The... http://t.co/xc1hM0H6Gl #biglots #dollarstore #familydollar #freesoftware #freeware #microwavepopcorn #openoffice #savemoney

Firefox 21 improves performance and privacy http://t.co/8CFqMX4BVp #Article #Browsers #Firefox #FreeSoftware

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The (second virtual) Ubuntu Developer Summit is being held this week. Of the many topics being discussed, I’ve come across a few that I find interesting.

Chromium as default browser

Great to see a session on this topic. I spend most of my time computing in a browser, so it’d be nice to see my favourite browser as the default. Although I have no objections to Firefox as the default, I usually download the .deb from Google on each install, mainly due to the chromium-browser package being fairly outdated. It will be interesting to see the outcome for 13.10 and 14.04 LTS.

Growing a strong translation community

I still find translations to be a core concept of the Ubuntu. No matter where you’re from, you should be able to download a copy of Ubuntu, ready in your native language.

Planning for documentation and positioning of the development release

The last cycle entailed a barrage of fireworks and cracking decisions. The standard release support cycle was halved and more effort was to be put to backporting important features and enhancements to the LTS. Although the development release, by nature, doesn’t directly affect end users, it is the test bed for what will become ubuntu+1. The quality of the development releases have been superb and I’d argue that they are much more ready for testing than where we were a few years ago.

Shaping a plan for the future of (the) Ubuntu Documentation Team

There’s a lot of computer users out there that still haven’t even tried Ubuntu. We have a more usable, sleek and fun desktop than what we did many moons ago, but the documentation of the Ubuntu Desktop is certainly an area that needs attention. We can’t just assume people know how to use the Dash, Scopes and find help. People come and go from the team and it’s time to reshape and recruit more Ubuntu Doc folks.

Desktop Unity Polish for 13.10

In most of the releases since Unity has been released (11.04!), there have been radical changes and controversial moves to the Ubuntu Desktop. It’s nice to see everything calming down and focus shifting to the little details. Probably not a thrilling session for the non-developers, but it would be nice to see what is coming up in Unity+1.

@meanmicio at #WSIS 2013: "#FreeSoftware = Public Good" #GNUHealth #ehealth #Tryton #MDG

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RT @kiddingthecity: Heading for a @zotero workshop for Goldsmith Graduate Festival @GoldsmithsUoL #zotero #freesoftware #gradfest2013

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Heading for a @zotero workshop for Goldsmith Graduate Festival @GoldsmithsUoL #zotero #freesoftware #gradfest2013

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Today #GNUHealth @ #WSIS 2013: Improving Children & Mothers' lives with #FreeSoftware #ehealth #HIS http://t.co/bavRqt8jnX

RT @meanmicio: I'm in Geneva to give a talk at #WHO session,#GnuHealth:Improving Children and Mothers lives with #FreeSoftware #WSIS http:/…

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RT @zuzust: A què espera la Gene? "La NASA cambia Windows por Linux en la ISS" http://t.co/rtApxGQJoq #linux #freesoftware

RT @zuzust: A què espera la Gene? "La NASA cambia Windows por Linux en la ISS" http://t.co/rtApxGQJoq #linux #freesoftware

As a pretty simple-minded person, I am a big fan of simplicity. The world is filled with too much complexity and too much detail. Many often feel the detail is necessary for particular outcomes or to solve particular problems. The lesson I have learned as I have gotten older though is that while the skill is in matching the level of detail to the mind of the observer, the real elegance is in delivering the same level of detail but in a way that feels simpler than expected to the observer. This results in delightful experiences.

Ross Gardler recently quoted Einstein who said “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler“. This so beautifully summarizes my view of the world; life should be as simple as we can make it, but we should not compromise in our goals merely to make things simple. In other words, if we can boil our projects, processes, interfaces, and ideas down into simpler parts that still let us be productive, they become more enjoyable to engage with and thus more successful. Of course, making complex things simple is…complex. It is though, worthwhile, and for many (myself included), a fun challenge. I am sure I am not alone.

As we step into our Ubuntu Developer Summit this week I would like to encourage everyone to think about ways in which we can simplify all aspects of how create and deliver Ubuntu to others as a means to further the project and experience. This doesn’t just apply to user interface design though. How do we make our teams easier to navigate and participate in? How do we make it easier to create your first app, charm, bug fix, translation, document, mailing list post, question, answer, or otherwise? If we can make in-roads this week in simplicity, I am confident it will continue the bold stride Ubuntu is making into the future of devices and the cloud.