Photoshop coming to Chromebooks is good news...

That you can now stream Photoshop to Chromebooks it's not just not a big win for Google, but to GNU/Linux at large. It means that now the idea that Photoshop could become available in other distros is not really all that crazy.

That Adobe finally decided to bring the flagship photo editing software to GNU/Linux via Chromebooks is a big thing since it takes away another reason for not coming to GNU/Linux.  Most importantly, if it does well on Chromebooks Adobe might have an incentive to bring Photoshop some of the other major GNU/Linux distros like Ubuntu or OpenSUSE.

If more people start moving to use Photoshop on GNU/Linux, it might the spark that GNU/Linux has been looking to really become a mainstream OS and not just something used a few. There will be a bigger set of people that now will be able to see, and use, a GNU/Linux distro as a viable option to use on daily basis to work with.

I still temper my optimism with a grain of salt. It's a great first step, but there still a long road ahead to be called a success since there still much that could give Adobe cold feet. Yet, a very promising news and the kind that give me hope that GNU/Linux might have a break on the desktop.

Most non FOSS user just don't care...

This article at fossforce.com got me wondering, do FOSSers are the only ones who "get" FOSS? While in some cases non FOSS users seem unable to get what FOSS is all about, most of the time it's more about not caring enough to even try to understand FOSS at all.

Most people just want computers that work according to their expectations for whatever use they have for them. For them, that it works the way they expect it to work is all that matters and anything else is irrelevant. So far, the likes of Microsoft and Apple have done quite a good job giving people products that let people a familiar product that lets them work in a way that they feel comfortable with.

Since they have this products that work as they come to expect, why care about much about what FOSS people arguments about how software must respects users freedoms? Let's face it, the whole argument for most users is not a technical one since most people don't really want to get that side of the software. For the average user is more about the protection of their rights, privacy and ethical aspects of their interaction with software.

Most often than not, FOSS matches blow for blow what proprietary software can do. For any given proprietary software, there is a FOSS one that can do at least the same thing or could be developed if there is a need for it.

With the news of the NSA spying on just about everyone, and all the hacking cases that have resulted on high profile private information to be stolen, gives FOSS a chance to get entry into the attention of the average user by making them care software in ways they think before. Suddenly, in the mind of many there is more in computers and software than the technical aspects most of the FOSS community seem to concentrate in.

For the average user, the emotional link is far more important than the technical one. They need to feel that link without having to have that many technical skills to begin with, since those skills can be built later as a result of that emotional link. Let's find ways to bring to FOSS people that don't have a technical background from the beginning, by making it clear that FOSS is as much about them as it is about software.

Until this happens, the average people just won't have a reason to care, much less have a reason to use, what's FOSS all about.

Personally, I'd love to see Apple becoming part of the FOSS community...

This article in infoworld.com, about the pros and cons that Apple face about open sourcing its new Swift programing language got me thinking that I'd love to see Apple coming to the FOSS community completely.

I know there are many people at the FOSS community at large that, to say the least, hate Apple with a passion. And for the looks of it, Apple feels quite the same way about FOSS. But if Apple came to embrace the FOSS movement completely, the benefits for itself and the FOSS movement at large would be many and to good to ignore.

For Apple, some advantages would be having access to a wider set of developers to work with them to make their software better. It would have more developers looking to make their software better in more ways than any one could think about now. Not only that, it could take advantage of developments that are being put forward at places outside itself a lot easier and faster that if does now.

Developers would have a proven platform that is known to be solid. Like or not, Apple produces some great software that people want to use. My main problem with it, is not the quality of Apple's products, but all the restrictions that are imposed on both developers and users so that Apple can keep control over the software it creates. Those restrictions are way to heavy on users, since they restricts our freedoms to use the software so it fits our needs the best way we see fit.

Yes, since they coded the software to begin with they get a say on the development, to set the parameters and set the goals they want to get to. In a way, every GNU/Linux distro does this but they don't restrict their developers to take the distro and take another road with it.

