Finished for the day

Yep, today is coming to an end. Worked pretty hard and published a couple of pieces in the international Android blog, Androidpit.

It's fun to write. Even at work, when I have a moment free I tend to throw down on my iPad. The tablet has really enabled me in terms of writing. I have it with me in meetings and just about everywhere. When in meetings, if they get a bit boring, I'll just start to write. And of course everyone thinks I'm taking notes. It is not really the iPad that is special, it is having a great medium for writing in a small package. If it was an Android tablet or a Microsoft one, it really wouldn't matter. Something light, thin and extremely portable is all you need as a writer.

So I'm going to eat something, have a drink with my colleagues and head home for the day. Life is good. With thanksgiving coming up I feel good about being in Germany. No turkey stress.

Got to run. Time to relax a bit. Have a nice night and a great turkey day tomorrow.

Another great film

The wife and I watched, Lawless last night. This was a very good movie. Shia Laboeuf is great in it and I loved the setting. A quick prep: the film is set in prohibition Virgina where moonshine is flowing and the gangs of Chicago are killing each other over the profits. A small family of moonshiners, the Bondurants' are doing fine. They have an honest but tough reputation and are not interested in the gangs or their corrupt politicians. Especially not the police coming in setting up moonshine networks. As a consequence they are confronted with the corrupt police and have to respond accordingly.

This movie is based on a true story and a great book called, The Wettest County In The World. I recommend two things, one, read the book. Two, enjoy the movie, we did.

The Book

Samsung has released a hot new update for their Galaxy S2

If, like me you are a happy Galaxy S owner then you are about to get more happy, eh- or happier…
A pre-release of Samsung’s new JellyBean firmware 4.1.2 has just hit the net and it is smooth, real smooth. If you have a Galaxy S2 get out and test this Rom. I have been running it for a few days now and I love it. Google’s project Butter really shines here. This thing is fast, smooth as silk and has some really nice functionality built in. And most of all, it is nice to see that the S2 still has some fight left in him, and can be competitive on the market. With 4.1.2 installed my device feels like a new smooth handset. It is easily as smooth and the new quad core Tegra devices I have played with. The best is still yet to come. This is a pre-release, and is so smooth I just can’t imagine what the full release will bring. This is easily good enough as a daily driver- so read the instructions below, install it and have fun. Oh, and when the final comes, I’ll make sure you know. Below is news and details from Sammobile.
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We of SamMobile would like to give you the latest I9300XXLSJ Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Test firmware for the Galaxy S II. I9100XXLSJ is the first ever Jelly Bean leak for the Galaxy S II and surprisingly it’s really stable as well. This TEST Firmware was leaked by Forum Member izap of XDA-Developers.
This build is very much near perfect so we believe that Samsung will actually start rolling out the Official Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S II very soon. The day Samsung starts to roll out the official update you will be able to install the latest update through Kies or OTA update.
Some of the Enhancements in the new Jelly Bean Update:
- Buttery Smooth Performance & Great Stability (Thanks to Project Butter)
- New TouchWiz Nature UX (Same UI as of the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II)
- Samsung’s Cloud services
- Direct Call, Smart Stay and Pop-up Play Features
- New Widgets From the Galaxy S III
- 2 Home screen modes
- New Notifications bar
- Google Now

This is a PRE-RELEASE version so not official from KIES.
As this is a PRE-RELEASE firmware so expect some minor bugs.

Firmware Details: 
Android Version: 4.1.2 – JZO54K (Jelly Bean)
PDA: I9100XXLSJ
CSC: I9100OXXLS1
MODEM: I9100XXLS6
Changelist: 462349
Build Date: 6th November 2012

Download: http://www.sammobile.com/2012/11/15/i9100xxlsj-%E2%80%93-galaxy-s-ii-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-test-firmware/