Thord D. Hedengren

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  • Presskonferenserna på E3

    På tal om palsternackor, här är hålltiderna för presskonferenserna på E3.

  • Mina gissningar inför kvällens WWDC

    Här är mina gissningar inför kvällens WWDC.

  • Stop And Be Amazed

    Stop And Be Amazed

    It’s important to stop and be amazed sometimes. Bask in your own work, think about your achievments, and take the time to ponder what a wonderous day and age we’re living in.

    I think that last one is really important. We take so much for granted, and the pace of technology makes it easy to forget how we used to do things a mere decade ago. Remember the big bulky PC towers? I remember my first computer, a monstrous 286 PC worth almost a yearly salary. It wasn’t exactly mine, but I was the only one using it. The computer was housed in a big fat box that stood on the floor, around 100 cm high or so. It was huge.

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  • Tre låter dig betala appar med mobilen, SMS kräver fortfarande WyWallet

    Mobiloperatören Tre erbjuder sina kunder att betala för sina appköp i Google Play-butiken på mobilfakturan, meddelas det i ett pressmeddelande. Telenor har sedan tidigare ett liknande erbjudande enligt Mobil.

    Så här låter det i ett pressmeddelande från Tre:

    – Vi strävar alltid efter att förenkla för våra kunder och samarbetet med Google gör det smidigare för kunderna att använda Google Play-butiken, säger Nicholas Högberg, VD på 3 Sverige.

    Fina ord, och ingen dålig idé. För mig smakar den dock lite illa, för tydligen är det helt okej att betala för appar på mobilfakturan, men ska du köpa SMS-biljetter så måste du använda WyWallet. Ni minns förstås debaclet med just WyWallet, något som på intet sätt förenklade för några kunder.

    Ingen kan väl tycka att det här vare sig låter eller känns rimligt, inte sant?

  • Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong

    That’s not the most pleasant realization you could come to, but it is interesting nonetheless. I’ve been reading a lot the past few days, and reading always gets me thinking. This leads to questioning things, which is very healthy in my book.

    I’m thinking thoughts like: Is my focus where it should be? Am I working on, and with, the things I truly want? What’s working out for me, and what am I doing to remedy the things that aren’t?

    Am I doing it wrong?

    These are not moments of doubt, but of contemplation. I treasure them, because they are constructive and interesting, leaving me elated and hopeful.

    It’s better to know about all the hard work you have in front of you, to see the road ahead if you will, than to just trod along in uncertainty.

    Maybe that means I’m doing it right?

  • WWDC 2013 Predictions

    WWDC 2013 logo
    WWDC 2013 logo

    I’m not much for making public predictions about events, but the past few weeks have been littered with conversations about what Apple will and will not show and/or release on WWDC this year. So here you are, my predictions, pulled out of the blue, just like every other analyst out there.

    • No new iPads or iPhones. Sorry, these are core products that warrant their own event(s). I would love a new iPad and although that’s less of a stretch than a new iPhone, I doubt it’ll happen.
    • iOS 7. This will happen, a beta and a lot of developer information, along with a brushed up but not completely revamped, and certainly not monochrome, UI. Apple iterates, they rarely remake, so don’t expect a completely different look, rather an evolved one.
    • OS X 10.9. Just as with iOS 7, I expect Apple to show off the next Mac OS, with more in common with iOS, but still completely different.
    • New MacBooks are coming. I expect a revamped line, not just upgraded innards, but Apple sticking with the current models wouldn’t surprise me either. The MacBook Pro line might be in for a retina only future, but the Air might very well be available in both retina and non-retina, if retina at all. Lots more graphics, still far from being a gamer’s choice.
    • iMac and Mac mini bumps. I think we’ll get basically the same shells, just more juice. No retina iMac, sorry folks.
    • New Thunderbolt Display makes sense, but Apple seems to be in no rush with this one. They usually let the Thunderbolt Display follow the iMac in terms of housing and screen, but that hasn’t happened yet. I’m not sure this is big enough to be mentioned in a keynote, might get a silent update whenever appropriate instead.
    • We might get a new Mac Pro. In fact, I believe we will, and it’ll be US made. Expect a powerhouse that the tech press will deem too pricey, but it really won’t be. Just like its predecessor, up until Apple started to ignore it.
    • No iPods at all.
    • Finally, we just might get a new Apple TV. This might just be a sneak preview that opens up the Apple TV to apps, but if it happens it’ll tell us what we need to know about the Apple TV platform, even if the new hardware won’t be out immediately.

