(Same instructions apply for remote: Gin and Tonic or Coffee Morning) What is it? By remote I mean more than two people who are in different places being able to see and hear each other on screen. (If there are only two of you then FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype, Signal, Google Hangouts, etc as per usual). What do you need? Any computer, or laptop with an Internet browser. There are many browsers, the...
On the 1st of June 2011 I will be departing these shores on an extended honeymoon with my husband of almost 3 months! I am taking what I believe is officially called ‘a career break’. We will be traveling from the top to the bottom of the world on a motorbike. (Yes, one motorbike. No, I don’t ride.) From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. My 2 years and 3 months at Canonical have been...
A few days before I went on holiday my regular newsletter from the Fawcett Society opened with the following: The Fawcett Society has filed papers with the High Court seeking a Judicial Review of the government’s recent budget This blog post has been brewing ever since and I apologise, mostly to myself, for not getting it out sooner. Let there be no doubt in your mind that my response to...
Karmic saw the first community wallpaper competition and delivered us a beautiful set of photographs for our desktops. Last cycle’s winners were this cycles judges and everyone has delivered. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the results of the wallpaper competition! Congratulations to the winners and huge thanks to the judges. I know, from my experience as a judge last time, that the task is...
To give context to this story you need to know two things about me: 1) I am a commuter. I live in Brighton and work in London which means that I have a one hour train journey at the start and end of each working day. 2) I like cycling. I have used a bicycle as my main mode of transport (where reasonable) since I was about 17. I love the freedom of getting around on a bicycle, especially in a city...
You know that feeling when you know someone very well and you buy them a present? You know they will love it and you are excited at the very thought of their delight? Part of you is a little scared though. A few butterflies in the stomach. What if I have misread? What if they don’t like it? I listened to someone speak recently who said that one thing he had learnt in his IT career was that...
Over at Confused of Calcutta, JP Rangaswami has written a crystal clear article on why we should be concerned about the content and treatment of the Digital Economy Bill. Wherever you live, whatever your interests I urge you to read it. If you live in the UK, whatever your position I urge you to write to your MP and tell them you want this bill properly debated. Mr Lepper, you have not had time...
Today is Ada Lovelace day. Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was born on 10th December 1815, the only child of Lord Byron and his wife, Annabella. Born Augusta Ada Byron, but now known simply as Ada Lovelace, she wrote the world’s first computer programmes for the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose machine that Charles Babbage had invented. Saying it in Ada: while women /= men loop Ada...
Many of you have been asking for some correspondence regarding the button position in the window manager. Here it is. At Ubuntu we have a golden opportunity not only to make our OS as good as the competition but to make it better. The button position discussion and analysis started with: – Why do Mac OS and Windows have the buttons where they do? – What was the functional reason...
My first year working for Canonical draws to a close with my team delivering a new identity for Ubuntu. I am very proud of the result and would like to thank them for all their hard work. I also want to thank Mark Shuttleworth and Jane Silber for setting out the challenge and for being part of the team. Ubuntu has a great engineering heritage. It is fast and efficient. Ubuntu gives the world an...
Ivanka Majic works in technology. She was Head of Design for Ubuntu, service managed Digital Marketplace through to beta, was acting director of digital for the Labour Party. She lives and works in Brighton where she works with the council’s digital first team, does a bit of teaching at Sussex University, and works with her husband on projects like restaurantsbrighton.co.uk and the BRAVOs. She has also started a podcast with her friend Michael which you can listen to at grandpodcast.com.