing very often but that will be changing as we go into 2013.

Build and Analyze Podcast Ended →

Altough this is old news now, Build and Analyze, the excellent iOS and mobile development podcast with Marco Arment and Dan Benjamin, ended on December 17. I'm disappointed it ended for several reasons but especially because the podcast gave some insight into iOS development from a successful developer's perspective. Marco's Instapaper app and service has been a favorite of mine for several years now. I use it daily to save articles and information to read later.

I'm happy that Marco is still planning to be involved in podcasting as he stated in his November 18th post:

After Build and Analyze ends, I’d like to take a few weeks off for the holidays, be a guest on other shows, and then experiment with new shows, topics, and formats to try to figure out what I want to do next in the world of podcasting.

I'm looking forward to what's next in the new year.