Cassidy’s Blog

A barebones place for my thoughts. Some of my writing is also on the elementary blog, and I’ve written a couple of pieces for Android Police.

Endless OS Foundation at Ubuntu Summit 2022 Tue, Dec 20, 2022

What we shared, enjoyed, and learned in Prague

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Developing a GitHub Pages/Jekyll Site on Fedora Silverblue or Endless OS Sun, Dec 18, 2022

Documenting for my own purposes—but hopefully it’s helpful!

For the past decade, I’ve used Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based distributions like elementary OS. As such, I’ve gotten used to or put up with certain…

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Moment Cases No Longer Support M-Series Lenses for Google Pixel Phones Tue, Oct 18, 2022

Despite an “upgrade guarantee,” there are no plans for M-Series photo cases for Pixel 7

Moment made a name for themselves by providing quality mobile photography lenses and cases for iPhones, Pixels, and Samsung Galaxy phones, but it seems…

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Use GrapheneOS to extend the life of a Pixel Fri, Sep 23, 2022

The security- and privacy-focused OS can be bent back into a Pixel experience

Important Update As of August 18, 2022, the GrapheneOS project considers their support of Pixel 3 finished, and effectively says users should stop using…

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Run gnome-info-collect on Endless OS Wed, Aug 31, 2022

Opt in to share a one-time snapshot of your configuration

When gnome-info-collect was announced, I had a lot to say about it and the overarching direction: Privacy-respecting metrics is something a lot of smart…

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Using Fedora Toolbox on Endless OS Tue, Aug 30, 2022

Another note-to-self I hope may be useful to someone out there on the web

Today I was trying to spin up a toolbox (or more recently rebranded to toolbx) container with Fedora 36 for some development/CLI tools on…

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Simple scroll-to-top in vanilla JavaScript and CSS Fri, Jun 3, 2022

Continuing my series of documenting things for myself

I’ll probably expand on this in the future, but I am fairly proud of how this turned out! A client wanted a back-to-top button…

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I’ve Joined the Endless OS Foundation Fri, Apr 8, 2022

A nonprofit with a worldwide mission I believe in

A bit over a week ago I wrote how I was moving on from my involvement at elementary, Inc. and the elementary open source…

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Farewell, elementary Thu, Mar 31, 2022

I’m moving on; here’s to the future!

Over the last decade, I’ve worked to help build elementary into what it is today: a world-class operating system lead by a team who…

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Cassidy on GNOME, Themes, and More Fri, Nov 12, 2021

The Linux Experiment interviews Cassidy for a video

Recently there’s been a lot of discussion within the open source desktop space about GNOME, LibAdwaita, and the future of “theming” on GTK-based platforms…

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Google’s polishing up its emoji—probably for Android 12 Thu, Jul 15, 2021

Nearly everything outside of faces has been tweaked or entirely redrawn

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Ephemeral 7.1 is Out Now Thu, Mar 25, 2021

Introducing “Automatically Open Site Externally”

There’s a new update for the always-incognito web browser for elementary OS! Ephemeral 7.1 integrates even better into your workflow by introducing a new…

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There’s No Good Replacement for Simple Thu, Feb 11, 2021

Alternatives exist, but they’re all lacking in one or more critical ways

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Estimating “Read Time” in Jekyll Tue, Jan 12, 2021

See it in use right here on the blog!

I’m a huge fan of static site generators like Jekyll, which I’m using for my website and various elementary sites like the elementary Blog….

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Ephemeral 7 is Here Mon, Oct 5, 2020

Developer tools, hard refresh, latest WebKit updates, support for elementary OS 6, and new site suggestions

It’s been nearly two years since I first released Ephemeral—the always-incognito web browser for elementary OS—on AppCenter. In that time, I’ve added zoom, a…

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De-Googling: Chrome Fri, Aug 14, 2020

Probably the easiest migration

Moving away from Google Chrome was probably the easiest migration in my de-Googling efforts. I’m not a huge user of bookmarks, history, or extensions,…

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De-Googling Fri, Aug 14, 2020

…if only just a bit to start

I don’t believe corporations can be inherently “good” or “evil.” However, I believe it is important to consider the motivations behind companies’ business models,…

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Pinebook Pro Fri, Jul 24, 2020

Impressive hardware that gives a glimpse of a bright future

I recently got my hands on a Pinebook Pro from PINE64, and have spent the past couple of weeks using it—admittedly in rotation with…

