Glifted

Ubuntu because I’m old, uncool, and tired

I just switched back to Linux a week ago (Ubuntu Studio 24.04) from windows. I used to use Linux 15 years ago and I tried a lot of distros at that time. Eventually I landed on Crunchbang which I loved dearly.

Since it’s been awhile I wanted something fairly vanilla so Ubuntu Studio felt like a good start. I was planning on switching to something else (I hear we have Crunchbang++ now) after getting used to Linux again but I have kind of settled in to Ubuntu now. It feels a little sloppy but comfortable somehow.

Primarily I just think the difference is overall good design between the OS and the phone itself. There are a lot of little thoughtful details that improve the experience.

The ‘glyph’ lights are a good example. When I was researching the phone I thought they were just a gimmick. Like sure they’re neat and all but I didn’t really see much value added. However, in practice you start realizing how valuable they are.

The notifications lights can be customized so important ones turn on a light until the phone is checked. This makes ignoring your phone so much easier. The Glyph Timer is really useful, especially if you need a silent timer. There’s also a Glyph flashlight. This seems redundant at first because there’s already an LED flashlight on the back of the phone, like every other phone. However, the Glyph flashlight is much softer which is perfect for navigating a dark room where someone is sleeping.

People will point out that most of Nothing’s features can be replicated in some capacity on any Android phone. This is absolutely true, but I think they’re discounting how thoughtfully these details are implemented by Nothing on their phones.

…and just so it’s perfectly clear: I am VERY happy with Nothing OS and the 2a. Like, happy enough that my next phone will likely be a Nothing phone as well. It’s been the best out-of-box user experience I’ve ever had with a phone

I’m writing this on a 2a and the only thing ‘missing’ for me is an SD card slot but I’m told that’s out of fashion these days anyway

I don’t get it. I’ve had two Garmin watches and they both received regular updates and occasionally new features trickle down to the older models (where possible).