Charge Me Up, Pour Me a Cold One

As someone who uses a laptop for work, and play, because I like the mobility I'd like to see more options to be able to so outside my home and office. Specially places that offer outlets to connect to when my battery is running low, or just want to game a bit without worrying about the battery. Not to mention, a good and reliable WiFi connection.

While some coffee shops have some outlets, I personally find them lacking, they are too few, and are at tables that are on a dark corner. On this case, I would love to see the number of outlets increased and the number of tables where a couple of laptops could be used at the same time outside the meeting rooms some coffee shops have, since at time those places are just too big when just a couple of people come in just to work, study, or just whatever they need to do.

Personally, I do enjoy having a beer while playing a video game, writing a blog entry, doing some reading, or just browsing the web. Some coffee shops offer beers, but I rather go to a bar since the atmosphere feels a lot more chill and conducive to chill while playing a video game, or doing some light work in a more relaxed place. What would make it better, is to be able to do so while hanging out with a couple of friends.

To be honest, this bar would be the same one I'd come to even without my laptop, and the same could be said of a coffee shop that offer a similar concept. While coffee shops like La Flor de Córdoba come close to what I'd like to see, and on the bar side it would be Santas Alitas, they fall short on the outlets. And for the Santas Alitas side, they also don't offer WiFi or outlets, which is sad, since the atmosphere in the locations I've been to has been one of the best ones.

Other bar that comes close is Skygamers Sports Bar, but it only has on location in Guadalajara and it doesn't really checks all the boxes for me. It lacks the kind of atmosphere that is more conducive to bring your own laptop, and just chill out there either alone or with friends.

Another one that comes close, is Over Wings. While it has WiFi, the problem is that it doesn't have outlets near enough tables. Yet, along with Santas Alitas, it is one of the bars that come closest to be perfect.

What is more, I'd also would like to see a larger selection of draught beer of the beer of Grupo Modelo and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma along side the other presentations. While some of my favorite beets, like León and Victoria, are from Grupo Modelo, from time to time I do enjoy having an Indio, or a Bohemia, from Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma. Not to mention some of my friends don't want to go to bars where beers from their favorite brand aren't available. Personally, I do prefer having draught beer rather the bottled version of my favorite beers.

I'm sure that there are more people like me out there. People who like the social experience of going out to a bar, even if means sitting alone, to enjoy playing their favorite video game, or just doing some light work, while sipping their favorite beer. The same goes of being able to do so with friends.

Specially in groups of no more of four people, small enough not to take much space or be much trouble, but big enough that the value of their check makes them worthwhile. Personally, I'd put my own if I could to test my idea out.

From Nothing's Design to Pixel's Longevity: My Android Evolution

A few years ago, Nothing used to make the smartphones with design that spoke to me, and made them my top consideration. But, with the design changes they made the last couple of years, using Google Pixel 7a, and the Pixel phones being officially available by Google in Mexico on 2025, the Pixel line has become my personal smartphone line.

Personally, I prefer Android over iOS on my smartphone. And while Nothing OS is quite a good implementation of Android, the smartphones from the Nothing just don't talk to me. I still can recommend them wholeheartedly if you like them, but personally I prefer the Pixel phones, the combination of their hardware and vanilla Android is just better suited for what want and need on a smartphone.

Other thing that makes Pixel a better option for me, is that it offers seven years of Android updates, while Nothing offers five years. The only other Android smartphone OEM the offers something similar I know, is Samsung which I prefer not to get smartphones from.

To be honest, I had an eye on Pixel phones since they hit the market. The only reason I didn't consider them was the difficultly of getting them on Mexico for some time. Then, five years ago I saw that I could get them unofficially, and a couple of years ago I made the jump to a Pixel 7a, which was a great choice.

Now that Google has made the Pixel phones officially available in Mexico, it has made it hard for me to move to another OEM unless Google makes a choice which a disagree with.

All things considered, I Pixel phones might just become my go to smartphone for years to come. Hardware and software works quite nicely, and while the Tensor SoC might not be a powerhouse it ticks all the boxes for my needs.

At the end of the day this is why I prefer the Android ecosystem, there is an Android smartphone that fits your need closely.

Linux Mint, Meet Snapdragon: A Call for ARM Support and Superior Mobility

As someone who prefers using laptops because they offer the best mix of mobility and power, I've been seeing the efficiency gains that Apple has made for their laptops with the M series of SoC, and with some extent Windows with the Snapdragon SoC, with some interest.

Both SoC are ARM based architectures, which makes them great for mobile applications like laptops. They combine great power efficiency, with great CPU power for mobile applications like laptops. With the current Intel and AMD CPUs on Linux Mint I get from 4 to 6 hours from the battery, which is not bad, but using an ARM based CPU designed for use on laptops the battery life could be much better.

As such, I'd love to see Linux Mint, and other Linux distros, being capable of being used on laptops with ARM based CPUs as they are now able to run on laptops with AMD and Intel CPUs. That would be a huge win for user like me, who prefer laptops for both work and play. Apple has already proven that ARM based CPUs are viable for both desktops and laptops, and it is time for others to follow that lead.

I'd even like to see AMD, or Intel, to offer their own take on the ARM architecture. Personally, I'd prefer to see AMD move into it, or give a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC a try. For what I've investigated, there is some work to do on the Linux kernel for this to happen. Yet, it is just a matter of ARM based CPUs becoming more common for the Linux kernel to be able to play nicely with them.

As everything stands, it is just a matter of time for work for Linux kernel support for ARM based SoC to start, and to make Linux viable on them. Specially with Microsoft following Apple's lead, and making Windows work on ARM based laptops. And with Microsoft throwing money on developers to make their apps work natively on ARM bases SoC, it will be easier for Linux counterparts of those apps to also become ARM compatible. Specially since some of them already are on Android, and iOS.

Though it is still early, I do hope that ARM based devices will become common place on laptops, and that Linux distros will support them.