    I’m looking forward to see what WWDC will bring. The tech press will no doubt be disappointed, but that’s how the song goes these days. Luckily you can still make up your own mind based on hard facts and your own experience, and I urge you all to do just that.

  • Surfplattan går om laptopen i Sverige

    Skiftet i Sverige har skett tidigare än i många delar av världen. IDC har även släppt siffror för den globala marknaden. Där är prognosen att plattan går om bärbara under 2013 med en försäljningsökning på 58,7 procent till 229,3 miljoner enheter. Enligt IDC går plattorna om hela pc-försäljningen 2015. Siffrorna visar också att det är de mindre plattorna, på under 8 tum som säljs mest, och småplattornas andel av marknaden kommer att öka ännu mer framöver.

    Från Plattans svenska segertåg. Ingen är väl förvånad va? Dessvärre är det nog en hel del budgetplattor som inte kommer användas i någon större utsträckning med i statistiken, men allt eftersom generationerna av framför allt Android rullar på så förändras förstås läget.

  • Happy 10th Birthday, WordPress

    Happy 10th Birthday, WordPress

    WordPress turns ten years old today and that’s celebrated across the world (see #wp10 on Twitter and the WP10 site for more). Unfortunately I’m not joining the festivities, despite there being quite a few events in Sweden. Instead I’m stuck at home putting the finishing touches to a very long day, the first of several this week.

    Before I turn my attention elsewhere, someplace offline, I did want to write a little something about the world’s dominant CMS, and what’ve paid most of my bills the past few years.

    I stumpled onto WordPress early. I used to roll my own platforms, with the help of people more talented than me, and publish videogame sites in Swedish. But I never came to terms with relying on other people’s free time and good will, and I never did get comfortable with all the help I got for free. It was nice and necessary, something we all did together, a bunch of kids making a dent in cyberspace, but in the end I always knew that it was neither sustainable nor fair should costs and money threaten to gain control. I’d been down that road before, and lost a friend because of it.  (more…)

  • Grattis WordPress, 10 år i dag #wpse

    Stort grattis till WordPress, 10 år i dag! Kolla gärna om det finns en meetup i din närhet för att fira.

  • Summer Projects Spitballing

    As you probably know by now, I like to launch things, keep my plate full so to speak. This entry is all about what I’ll do with the free time I’ll have this summer, and how I’ll avoid doing too much. Or rather, it’s about throwing out some ideas I have, and see what sets my inbox on fire.

    It’s also about spitballing with myself. I think better when I type.

    Projects I’ll definitely work on

    These projects will happen, although they might not be finished, of course. Not a final list, I need something more that this to fiddle with while sipping a drink by the lake in the woods.

    Projects that want in

    In no particular order.

    • Two more Orn tales. I’ve got two more Orn tales, consisting of 3-5 short stories each, that I want to tell.
    • Technical Ebook Series. Just like The Writer’s iPad, this is an old idea that I’ve been putting off. With the experience of publishing an ebook, I’m thinking it might be time to get this one into production.
    • Technical Ebook. This is a book aimed at beginners that probably does’t fit in the series mentioned above. I don’t think I’ll be writing it this summer, but it’s on my slate. Might end up in the hands of a traditional publisher.
    • The Writer’s iPhone. People are requesting this, but I’m thinking of making it an online series instead.
    • Arpeg. I haven’t talked much about this, but I’ve got a simple and fast universal RPG (!) rules system that I’ve always wanted to give away for free.
    • Novel #1. This one’s ready for its first rewrite, probably an extensive one since it changed so much during the first draft. I’m pretty sure I’ll do this one which probably kills all other novel ideas for the summer. Or not, I’m a productive bastard sometimes. This is one of the two novels mentioned previously.
    • Novel #2. I wrote the first draft for an Orn novel last summer. It would be fitting to rewrite it, and align it with the Orn tales, this summer, wouldn’t it?
    • Novel #3. Recently outlined, will be written, but probably not during the summer. Like the story though, should be entertaining, possibly also wacky. This is the second of the two novels mentioned previously.
    • Novel #4/new short story series. A science fiction story that I’ve been sitting on for such a long time. Might become a short story series much like the Orn tales instead.
    • Newsletters. Not only do I intend to launch a TDH newsletter, I’m very tempted to try some ideas for the format too. I love newsletters.
    • Forums. For some reason I’ve been thinking a lot about forums lately. Not sure what will come of that though.
    • Short story anthology. I’ve recently gone through all the flash fiction I’ve written, and looked at the short stories I’ve drafted or want to write. I’ve got about one third of this potential anthology done, and with every crazy short story I write it gets closer to an editor pass. If I happen to write a lot of short stories this summer, I might end up compiling the cream of the crop too. Will feature flying penises.
    • Launch TDH themes. I talked about this previously, nothing new to report.