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A Look at the Slimbook Pro X Sun, Jul 12, 2020

Not a review, but some thoughts

I was unable to get all of the photos I wanted before my baby had to go to bed—but for now I have included…

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Linux++ Interviews Cassidy Sat, Jun 20, 2020

An excerpt from Linux++ issue 20

Below is an excerpt of Linux++ issue 20. Be sure to read the full article. This week Linux++ is very excited to welcome Cassidy…

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The “Uncanny Valley” Curve Fri, Jun 5, 2020

How creepy robots relate to skeuomorphism and UX

The Uncanny Valley is the idea that there’s a curve related to a human-like object’s level of realism and how acceptable we perceive it…

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Flathub on elementary OS Tue, Apr 14, 2020

Note: this post contains some future-thinking from me, and doesn’t necessarily match up with any plans or thoughts of elementary as a whole. There’s…

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What is a Raspberry Pi? Sat, Apr 11, 2020

Answering a question I’ve been asked several times in the past week

Sometimes I forget how much of a bubble I’m in. Every day, I interact with Linux users and developers, fellow tech geeks, etc. online….

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Re: Email Thu, Feb 6, 2020

Hey, I loathe the experience of email. I have an unending, bottomless ocean of email. Inbox Zero is a myth that would require archiving…

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elementary at GUADEC 2019 Thu, Sep 5, 2019

Hanging out with GNOME in Thessaloniki, Greece

Cassidy and fellow GUADEC attendees arriving at the Thessaloniki airport GUADEC is the annual GNOME User And Developer European* Conference where contributors to GNOME…

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Welcome to the New Blog Thu, Aug 15, 2019

Why we left Medium, and how!

In 2016, elementary moved to a Medium publication to host our official blog. At the time, Medium was touted as a simple, clean, and…

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The Need for a FreeDesktop Dark Style Preference Fri, May 17, 2019

It’s time for the FreeDesktop to catch up

In the past year or so, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox have begun testing or released a user-set dark…

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2019 UI Study Results Fri, May 17, 2019

Regarding Custom Styles, Dark Modes, and Night Light

In my time contributing to elementary and GNOME, I’ve become familiar with pleas from users to implement official support for arbitrary themes — while that itself…

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What’s New in Ephemeral 5 Wed, May 15, 2019

New features and snazzy UI refinements

Today I’m happy to announce the latest release of the private-by-default browser for elementary OS. Ephemeral 5 brought some useful new features, and 5.1…

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Parental Controls & Metered Data Hackfest Fri, Mar 22, 2019

Working with GNOME on shared features

This week I’ve been in London, UK to attend the Parental Controls & Metered Data hackfest and work alongside folks from GNOME, Endless, Red…

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Major Updates to Ephemeral Sat, Feb 23, 2019

What’s new with the always-incognito web browser

In case you’ve missed it, I’ve been actively developing Ephemeral, the always-incognito web browser, for elementary OS. My vision for version 1.0 was simple:…

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Accessibility Features Are Just Features Sat, Feb 16, 2019

An OS-wide curb-cutting effort

Photo of an accessible curb cut by Dane Deaner on Unsplash For some time now, Daniel and I have been talking about how accessibility features…

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Introducing Ephemeral Wed, Jan 9, 2019

The always-incognito web browser

Ever since Firefox Focus landed on Android, I’ve been a fan. It’s an interesting idea of making privacy a habit by default instead of…

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Privacy and elementary OS Wed, Jan 9, 2019

How we protect your data from ourselves and others

With the release of elementary OS 5 Juno still fresh, I wanted to take a moment and talk about our continued privacy focus with…

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We’re Back from LAS 2018 Wed, Sep 12, 2018

Sharing knowledge and wisdom in Denver, Colorado

This past week elementary contributors Daniel Foré, Felipe Escoto, Blake Kostner, and I met up in Denver, Colorado for the Libre Application Summit (LAS)….

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A New Chapter Wed, Aug 1, 2018

tl;dr I’m going full-time at elementary

My Career at System76 In 2013 I was looking for a new high end laptop to help with my elementary contributions—I wanted it to be…

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How the YouTube Music Rollout Should Have Gone Tue, May 29, 2018

Let’s Imagine an Alternate Universe

This whole YouTube Music thing has been really poorly handled. It’s not entirely clear where the overlap is between existing services and subscriptions, what…

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Introducing Palette Tue, Apr 10, 2018

A new app for elementary colors

This past weekend, I realized I was opening a web browser to do something a native app could do better: referencing and copy-pasting colors….

