Another reason to use open source software...

And yet again, this wired.com article points out the dangers of depending on proprietary software at all. While it may be true that if you use software from some established vendor you have less to worry about having to deal with this problem, the fact that no one can say it will never happen like it happen to the likes of Kodak.

The fact that open source software gives you the possibility to keep the software you depend upon alive, since the users can come together to continue the work on the software from where the original company left. It puts the control of the software on the hands of the users, and its up to the user the degree of involvement on the development of the software it uses.

Its okay to trust companies to develop and maintain the software we depend upon, but that's not a good reason to give them full control of said software. But, the user should always have ultimate control over the software.

There is no way to understate how important that user have that level of control, since in many cases the software they use becomes part of the core of what they do and there could be no substitute readily available to replace if it can't get support for it should the vendor of said software were decide to stop supporting or went out of business. Open software gives users the option to keep using the software they need either by picking up development themselves, using the support by the people who pick up the development or by hiring someone to do so, to name a few options out there.

Open source software has proven itself, with examples like Firefox and Android leading the way on the consumer software side. The idea that open source software is hard to use, and that it can't be as good as proprietary software, is completely bogus and unfounded.

Now more than ever, it's time that users regain control over the software that they use and depend on.

Mobile OS dilemma...

With Ubuntu Touch finally coming to the market, and with it's possible release in Mexico soon, it all puts me in a peculiar situation. By the time I come to replace my smart phone, I might have to choose between continuing using Android or make the jump to Ubuntu.

So far, I've liked Android. There has been some hiccups, there hasn't been one that I haven't been able to fix myself with a little bit of research. None of those problems has taken me more than a couple of hours to fix, so there isn't much to complain about.

The user experience I've had so far, it has been quite good. The only complain, is that the device doesn't have that much memory. As such, that can't be blamed on Android; besides it has enough memory to house the apps that I like and use regularly without any problem. So, if I choose to continue with Android it would be with a device with more memory than the one I currently have.

On the Ubuntu Touch side, I use Ubuntu on my laptop and I love the OS. So, jumping to an Ubuntu Touch powered device makes sense because I'm already familiar, and love, Ubuntu's Unity user interface.

As such, I like the idea that both my laptop and smart phone give me a common user experience. With that, I move more seamlessly among them.

While I like the user interface that comes with Android, I prefer much more the user interface that Unity has. Unity is simply a better fit for my tastes and the way I interact with my devices.

Ubuntu Touch has some room to mature and develop as consumers start putting it through it's paces. The good news for me, since by the time it hits Mexico many of the bugs encountered may have been fixed and the functionality of the OS in general will be enhanced by the users and carries feedback.

As such, if Ubuntu Touch comes to Mexico in time, I'll be having on the tough spot of choosing between to mobile operating systems I love.

There is a need to chance how women are treated...

With the Women's day at hand, there is a lot of things to ponder about how far women have come over the last century and how much there is left to do for women to reach equality with men.

There can't be any question about the fact that women have proven just as men, and can do all men can just as well. We have examples like Marie Curie, Linda B. Buck, Ada Lovelace, Hedy Lamarr, to name a few, who have more than demonstrated that women have as much to offer as men can. They don't need men to patronize them, or to give them any more help that a man needs to contribute to the advancement of science and technology.

Now more than ever, we need to put in place a system that allows women to contribute freely and as true equals to their male counterparts. While there have been improvements, there aren't enough to level the playing field to allow women to work as a peer.

Its offensive that some propose that women need to be given special places, or treated in a different way than men. They need to be given the same chance that men receive, and let the results of their work speak for them. What's needed is to change things so that gender becomes irrelevant when considering how competent is, and let the results of the work have the most weight when it comes to this.

Until we can say that gender has no role on how we judge a person's work quality, we can't say we live in a fair society. What's more, until women can enter the science and technology fields without people being surprised about it we can't say that women have the same chances than men do.

Women belong at science laboratories, and technology development places, just as much as men do. It's up to each women to decide if she wants to follow that road. That's her prerogative to take, and no one can take that from her.