A cracking start!
Since kicking off the wallpaper submissions yesterday we’ve had over 600 images added to the group! I can’t believe we’ve had such a massive response so quickly!
I’ve noticed that a lot of people are submitting multiple images, in some cases four or five images at a time. This release is all about quality not quantity and you’ve got plenty of time to get your submissions into the group so I’d ask that if you’re submitting you maybe group your images and take some time to choose the one(s) you really feel are the most appropriate. Perhaps use them as your own wallpaper for a bit as well as using this handy page on OMG! Ubuntu to look at previous entries and see if your image feels at home on an Ubuntu desktop. Is it a very busy image? Does it make seeing icons on the desktop harder than it needs to? Share your images on the lists around and get some feedback. However you do it this is our chance to put together a great selection so let’s take our time over it.
Thanks in advance, not just from me, but from the brave souls who will sift through all the many entries 
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Tags: ubuntu, open source, desktop, design, wallpaper, wallpapers, open, source
As developers all over the world sink their teeth into the new features for the next release of Ubuntu it’s time to get out our cameras, brushes and pencils out and start creating the images that will make up the wallpapers for the next release. 12.04 will be an LTS so the same super high quality that the teams delivering the desktop experience are working to should inspire us to make this the best wallpaper set we’ve released yet!
As usual there is a group on Flickr set up for your submissions – Precise Pangolin wallpaper submissions group. Simply upload your pictures to Flickr – accounts are free – and again as usual the contributors who were selected last time will be the ones asked to choose from the final selection of images. For guidance around what might make appropriate content, image resolutions to be used and the like check out the Ubuntu Artwork team wiki page on wallpapers.
You can see from the Pangolin Release Schedule that the development process is well under way so we’ll be accepting entries until March 15th 18:00 UK time with a view to choosing the images and getting them into the release the following week as the Beta Freeze closes. Questions are welcome on my iain at ubuntu dot com address or on IRC in #ubuntu-design where you’ll find me, like-minded community members and Canonical’s designers.
So get snapping, sketching and painting!
Filed under: open source | 11 Comments
Tags: artwork, canonicaldesign, design, open source, ubuntu, wallpaper
Moving. Picture.
This blog post on JPG reminded me of a blog post that I really wanted to write and don’t really have time to write properly about moving pictures. I love the idea of using video to convey more than a still image can. The following films I think do this. They have moments of stillness that really appeal to me.
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Tags: film, images, jpg, magazine, moving, photography, photos, pictures, short film, still
Oh my goodness it’s beautiful!
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Tags: bike, deus, motorbike, motorcycle
Continuing a theme
I started the year with the aim of being more simply connected. I wanted to get the smart phone distractions out of my life and I’m pleased to say that the approach is still working for me. The tablet is the future but not feeling that I have to have the answer to any inane musing at my fingertips all the tIme for me personally provides valuable perspective.
Sadly this not having a phone to stare at meant that not that long ago I found myself staring at one of these.
A Kawasaki Zephyr. A chap looking not unlike Jason Isaacs pulled up on one outside a place I was eating in and so began what I expected to be a flirting interest in classic bikes again. I’ve been keen on them as a thought ever since I saw this sitting in Borough Market a couple of years ago.
An interest which led me in turn to this video on Deus Ex Machina‘s website and which in turn led me to this.
Death Spray Customs were getting rid as they had no room in the garage following the arrival of a lovely Norton Cafe Racer. You can only have one sunny day bike and it would be unkind to expect any man to choose between his pride and joy XS650 and the Norton with its as yet untapped/ unknown potential.
I went along half expecting not to like it, but I did. I expected to find the kick start off putting. On reflection it probably should have been. But before I knew it I had beaten off an Aussie competitor and was riding around on it.
Today it was just too cold to get it started but it’s not kicking me back as much anymore and I have been assured by a fellow 650 owner who I met at the bike meet tonight that it can take months to get the “knack”. He attended his first track day unable to start his bike and had to get help before every session!
So where are we? Well, I’ve had it running but it’s 6.5 degrees today, that’s cold. The noise that my BMW makes on tick over from a cold start tells me this isn’t ideal weather. I must be patient. Keep practising and bide my time.
These are all things I will have to practice along with kicking
Filed under: motorcycles, Musings, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: boner, custom, death spray, dsc, motorbike, motorcycle, xs650, yamaha
Being better connected in 2011
I decided towards the end of 2010 that I would like to stay in more meaningful contact with my friends in 2011. I love to talk and writing and phoning seemed like a good way to do this and at the same time I came across this post from Berg in London on a new phone called John’s Phone.
Made by the John Doe design agency it aims to be a super simple mobile phone. All it does is make calls. That’s it. Put a sim in from any provider (with a 2g network, sorry to people on 3 in the UK) switch it on and you’re up and running in less than a minute. No text messages, no web browsing, just a phone. Imagine that
Mine arrived over Christmas and I started using it as my phone last week. Things I’ve learned so far.
- A week of what for me was heavy use I charged last Tuesday and now it sits next to me after an hour nearly full and already able to do another week – 10 days between charges!
- By comparison I was charging my smartphone to then not use any of its cleverness.
- Having a fast start up time is good.
- I check my texts every day or so on my Galaxy Tab. I don’t miss them.
- The people I’m calling more _seem_ to like it but that may change
- I think more. When I’m out and people go to the loo or I’m in a queue or waiting for a bus or on the tube I read or think. It’s nice!
- It was €70 and that shows in the build quality but it’s working and I can easily replace it if I need to.
- I still love my Windows 7 phone – it was handy when I went on a bike trip at the weekend for the maps and the radio when I run but even on super light usage I’ve had to charge it twice.
I just wanted to get my initial thoughts down. I know a bunch of people who’d be all over this if it did texts. Maybe version 2 could at least display them More thoughts later. Here’s an unboxing video so you can see a bit more of John’s phone in action.
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Tags: cell, gadget, geeky, john's phone, mobile, phone, simple
Screens everywhere
This is a fabulous little invention especially as I’m a keen cyclist in the city.
Nicked from Steve Clayton’s fabulous blog.
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Tags: bicycle, canonicaldesign, commute, cycling, led, lights, safety
Meerkats like the sun?!
Today I got another e-mail from a statue. There’s a perfectly normal sentence … This time from a beach where Rick says he’s having an amazing time relaxing after his conference!
So what have we learned so far, apart from the fact that an unattended Meerkat is likely to wander off if left for too long? Well he seems to enjoy the beach and is making friends along the way. I think he’s still in Brazil …
If you see Rick please let me know!
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Tags: canonical, canonicaldesign, design blog, maverick, meerkat, rick, ubuntu
In Brazil?!
Came in this morning to a mail from Rick, my Meerkat who went for a walk a little while ago.
Apparently he was giving a keynote at Linuxcon!!
" ... Thanks all for coming, have a great conference!"
More as I get it …
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Tags: canonical, canonicaldesign, maverick, meerkat, rick
Just an average day in 2014
While I’m not convinced that Sweden will actually win the world cup there’s lots to like about this “five minutes into the future” look at how we might share content and interact with devices in a few years time. I’m setting a reminder in my calendar. I’ll catch you in 5 years, see if we made it
There are more videos on the http://www.youtube.com/user/TATMobileUI.
Discovered via the delightful Steve Clayton’s blog.
Filed under: work | Leave a Comment
Tags: canonicaldesign, concept, devices, future, tat, technology, touch, video
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