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Why the Looped Square (⌘) Symbol? Thu, Mar 1, 2018

Keyboard shortcuts in elementary OS are the same no matter if it’s a Windows-branded keyboard or not; we just use the ⌘ looped square…

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Introducing Dippi Sun, Jan 14, 2018

A new app to calculate (Hi)DPI

Apparently writing a multi-part series on Medium isn’t enough for me; I just can’t stop thinking and talking about HiDPI! This time I’ve actually…

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GNOME UX Hackfest 2017 Tue, Nov 21, 2017

Designing the future of GNOME Shell

I just got back from a week-long design hackfest in London focused on GNOME Shell and related components. It was a fantastic week with…

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What is HiDPI Wed, Nov 23, 2016

and Why Does it Matter?

I’m a web developer and UX architect formerly at Ubuntu computer manufacturer System76, and cofounder of elementary OS, an open source desktop operating system….

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GNOME West Coast Summit Wed, Jul 1, 2015

Daniel, Cody, Avi, and I (Cassidy) just left San Francisco and the GNOME West Coast Summit. It kicked off Monday morning at 9 AM…

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Payments Sun, Feb 15, 2015

Or, “Why we make you type $0”

While our desktop developers are hard at work making Freya happen (we just released beta 2!), our web developers and many new contributors are…

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A Music App Shouldn’t Be a Podcast App Mon, Apr 7, 2014

Many popular music apps handle not only music, but podcasts. The thinking goes that since both are comprised of MP3s (or other audio files),…

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10×10 Design Process Mon, Jan 21, 2013

The problem and a possible solution

As a User Experience designer for elementary, I’m often shown different pixel-perfect mockups or even in-code implementations and asked what I think. I typically…

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Hello, Luna Beta 1 Wed, Nov 14, 2012

Developers and testers, today we are happy to announce the first beta release of elementary OS Luna. We’ve been working hard the past year…

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Managing Criticism on Both Ends Fri, Aug 19, 2011

I’ve been working with elementary and the community for quite some time now, and I’ve gotten a pretty good feel for the individuals that…

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Eating Our Own Dogfood Mon, Jul 11, 2011

Woof!

Eating your own dog food. Taking what you dish out. Talking the talk and walking the walk. It’s a seemingly simple concept that has…

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Dell Precision 5530 Impressions Wed, Jul 10, 2019

A beastly Linux laptop, with some caveats

I recently raised funds for a new beast of a development machine for my work on elementary OS. After receiving the laptop, installing elementary…

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Shortlist (June 2015) Tue, Jun 2, 2015

A year ago I explained what my personal shortlist is. It’s time to update it! To quote myself, a shortlist is: …a list of…

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My elementary Wishlist x2 Wed, Apr 29, 2015

About a year ago I posted a list of four random apps or utilities that I’d love to be able to use on elementary…

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Misuse of Terms in UIs Wed, Jul 23, 2014

Throughout the years, I’ve noticed several recurring misuses of terms in user interfaces. Designers or developers often don’t know when to use one term…

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Shortlist: July 2014 Mon, Jul 7, 2014

I hate wishlists. Making a big long list of all the things you want just seems both tedious and selfish for some reason. I…

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Life Changes Thu, Apr 24, 2014

There comes a time when you want a change in your life. After dating my girlfriend Katie for nearly six years, I asked her…

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My elementary Wishlist Sun, Apr 20, 2014

Occasionally I think of random apps or utilities that I’d love to be able to use on elementary OS. I jot them down and…

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5 Myths About elementary Mon, Mar 31, 2014

Whether I’m browsing Google+, responding to tweets from @elementary, or telling friends about elementary in the flesh, I’m bound to hear some random myth…

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Random Music: Mystery Love Tue, Mar 25, 2014

Daniel Foré shared this song with me and I thought it was pretty groovy/funky. It’s by +Hugo Millwood’s band Galaxy Cat over on Bandcamp….

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New New Blog Tue, Mar 25, 2014

That was short-lived. If you follow me on social media (or just randomly visit my website), you may have noticed I said I was…

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