Lastly, users could benefit by having Apple's way of making it's software as user friendly as it can. There are already some GNU/Linux distros that do a good job on the user experience. My top two are Linux Mint and Ubuntu, while Chrome OS seems to be doing a good job at to give a good user experience too. Yet, there seems to be some rough edges that might keep the average user away.

This is where Apple's design team excels at, and where GNU/Linux could really use their expertise to give users a better experience.

I know that the odds of Apple changing its hearth and embracing FOSS doesn't have that many chances of ever happening. Yet, dreaming doesn't cost a thing...

Chromebooks are becoming quite a good option...

If this SanDisk SD card can be paired with Chromebooks, suddenly having a Chromebook becomes an option worth considering for me.

The main issue for me with having a Chromebook, is the internal storage capacity. Until now, most Chromebooks top at 64 GB is way lower than the amount of storage that I feel comfortable with. For me, the minimum size for the hard drive is 500 GB.

This means, that an SD card with a capacity of 512 GB hits the mark quite nicely. As a plus, storing my data on an SD card means that it can be easier to move it around devices.

With the local data storage issue solved, Chromebooks also have the benefit of price. They are cheaper, and most of them offer a great value for me since they are a perfect fit for my computing needs. I just need something to edit text, do some light work on spreadsheets, listen music and do light Internet browsing. All this can be done with ease with a Chromebooks, meaning that a Windows laptop might be an over kill.

Since Chrome OS, which runs all Chromebooks, is based on the GNU/Linux kernel, it makes the need to install another GNU/Linux becomes less important. In a way, Chrome OS is itself a GNU/Linux distro. So, I would be jumping to another distro from Linux Mint.

If I could dual boot Chrome OS and Linux Mint on a Chromebook, it would become a closed deal for me. Like this, I'd get to try Chrome OS, while using Linux Mint when I feel the need.

Moving to Android has proven to be the right choice...

I've been using Mobo smartphone(link in Spanish) running Android 4.1.2 for a couple of mouths now, and even though it's somewhat on the low end spectrum I've really liked Android as a whole.

If anything, I don't really like that I can move some of the apps to my SD card so I can free the internal memory. Yet the device holds the apps I use the most, so I really don't this hasn't become much of an issue. Most importantly, the over all experience has been rather good.

So much so, that I've become an Android fan. When time comes to get a new smartphone, I'll get one that comes with more internal memory. Basically I've come to realize that for what I use my smartphone, Android is the OS to go and I need one with more internal storage to better fit my mobile lifestyle.

Most importantly on a personal level, is that now my laptop and smartphone are underpinned by GNU/Linux. My go to distro for my laptop has become Linux Mint, though I also recommend Ubuntu, using Cinnamon. And, unless a device using Ubuntu Touch comes along, Android is my go to mobile OS.

If all goes as it has been so far, I'm staying with Linux Mint for my desktop and Android for my smartphone. This combination feels the best for me, and it's working great.

It's true that it hasn't been completely without some issues, but all of them have been minor and easy to fix. So, there is no real reason for me to stop using either OS. As a matter of fact, I recommend everyone to use them.

So far, moving to the Android camp has been really good...

The let's blame our users game...

It seems that Apple is happy to blame its users every time something wrong happens with any of its products, no matter what issue is found.

Even though some of the blame can be placed on Apple's own security implantation, it's rather odd and insensitive to place the blame on users while the investigation is still ongoing. Even worse when it seems that such blaming games are the modus operandi of a company that prides itself of making the word's mos advanced desktop OS.

Ever since the antenna gate, Apple seems rather to blame their users as people that can seem to be able to use their rather user friendly products than to accept mistakes. That really bugs me, I don't mind companies making mistakes from time to time if they admit them and correct them. But, blaming users is something that is not ethical to say the least.

In this case, I want to know what was the part that software had to play and what are they going to do to fix it so that something like the celebrity photo hacks won't happen ever again in the same way. And while some of the responsibility might fall on the users side, the remainder will fall on Apple's side.

It's on Apple's best interest to let the investigation run its course, and then be transparent about fully disclosing the findings and what they are going to do fix the problems on their side of the matter.

If this doesn't happen, what remains of my faith and trust on Apple will completely disappear.