Android "Holo" Design

2013-01-17 05:00:00

I’m always a sucker for apps and software that doesn’t look like it is generic or stock. I want something functional and sophisticated looking. That’s why my devices are in a constant state of evolution.

Recently I purchased a few apps that have upgraded my Android experience. My Nexus tablet is running the latest Android version 4.2. However, my Galaxy mobile is running 4.1. Big difference? Oh yeah.

The clock/alarm app does not have a widget for display. I just changed that with the JB+ app. Also, it doesn’t have the updated camera app to take advantage of the new software so I installed a camera app simply called Snap for a cleaner interface.

Also added are two productivity apps. Agenda is a calendar app that syncs with Google Calendar. The design is retro, clean. Love it.

Press, is an app that syncs with Google Reader. A more sophisticated style of reading the news.

All of these apps are in the Google Play store and are paid apps up to $3. Bargain!

Signal vs. Noise

2013-01-04 05:00:00

The signal-to-noise ratio is measured by comparing the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise.

A lot of people on the web, myself included, are comparing the level of desired information to the level of distractions.

How can we possibly filter out something meaningful and useful when we have so many posts, tweets, and likes?

I’ve been in a year long process of cutting back. In the past, I subscribed to everything and contributed as well.

There were personal posts and business tweets and hundreds of web feeds to consume. Since then I’ve changed my online persona, deleted my Facebook account, pared down the number of people I was following and more.

If something didn’t have value or if someone wasn’t enriching my life with their posts about what they had for dinner, it got cut.

As a photographer, I’ve even changed the way I display my images. Flickr is more for personal use, if that. Instagram? Gone.

Socially, I am on Google Plus and on Twitter. This website is my personal hub from which everything else revolves around.

Doing these things have allowed me to regain my time and be more productive. I can focus on what is important to me and not what others want to tell me is important. That’s not how the digital life works. The web is what you make it.

Happy GNU Year

2013-01-01 05:00:00

I’ve taken on another project that involves diving deep inside the Linux operating itself.

For a few years I’ve been using a dual boot hybrid desktop using Ubuntu and Windows 7.

I’ve added the Fedora distribution inside a virtual machine inside Ubuntu and deleted the Windows partition.

Oh, and GNU = “Gnu’s Not Unix”

Android "Holo" Design

2013-01-17 05:00:00

I’m always a sucker for apps and software that doesn’t look like it is generic or stock. I want something functional and sophisticated looking. That’s why my devices are in a constant state of evolution.

Recently I purchased a few apps that have upgraded my Android experience. My Nexus tablet is running the latest Android version 4.2. However, my Galaxy mobile is running 4.1. Big difference? Oh yeah.

The clock/alarm app does not have a widget for display. I just changed that with the JB+ app. Also, it doesn’t have the updated camera app to take advantage of the new software so I installed a camera app simply called Snap for a cleaner interface.

Also added are two productivity apps. Agenda is a calendar app that syncs with Google Calendar. The design is retro, clean. Love it.

Press, is an app that syncs with Google Reader. A more sophisticated style of reading the news.

All of these apps are in the Google Play store and are paid apps up to $3. Bargain!

Signal vs. Noise

2013-01-04 05:00:00

The signal-to-noise ratio is measured by comparing the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise.

A lot of people on the web, myself included, are comparing the level of desired information to the level of distractions.

How can we possibly filter out something meaningful and useful when we have so many posts, tweets, and likes?

I’ve been in a year long process of cutting back. In the past, I subscribed to everything and contributed as well.

There were personal posts and business tweets and hundreds of web feeds to consume. Since then I’ve changed my online persona, deleted my Facebook account, pared down the number of people I was following and more.

If something didn’t have value or if someone wasn’t enriching my life with their posts about what they had for dinner, it got cut.

As a photographer, I’ve even changed the way I display my images. Flickr is more for personal use, if that. Instagram? Gone.

Socially, I am on Google Plus and on Twitter. This website is my personal hub from which everything else revolves around.

Doing these things have allowed me to regain my time and be more productive. I can focus on what is important to me and not what others want to tell me is important. That’s not how the digital life works. The web is what you make it.

Happy GNU Year

2013-01-01 05:00:00

I’ve taken on another project that involves diving deep inside the Linux operating itself.

For a few years I’ve been using a dual boot hybrid desktop using Ubuntu and Windows 7.

I’ve added the Fedora distribution inside a virtual machine inside Ubuntu and deleted the Windows partition.

Oh, and GNU = “Gnu’s Not Unix”

Android "Holo" Design

2013-01-17 05:00:00

I’m always a sucker for apps and software that doesn’t look like it is generic or stock. I want something functional and sophisticated looking. That’s why my devices are in a constant state of evolution.

Recently I purchased a few apps that have upgraded my Android experience. My Nexus tablet is running the latest Android version 4.2. However, my Galaxy mobile is running 4.1. Big difference? Oh yeah.

The clock/alarm app does not have a widget for display. I just changed that with the JB+ app. Also, it doesn’t have the updated camera app to take advantage of the new software so I installed a camera app simply called Snap for a cleaner interface.

Also added are two productivity apps. Agenda is a calendar app that syncs with Google Calendar. The design is retro, clean. Love it.

Press, is an app that syncs with Google Reader. A more sophisticated style of reading the news.

All of these apps are in the Google Play store and are paid apps up to $3. Bargain!

Signal vs. Noise

2013-01-04 05:00:00

The signal-to-noise ratio is measured by comparing the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise.

A lot of people on the web, myself included, are comparing the level of desired information to the level of distractions.

How can we possibly filter out something meaningful and useful when we have so many posts, tweets, and likes?

I’ve been in a year long process of cutting back. In the past, I subscribed to everything and contributed as well.

There were personal posts and business tweets and hundreds of web feeds to consume. Since then I’ve changed my online persona, deleted my Facebook account, pared down the number of people I was following and more.

If something didn’t have value or if someone wasn’t enriching my life with their posts about what they had for dinner, it got cut.

As a photographer, I’ve even changed the way I display my images. Flickr is more for personal use, if that. Instagram? Gone.

Socially, I am on Google Plus and on Twitter. This website is my personal hub from which everything else revolves around.

Doing these things have allowed me to regain my time and be more productive. I can focus on what is important to me and not what others want to tell me is important. That’s not how the digital life works. The web is what you make it.

Happy GNU Year

2013-01-01 05:00:00

I’ve taken on another project that involves diving deep inside the Linux operating itself.

For a few years I’ve been using a dual boot hybrid desktop using Ubuntu and Windows 7.

I’ve added the Fedora distribution inside a virtual machine inside Ubuntu and deleted the Windows partition.

Oh, and GNU = “Gnu’s Not Unix”