The Roll Out #1

Nov 12, 2025 Comments The Roll Out

Welcome to The Roll Out.

This is the easiest way to keep up with what I’m building, writing, and thinking across the web without jumping through multiple platforms or feeds. I publish in many places, so this space gathers my work in one calm view. It’s a place where we can connect, whether you’ve been walking this journey with me for years or you’re just stepping into this world.

Here you’ll find curated articles, insights for thinkers, practical tips, and short notes on design and open-source culture. I might also occasionally share a few personal goings-on. I’ll keep the tools in context, the human story in view, and you close and connected.

This isn’t a rigid "series". It’s a living chronicle: a human way to stay in touch, share what matters in real time, and remain rooted in community even as life gets full. I'm glad to bring you on this journey with me.

Insight: Minimalism must serve usability

This week, as I've been checking out new (to me) apps for various tasks and working on new articles, I kept butting my head against a recurring UI/UX issue. Across OSS design, the desire for minimalism has become more important than usability itself. We've achieved fewer menus, collapsed controls, and created UIs that are “clean” for the sake of being clean. If it's done right, great—a clean UI is a pleasure to use. But when it's not, it can quickly become a source of bewilderment and frustration for users.

I've wanted to scream from the rooftops: "Minimalism isn't stylish unless it's also usable!". I have a saying that I stand by and apply to my own work:

Form is function.

It's a play on a saying you've probably heard (a little too much). What people perceive is what they'll experience. As developers and designers, we can't escape this, and frankly, we shouldn't want to. Usability is a responsibility, even in free software. Good UI/UX design removes friction, not capability.

As we pursue a more minimalist aesthetic, we should also deepen, not diminish, usability. This doesn't mean removing features or preferences users actually need (which is often the supposed or proposed solution). Rather, we need more developers and designers* who truly listen to users, not because users are always right, but because they're the purest arbiters of user experience. After all, they don't build our apps and designs; they use them.

  • Designers should be considered part of your development team, but that's another conversation for another time.

Practical Tip: Start automating early

Automation is a gift to your future self. Even small batch scripts, templates, or scheduled tasks create free time you never have to sacrifice again. Find that one small extra step you can automate today, even if it feels insignificant, and you’ll be thanking yourself later.

For me, a recent win was installing Gradia so I can process screenshots consistently instead of tweaking them one by one. Your version might be a starter shell script, a reusable OBS scene, or a blog post template. If it’s repeatable, it’s worth making easier. You might even want to try out the PDF conversion automation I shared over on Linux Handbook (you can check that out in the articles section below).

Here’s what I’ve published recently:

It’s FOSS

  • It’s Time to Bring Back GNOME Office (Hope You Remember It)
    A case for a small, native GNOME office suite that restores platform coherence and makes everyday docs feel at home on desktop and phone.
    → https://itsfoss.com/gnome-office-revival/

  • Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
    Koncentro bundles tasks, a Pomodoro timer, and a local website blocker so you can protect focus without juggling three separate tools.
    → https://itsfoss.com/koncentro-app/

Linux Handbook

  • Creating an Automated PDF Conversion System on Linux with unoconv [In-depth Guide]
    Build a hands-free PDF pipeline using unoconv, cron, flock, and logrotate to save time, avoid overlaps, and keep clean logs.
    → https://linuxhandbook.com/automated-pdf-conversion-system/

  • Monitoring I/O Usage and Network Traffic in Linux With iotop & ntopng
    Get fast visibility into disk and network bottlenecks so you can fix issues before they derail your work.
    → https://linuxhandbook.com/iotop-ntopng/

Explore more of my work

Discover how I blend design and open source through RolandiXor Media Inc. — partner with us to bring your project to life, browse the portfolio for real-world examples, and grab creative and technical resources to power your own work.

→ rolandixor.pro

Support my writing

Want to help fuel more honest, practical stories, guides, and resources for people building and learning across tech and creative work? If my work has been useful to you, consider supporting it here.

→ https://ko-fi.com/rolandixor

Follow me

Stay plugged in to the day-to-day: quick updates, in-progress ideas, link drops, and random sparks of curiosity. Expect a little whimsy too—odd tangents, playful experiments, and the occasional rabbit hole.

Thanks for reading.
See you in the next one!
— Roland L. Taylor
Tags:
Roland Taylor (RolandiXor)

Roland Taylor (RolandiXor)

Barbados-born writer and multimedia designer Roland L. Taylor explores the intersection of open-source, practical tech, and creative storytelling. He builds human-friendly workflows, experiments in public, and shares what he learns, so others can do more with what they already have.

Share

Comments

Comments