App Development at UDS-Q

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Michael Hall

My big focus during the week of UDS will be on improving our Application Developer story, tools and services.  Ubuntu 12.04 is already an excellent platform for app developers, now we need to work on spreading awareness of what we offer and polishing any rough edges we find.  Below are the list of sessions I’ll be leading or participating in that focus on these tasks. Continue reading →

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Hello Unity, episode 3 & 4

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Michael Hall

The past couple of weeks have been busy for just about everybody at Canonical as we prepare for the release of Ubuntu 12.04, which is shaping it to be a remarkable release indeed.  But I was able to spend a little bit of time hacking on Hello Unity again (see episode 1 and 2), and it has received two updates this week. Continue reading →

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Ubuntu 12.04 is for App Developers

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Michael Hall

Ubuntu 12.04, the Precise Pangolin, is scheduled to be released in a little over a week.  This is a very exciting release for us, not only is it an LTS release with 5 years of support, but it also brings some major improvements to Unity and other areas of the desktop.  It’s also going to see a very big focus on independent application developers.

Continue reading →

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Cartoon Me

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Michael Hall

The always amazing Martin Owens has decided to make me the subject of some of his latest artwork.  I must say I’m flattered to be picked, though I may have to start shaving more often.

Neither of us know what I’m holding in this image, so please give me your thoughts and ideas in the comments.

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Bonjour, Hola, and Hallo Unity!

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Michael Hall

Hello Unity is now open for translations!

Please help me make this technology showcase is available to application developers in your native language.  Translations are done through Launchpad, and will be built into the Hello Unity package.

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Creation as Contribution

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Michael Hall

This was originally part of my post Distribution is Contribution, but it wasn’t the primary point I wanted to make there, and I realized there was far more I wanted to say about this subject.

http://go.linuxfoundation.org/who-writes-linux-2012

Production

The origin of all value, FOSS or otherwise, is in the production of something.  Every other form on contribution, anything else that adds value to FOSS, comes from the refinement, combination, distribution or transformation of this original production.  The most common form of production in FOSS is written code.  More attention is paid to written code than any other form of production, and contributions are (as stated in the previous post) more commonly measured by the quantity of code that any other metric.  Even in other forms of production, in artwork and documentation, the origin of value comes from the production, with other modes of contribution only adding value by the refinement, combination, distribution or transformation of that production. Continue reading →

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So you want to try switching to Ubuntu?

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Michael Hall

*headdesk* Over the years there have been no shortage of articles where people try switching to Ubuntu (or other distro) for some period of time, to see if they can use it as a replacement for Windows.  Some are happy with the results, but many have a hard time with the move.  One thing I’ve noticed, as have many commentators on each article, is that many of the problems are due to faulty perceptions or assumptions, not faulty software.

So if you or anybody else is thinking about giving Ubuntu a try, please keep the following things in mind: Continue reading →

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Distribution is Contribution

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Michael Hall

When the topic of contributions to FOSS come up, it usually happens that people focus entirely on the aspect of creation, specifically code creation, to the exclusion of all others.  In the context of software, this makes a certain amount of sense, since the primary product is the code itself, either in source or binary form.  Even the more broadly-focused, who make a point to expand their definition to include things like documentation and artwork, will still focus exclusively on the creation of those works.  And yet perhaps the single biggest factor towards increased creation of code is in the distribution of what is being created. Continue reading →

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Hello Unity, episode 2

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Michael Hall

I spent some more time over the weekend working on Hello Unity.  If you haven’t already, be sure to read my first post about it.  In short, Hello Unity is a showcase application that demonstrates all the different ways an application developer can integrate their app with the Unity desktop.

Continue reading →

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Autism Awareness

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Michael Hall

April is Autism Awareness month.  In honor of that, I have changed the header image of my blog, and will leave it up for the remainder of the month.  I don’t often post about personal things, but I will make an exception for this.  Autism affects 1 in every 88 children in America today.  I’m sure it affects a large number of people in the Ubuntu and Free Software communities. It affects one of my own two children.

If anybody wants to use this image for their own sites, please feel free.  It is cropped to fit the default WordPress Twenty Ten theme.

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