    There’s obviously no shortage of things to do this summer. Oh, and then there’s Odd Alice work stuff and projects too, as well as some freelancing. Good thing I like to keep busy.

  • Writing In The Browser

    Writing In The Browser

    I like to think of myself as a pretty modern guy. I buy all the right gadgets, use all the cool services, and get all worked up when the TOS shows the internet companies’ true intent. I’m also a writer, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, there are a literally a billion possible tools for us writers to choose from. On the iPad alone there are approximately 747,632 apps that could make you a better writer, which is why I went through all of them and wrote The Writer’s iPad. Yeah, I’m such a nice guy.

    I’ve got a friend who swears by Google Docs, err, Drive, or whatever it’s called these days. I use it on occasion, to share content with other people, but I’ve never liked it, and lost way too many words due to it being an unstable piece of shit. Maybe it isn’t anymore, but I’m really not interested in finding out.  (more…)

  • Kindle Worlds And Fan Fiction

    Amazon’s gotten quite a bit of buzz from its Kindle Worlds announcement. Basically, it’s a way for the company to make money of fan fiction, share some of it with license holders, as well as the actual writers.

    With Kindle Worlds, you can write new stories based on featured Worlds, engage an audience of readers, and earn royalties. Amazon Publishing has secured licenses from Warner Bros. Television Group’s Alloy Entertainment for Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries, with licenses for more Worlds on the way.

    Fan fiction gets written no matter what. The people who write fan fiction do so because they’re fans, and thus there are probably no commercial motives. The chance to make a little bit of money by publishing through Amazon’s Kindle Worlds will no doubt appeal to some though, and if Amazon can secure some licenses then this might become a big deal.

    A big deal for Amazon and the licensees, that is. Possibly for some writers as well, but much like self-publishing overall, the vast majority will make very little, if anything at all.

    What’s the problem with that, you might wonder?

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  • The Simplicity Of Writing

    From The Setup’s interview with games writer Leigh Alexander:

    But really, my ideal setup is pretty close to how it presently is: tiny little keyboard on my knee, and probably some kind of whiskey within reach. Simple stuff.

    Writers, take note!

    So what’s Leigh Alexander using then? An 11” MacBook Air, or the equivalent Windows clone signed Samsung?

    No. He’s got two netbooks: an Asus Eee PC for events, and an Acer Aspire One “for slightly more things”. That’s right, a writing professional who’s relying on two netbooks, old ones at that since these things went away with the dinosaurs.  (more…)

  • Yahoo köper Tumblr

    Yahoo köper Tumblr för $1.1 miljarder. Jag vet inte riktigt vad jag tycker och tror om detta, men fördelen torde vara att det kanske kommer bli möjligt att faktiskt hitta en Tumblr-blogg via sökningar framöver:

    In terms of working together, Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they’ll love.  In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!’s media network and search experiences.  The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance user experience.

    Den riktigt stora frågan är förstås hur många som flippar ut nu. Vi får väl se hur det artar sig. Yahoo har ju tveksamt rykte vad gäller uppköp…

  • Questions Answered, May 2013 Edition

    I was going to talk about Ghost, the crowdfunded blogging platform, today but as I read my draft I realized that my point was muddled and didn’t get across the way I wanted. The piece went in the bin and I’ll give it another go in a day or so.

    Let me instead answer some questions from the modern mailbag, which would mean anything from my email inbox to Twitter, App.net or Facebook. There might be questions directed at me over at Google+ as well, but those will continue to go unanswered.

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