Need to change how we convey what free and open source software is all about...

Robert Lindh's blog post over at opensource.com, make a good point arguing that open source software might need a re branding. There is no need to change the core principals of the movement, but how they are conveyed to people who are not familiar with them.

One of the biggest obstacles that keep people from embracing free software is their perception, and it only gets worse when it comes to free and open-source software. At the core of free and open source software are the user rights, so that they truly own their both their computer and software. They can do with them as they please, but that doesn't mean that others can do it as well.

It's also about people coming together to build communities around the software they use to make it better, by sharing the changes they made to it among themselves. Also, making it safer by looking for bugs and vulnerabilities in order to take them out.

Free and open source is not about people working for free, or stealing from others. It's about making the tools that people need for whatever reason, and to share them with others so that tools can benefit others. The benefit can come in many ways; from having access to the software that people may need and making the changes they need, to developers making money from their work.

Free and open source software has already proven that its quality and its security. While every software has its flaws, the communities around several examples of free and open source software projects have rallied together time and time again to prove that they can deal with them.

What it's needed, is to find a way to change the perceptions out their that stop the wide spread adoption of free and open source software. We need the find a way to convey what out story better, only then we can start bringing more people to adopt it.

We need to make it clear that free and open source software is not just for geeks, or computer guys. It can be used by everyone, for whatever purpose they want it for.

Quite happy with Ubuntu 14.10 Utipic Unicorn...

I upgraded to the Ubuntu 14.10 Utupic Unicorn last Friday, and even though there aren't that many changes on the user side, I've felt an improvement from the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr release.

One of the main things that people points out about Utupic Unicorn, is the fact that it doesn't bring that many changes along with it. I don't really see it as an issue, since with all the work being done on Mir display server, Unity 8 and Ubuntu Touch it's just a matter of time before we are just getting some breathing room before the bulk of the changes to Ubuntu come our way on later releases leading to the 16.04 LTS release.

As I said before, so far my experience with Utupic Unicorn has been quite good. There has been some small bumps along the way, but having passed just a few days since it was released it's expected. Getting it just the way I like it took me about 45 minutes at most, and easy as pie.

So far, Canonical has been delivering an OS that I really enjoy using and support it whole heartily. Ubuntu has become my go to OS, and I recommend fully to everyone.

Happy belated 10th birthday Ubuntu...

Yesterday Ubuntu marked it's 10th birthday, quite a landmark since there many other distros that have come and gone during this time. Personally I've been using Ubuntu for the constantly since the 10.04 LTS Lucid Lynx release.

I've just stop using Ubuntu for a about 4 mouths, when I tried the cinnamon shell variant of Linux Mint 17 LTS Qiana. Though I liked Linux Mint, it doesn't quite feel as right as Ubuntu does for me. The Unity shell fits the bill for me on how I expect my desktop to look and work.

When the move was made from GNOME to Unity on the 11.04 Natty Narwhal release, I was somewhat doubtful about it. I really liked how GNOME work, even though it didn't feel as well as Unity does now. If there was a moment where I could have jump to another distro, it was then. After more of two years of using Unity, and seeing it getting better over time, I must admit that it was become my favorite shell out there.

I freely admit that Ubuntu is far from perfect, but it's the best distro for me since it gives me the best user experience. I gave GNOME 3 a spin as soon as possible when it was available on the Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, and it didn't like it that much. I could have grown to like it, but it really didn't do much for me.

Unless something cataclysmic happens on future releases, Ubuntu is my go to GNU/Linux distro.

Long road into FOSS, but I'm not looking back...

The first piece of software that took me on the long way away from Windows, and all proprietary software, was NeoPlanet. I came to it looking for an option for the now ubiquitous Internet Explorer that I still dislike with a passion.

From NeoPlanet, I made the jump to Firefox(which still is my favorite web browser by a long shoot). With Firefox entered my keen interest and support for free and open source software(FOSS), which has led me make the jump to Ubuntu full time with the 10.04 LTS Lucid Lynx release.

Even though I've given a try to Linux Mint(my second favorite distro, and the one I recommend to those who want to make the jump to GNU/Linux but want something similar to Windows.) and Fedora(my third favorite distro), Ubuntu still holds the top spot. Ubuntu is the OS that better suits me for the use I give my computer, while it doesn't get in the way of how I do things.

Now even my smart phone is GNU/Linux, since it's running Android. I've been eying to make the change ever since Android supported devices came to Mexico, but I didn't get the chance to make the move until a couple of months ago. I must say that I'm really happy with the OS, and the other other mobile OS that I would like to give a try now is Ubuntu Touch when I get the chance to put my hand on a device running it.

I can't imagine not running FOSS on my personal laptop and smart phone. For me the perfect combination is Ubuntu for my computer, and Android for my smart phone. Though this might change once I get the chance to try a smart phone running Ubuntu Touch.

I also highly recommend everyone to make the move to FOSS when they get the chance. If you're using Chrome or Firefox to read this blog, or use an Android device, you have the prove of how good FOSS can be. If you can, the best first step into the FOSS world if you don't have confidence on your technical skills to install a distro yourself(though installing Ubuntu and Linux Mint is really simple in my personal experience) a Chromebook is the best option.

There a lot of reasons to make the jump, like security and respect to your privacy, to use FOSS. Since the ease to make the jump has steadfastly increasing all the time, now is the best time to come over.

With enough developers, with the right auditing tools, all bugs are shallow...

Reading this article at wired.com, there is a point that seems really good for me. There is a real need to change how code security audits are done, in order to catch bugs like like Shellshock a lot faster.

Yet, I disagree with the tenant that the Linus's Law is a lie, since having more eye balls looking for bugs makes catching them more likely in a faster way. What happens with some project, as the article correctly points out, is that they just don't have enough people working on them to catch bugs as fast and effectively as possible. Which in core projects can be quite a big problem, since the impact of those bugs on security can be quite big and dangerous for users.

This is why there is a urgent need to change how code audits are carried out, and a need to make software open so we have as many people as possible looking at the code. In a sense, what we need is to have better auditing tools being used as widely as possible to make code both better and with much less bugs.

Open source software will always be intrinsically more secure than  proprietary software because the number of developers looking into the code. What it's needed, is to give those core projects the resources to get more developers on board and the audit tools needed to make their code as free of bugs as possible.

That's the only way Linus's Law will really be as effective as we needed to be, making bugs as shallow as possible.