Tsikbal: from my perspective

Though I've come it to like running GNOME on Ubuntu , I found it that after a while GNOME became quite a RAM hog . A few weeks ago, I ran into Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix , which brings my favorite desktop environment, Cinnamon , to Ubuntu as default. So far, I haven't used more than 4 GB of RAM with the same usage I had on GNOME. And, I've come come to realize how much more of a better fit Cinnamon is for my daily need. And, even though I like Linux Mint , being able to use Cinnamon as default on Ubuntu is something a like a bit more. Mainly because I prefer Ubuntu over Linux Mint, though I admit is mainly because Ubuntu was the first distro I used full time when I made the jump to Linux. Yet, I don't discard making the jump back to Linux Mint if Ubuntu using Cinnamon doesn't become an official flavor when 2021 come around. In a way, Linux Mint could be considered the official Cinnamon flavor, since its based on Ubuntu, yet it follows the long-term release sche...

I find it interesting how some people seem to see technology as either as something that'll save us, or what doom us. It seems that most don't seem to realize that most of the time, technology won't do either on its own. At the end of the day, technology on itself won't save or destroy humanity. It rather comes down to how we use it to interact with other people, and the world around us. All technological devices are merely tools that help us to complete a task, which on its own is not good or evil. The user is the one who is good, or bad, not the tool that was used to do the task at hand. The people who use any tool, are the ones who are responsible for the end results. To blame the tool, is to take the responsibility away from the one who used it. By doing so, we are shielding that person from the consequences that should come for the use, or misuse, that person has to face. If we want to people to use technology in a way that benefits all, or at least do...

I find it somewhat funny that most people still believe that using a Linux distro would be using a command line interface like this: When most distros would use a graphic user interface like this: Although the user interface varies from distro to distro, most of the time there is no need to use a command line interface. Most of the daily tasks can be made without the need of entering the terminal emulator , which makes life a lot easier and less daunting for the average user. In the seven years I've been using Ubuntu, or Linux Mint, the amount of time I've to use the terminal has been dropping significantly. So much so, that it can be more than a month before I make any use of the terminal, and most of the time is to uninstall old kernels to make space for the current one. As such, it has become more user friendly for the average user. This is specially true for distros like Ubuntu, and Linux Mint, since most, if not all, can be done without the use o...

On daily basis, I use a laptop at home and a desktop at work. As such, I've found that if given the choice I'd rather use a laptop the whole time. Though desktops will always be more powerful, for my workflow a laptop is just a much better fit. It gives the flexibility of use I like, and especially I don't need to have that much of a powerful CPU, or GPU, for what I do both at work and at home. The most important thing for me, is that a laptop is a much better fit for my lifestyle. I'm always on the move, not liking to stay at home for long periods of time. So, I like to go to a coffee shop to do some work just so I don't get to restless or simply to change my surrounding a bit. Not only that, even at the office I'd love to be able to move the computer around. Set it at my lap, or just move next to a window just to change the scenery a bit from time to time. Most importantly, I like the ability to take my work with me without worrying about havi...

It seems that Apple finally understood that prioritizing function over form isn't always the best idea to create products that just work. The best products, the ones that just work, and look great, are the ones on which the designers understood how to balance the form and the function to make the product that works great and looks awesome. Putting to much emphasis on either the form, or the function, is the recipe for creating the kind of products that will fail big time. If you put to much attention to form, you'll get a product that won't work at least at well as people needs it to work. At wort, you'll get something completely unusable, since many of the items that need to be there for the product to work as the user needs it to won't be there. On the other hand, if you go only by function you'll get products people won't use because they are uncomfortable to use, there is no easy way to figure out how to use it, or simple people won't p...

With so much misinformation, and lies being spread around social media, media in general and the Internet, it has become harder to know what to believe or who to trust. Specially when that misinformation resonates with core beliefs of people unwilling to do some extra research, or just look for more information to collaborate what they came by before making up their mind. All of these becomes more insidious, when you add into the mix the fact that there are many that aren't capable to question what they come the information they come by. Many just take it on face value, which in some cases can lead to the wrong conclusions about the subject of the news they heard about. Critical thinking is a skill that needs to be learned, and even easier to take for granted for those who learn to think in such a way. So much so, that it takes many by surprise that many people out there didn't learn to think critically. Which makes it hard to communicate with them, since some don'...

One of the things I look forward every October, is the release of a new Ubuntu comes along. Although I currently use Linux Mint, Ubuntu's 19.10 Eoan Ermine release is tempting me to make the jump back. Ubuntu holds a special place for me, since it has the first Linux distro I used full time. Also, its the one of the OSes that I find that are better suited for the uses I give my personal computers. So, I always keep an eye on what's new with each release in order to see if there is enough there to make me want to make the jump back. I've to admit that ever since the 19.04 Disco Dingo came out, the idea of coming back to Ubuntu has grown stronger. In some ways, is a sense of nostalgia that makes me want to return to the distro on which that started me on the use of a Linux distro. But there's the fact that how Ubuntu implements GNOME's on the desktop environment , makes a bit of a better fit for my daily use. It simply helps things flow when I'm using m...

