Apr 16, 2014 by Paul Campbell
Sponsors make everything easier for us, and Úll wouldn’t be half the show it is without them.
This year, we’re delighted to welcome WordPress.com as our flagship sponsor. They’ll be hosting a hack-café throughout the conference. WordPress is part of the fabric of the internet and it’s wonderful to be partnered with such a strong brand.
We’re also delighted that Squarespace is back as a sponsor for another year. Squarespace was a huge support last year, and their approach fits squarely with our mission of promoting great design.
Finally, it warms our hearts that New Relic and Microsoft are coming on board as sponsors. New Relic has been a truly inspirational company, dedicated to application tuning, and massively influential over the past 5 years. And Microsoft: Well, we’re excited about what’s coming.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Apr 16, 2014 by Paul Campbell
Music has always been an integral part of Úll, and this year is no different.
Well after the main conference is done, after the keynote, after dinner, we’re giving you the opportunity to get up and make a fool of yourself find your inner Leonard Cohen and sing or play.
It’s going to be super informal, a bit of fun.
The setup will be this: a bar, a handful of acoustic guitars, and a couple of backing musicians. It should be a lot of fun!
If you’d like to put yourself down to sing or play something, please register yourself. Looking forward to hearing what you’ve got!
Apr 16, 2014 by Dermot Daly
Have you gone to many conferences and, while enjoying a talk thought “I could do that”?
Have you said “this year…I’m going to give a talk”?
Do you need that final push?
Here’s your chance.
In the spirit of our day of feature presentations, we’ll be running a lightning talk session. 5 minutes, no more. The sessions will be run on the afternoon of the second day.
Want to talk? Register yourself and we’ll let you know ahead of time if we can fit you in.
We’re excited to hear your ideas.
Mar 27, 2014 by Dermot Daly
Many people have been asking about arriving in Dublin on 27th April, the night before Úll, with plans to travel to Kilkenny on the morning of the 28th.
With so many people in town, the local Cocoaheads, known as XCake, have something arranged.
It’s Night of Meat, Dublin Style. Sign up here
Mar 19, 2014 by Dermot Daly
We know some people would like to bring a partner to the conference, but the partner’s interests may lie outside of Úll. So, we’ve created a Significant Other ticket. This ticket allows an existing ticket holder to bring along a partner to all of the social activities at Úll. The significant other ticket is priced at €159 + VAT. Mail feedback@ull.ie if you’d like to purchase one.
As for the kids? They go free. We’ll ensure they’re catered for at mealtimes. Just let us know so we can allocate your room accordingly.
Mar 14, 2014 by Paul Campbell
I’m delighted to announce that we’re partnering with Omakase to run a charity 5k race during Úll this year.
We first had the idea to run a 5k when we asked Josh Clark, the creator of Couch to 5k, back to speak this year (Josh was a fantastic speaker at the first Úll).
Unfortunately, Josh was otherwise engaged for this year’s Úll. That’s not stopping us, we figured out a way to do good. Theresa Preston-Werner, founder of Omakase will join us on a very relaxed 5k run. What better way to experience the beautiful Kilkenny countryside around Lyrath?!
Omakase is currently promoting its Tech Cares movement, and it’s one we’re proud to stand behind.
Those of you who were at Úll 2013 will remember Matt Gemmell’s rallying cry to look after thyself. We’re taking up this challenge.
If you want to join the run (or jog, walk, crawl), we’re asking for a minimum $10 donation, but you can donate however much you like. Register at this link.
Mar 10, 2014 by Dermot Daly
The countdown to Úll 2014 is on, and we’re getting excited. Ticket sales are better than ever, speaker enthusiasm is high, and the sense of anticipation here is growing.
In that context of anticipation, we’re delighted to announce that John Gruber will once again join us this year. John’s state-of-the-union style address has captivated us two years running, and has been a highlight of the conference on both occasions. We’re happy to say he’ll be back in the president’s seat as it were, and he’ll once again speak before dinner on the second night.
There’s an old saying in the industry “Where goes a Gruber goes a Lopp”. It’s certainly true for Úll. Like John, Michael Lopp, AKA Rands, will join us again this year. Michael wrapped up the talks on the first day of our first year, and he kicked things off last year. This year, expect something different. All we’re saying is: you follow him on Instagram, right?
Along with John and Michael, we’re also delighted to announce that Lisa Maree Domican will be speaking at Úll. Lisa, originally from Australia, hails nowadays from Co. Wicklow, a stone’s throw from this year’s venue. She produced the award winning Grace app. After Charles Perry’s sensational talk last year on application accessibility, we’re looking forward to Lisa’s thoughts on helping people with special needs through applications.
Our next-to-last batch of tickets just sold out, and the last opportunity to get tickets for this year’s conference will be next Tuesday, 18th March.
Feb 04, 2014 by Kilian McMahon
It’s time to talk about speakers. We’re bringing in some new ones, and we’ll have some familiar faces too.
We already told you last year about our three returnees:
Jim Dalrymple – Editor in chief of the Loop Insight and the Loop magazine, podcaster at Amplified, lover of rock music. He’s making his third appearance.
Jennifer Brook – UX designer extraordinaire & designer of New York Times iPad app. This will be Jennifer’s second Úll visit.
Matt Gemmell – Former iOS developer, writer and blogger, now turned full time writer. In year one Matt spoke about being true to your app idea. In year two he told us why we need to look after ourselves. In year three, we’ll see how looking after himself led to his career change.
There’s one more person returning.
Dave Wiskus – Since last year Dave has led the design of Vesper at Q-Branch. Vesper is a wonderfully crafted app for collecting your thoughts. Dave will talk about app design. He may even podcast.
Today, we’re announcing 5 new speakers
Jean MacDonald - Jean founded the wonderful App Camp For Girls movement. She is calling her feature “Crossing the Geek Divide”. We met at WWDC last year, and her passion was obvious.
Jason Snell - If seven years being editor in chief of Macworld magazine wasn’t enough, Jason is now SVP and Editorial Director over Macworld Magazine, Techhive and PC World. He also hosts The Incomparable podcast. Jason recently interviewed Apple executives Phil, Bud and Craig for a piece on 30 years of the Mac.
Guy English - Guy is a veteran Mac & iOS developer, co-creator of Napkin, podcaster and one of the guys behind Çingleton. We’ve always looked up to Ç, so we’re delighted he’s agreed to be part of Úll.
Amanda Rösler - Amanda is a games developer at Toca Boca. We love Toca Boca’s work—who doesn’t?—and have had them in our sights since year one. Amanda will tell us how their apps trigger kids' imaginations.
Linda Franco - Co-founder of Machina, Linda is one of the pioneers of wearable technology. Wired magazine called their products “The most beautiful wearable tech [of 2013].”
We have a few more speakers to add in the coming weeks but for now let us simply say we cannot wait for you to see what our speakers have in store for April.
Feb 04, 2014 by Dermot Daly
Our philisophy has always been that a single-track conference is the way to go. “Reducing awkwardness” is an internal mantra at every Úll planning meeting.
Then we found Lyrath. An amazing space with lots of nooks and crannies, rooms of all shapes and sizes. And we thought “wouldn’t it be a shame to have all our delegates in one big conference room for the entire time?”
The venue really made us re-evaluate our idea of a conference. It has shaped our thinking and inspired us to embrace new possibilities. This year we’re shaking it up and introducing “Features” to make use of the amazing spaces and enhance the traditional “talks” format.
Monday will be modelled on last year’s Friday: An afternoon start, some talks, some refreshments and an Úll Panel Session.
Tuesday will take the conference in a new direction. We’re not asking speakers to speak, we’re asking them to produce an exhibit. They aren’t getting a time slot, they’re getting a room. The result will be a reproducible, regularly run, feature presentation.
There will be enough time for attendees to see every feature, and attendees will be able to choose their own journey. Of course, there’s still going to be times when we get together as a full group. There’ll be meals, there’ll be entertainment and plenty of mingling.
We’re excited about this, our speakers are excited. We hope you love it.
Jan 20, 2014 by Paul Campbell
We’re just about ready to start sharing some more information about this year’s conference including some exciting news about our speakers and Úll’s new format.
First though: logistics.
For those who have already bought or are planning to buy tickets, here’s some essential information about where to be, what to book, and what your various options are.
Here are the pertinent start and end times:
Sunday 27th of April (Optional)
- 8pm: Meetup in Dublin City
Note: This is for any early arrivals who want to meet up and get acquainted.
Monday 28th of April
- 12 Noon: Registration opens in Lyrath
- 2pm: The conference starts
Wednesday 30th April
- 2pm – Later: Podcasts, food and mingling.
If you’ve been to Úll before, you’ll know that the last day is traditionally held in the Odessa Club and is comprised of podcasts, chilling out, mingling, and chatting about the previous two days. We’ll be doing the same this year, only in Lyrath. You can choose when to leave, stay another night at Lyrath if you wish, or head back up to Dublin for some big city midweek night-life! It’s your choice.
Úll this year is in Lyrath, a big estate about 5 minutes outside of Kilkenny town by taxi. Kilkenny is one of the easiest places in Ireland to get to. Here are some options if you’re travelling from Dublin.
Check out the Lyrath website for how to get there.
See you in April!
Dec 20, 2013 by Paul Campbell
It’s holiday time, and to celebrate, we’re doing one last pre-release of tickets for next year’s conference.
Get yours now: https://tito.io/ull/2014
Dec 19, 2013 by Dermot Daly
We’ve already mentioned that this year’s location will be able to cater to children.
After our visit to Lyrath, we’d like to tell you more about how the young ones can be catered for at Úll 2014.
The Hotel and Conference Room has family rooms; Supplements for children will apply, but the cost is modest.
In addition, child care facilities can be arranged through the hotel, with child minders used and trusted by the hotel. Child care is a mere €10 per hour, for up to 3 children.
The hotel boasts a swimming pool with kiddies pool, a play room with fuzzball and air hockey for the younger room and a playstation/xbox/video room for those who are a little older.
For the outdoor types, there’s a lake where you can take boats (weather permitting!), and free bicycles for cycling around the 170 acre ground.
The walled garden contains goalposts so the kids can play football, as well as a play area with swings, slides and a playhouse.
Here’s hoping you can bring the kids along, and they can make new friends too!