It's somewhat interesting, or sad, how people tend to see technology either what will save or destroy humanity. It seems that for most of these people it's hard to understand that any technology just has the potential help us go either way. At the end of the day, it all depends how we use technology which will determine if its impact on our lives will be positive or negative. All new technologies will change how we relate to the world around us, but its the use we give that will determine the benefits we can expect from them. Most of the time, most will take the easy path of blaming any technology rather than accept that it was misused. While is true that some technology has been proven to do more harm than good, most of the time is the misuse of technology that brings harm. Even fear, in many shapes, has come into play for either not accepting it or for its misuse. In a way it seems like people loves how technology makes their life easier, but they don't want ...

One of the things that science fiction writers got wrong, was how computers would develop. Most of them thought that they would become ever bigger, and we would all interact with one via a terminal. Yet, the opposite came to be. Computers became not only ever more powerful, but they also become smaller. And although with the advent of the Internet, it could be argued that in the essence each of our computers connected to it acts like a terminal, they didn't become just a terminal dependent on a central computer to operate. Computers have become so small, that in our smartphones and tables we got truly portable computers that we can carry around with us all day long to do much more than many science fiction writers, scientist and engineers could have even imagined even a few decades ago. Its both interesting, and a bit scary, how much data we don't only have access to with smartphones, but also how much data we generate while using them. In a way, we all have become...

When I say that I prefer Android over iOS, has lead to some funny reactions from people that expect the usual fan boy arguments that have been thrown around when discussing why you prefer one over the other. It seems that some people can't seem to understand that I do believe both are rather good OSes, and even that iOS does somethings better than Android. Yet, I've found that Android is a better fit for me, and its drawbacks aren't an issue for me. And for the things that iOS does better, don't really matter for me because I simple don't have an actual use for those features. I simply found in Android an OS that just works for me, and it actually helps me set my smartphone just the way I want it to be. The only thing I'd like to have more options is on the cases front, but its something I don't really care about. I just prefer to be able to change the launcher , and the icon set. My favorite, and go to, launcher is Evie Launcher . What I like m...

I find it both amusing, and frustrating, how some people seem to always be complaining how technology has changed things from what they used to know. It makes everything different, and how they wished all would go back to how things used to be. What most people seem to miss, is that new technology changes the world around us. The printing press, the steam engine, radio, the car, all these technologies meant changes so big that they mark a before and an after. The thing is, that the people who where at the middle of the change can't conceive a world without the technologies that they used. They seem to forget there was a time when people had to make do without a telephone for example, or a steam engine that make certain tasks easier. For those who experience the world before, during, and after certain technologies became common place are able to compere. Yet, many bemoan the evils of those new technologies while reaping the benefits of their use. Or sometimes, they fail to ...

It seems that not many people realize that the world hasn't become just interconnected with the raise of the Internet, and truly global media. Trade has managed linked the economies of many countries so tightly together, that they need each other for their continued growth.   Borders are losing their current meaning each day with the flow of goods, ideas, and information. In many ways, borders are becoming just a geographic reference to place the point the origin, or where a product is consumed. As time goes by, more people are seeing themselves not only as a citizen from a certain country, but as part of something bigger. While they jury is still out on what will all this ultimately mean to humanity at large, so far it seems that we will be able to make it work for the better since there are more people actually working to make it so. So much so, that trying to stop this global may prove to be impossible since the benefits of making it happen seem to out wight the pains o...

With all the trade wars, and the resurgence of some nationalist movements, going, it seems that many don't seem to acknowledge how integrated the world has become. It has become almost impossible to find products that don't have some degree of components made in several countries, or being sourced to third party manufactures on other country. Not only that, the advent of the Internet means that most people, and businesses, can make contact almost anyone else without much regard where they are geographically speaking. Not only that, we can access information and content form any other region with relative easy in both legal, and illegal, ways. When you combine this with smartphones, it means that those connections are much easier and stronger. Borders are becoming only relevant to mark a geographic place, but irrelevant for people and information movements. With time, we are building a global village and more of a global identity, though I don't see countries totall...

It's quite vexing to me that subset of users that go on to rant about how every change that is made to an app brakes it so badly, that makes that app unusable. To make it worse, those users seem to believe that they all talk for every other user and those who disagree don't know what they're talking about. Many of these users don't give any change a chance before starting to rant against it. They are sure that the old way to was the best and only right way, and no change can do thing any better. It's true that change just for the sake of change is not a good thing, but that doesn't make change bad in itself. Most changes need to be tried before making a judgment call about them, mainly because they are just another way to do something. Also, its important that you aren't talking for the whole user base when you talk for, or against, any change to an app you use. Many changes that makes things better for some, make it worse for others. Yet, most of t...

For me at least, is sad to see many people pick their computers more on for form rather than function. Even worse, when they expend way more than they should on Pro computers that they won't actually use to that system full potential. While most of the time I see this happening on the Apple ecosystem, with people going for the MacBook Pro when a MacBook or MacBook Air would have been far better matches for their needs, I've seen people going for gaming systems like Alienware when a Asus ZenBook would have been far better for their use case. This ends of people feeling like they were ripped off, or with the feeling that the sales person lied to them. There are two main reasons why people fall to these pitfalls. One is that they don't know much about computers, and they don't ask around enough because they simply are ashamed to let others know they don't know much about computers. Also, this can lead to people don't researching enough about their opt...

A couple of days ago while on YouTube, I came to couple of videos that made reference to an article at TechRepublic arguing that Linux Mint should go . As a Linux Mint user, I agree with Joe Collins and Switch to Linux . All the issues on the TechRepublic's article are actually nonissue, either because those issues don't mean much to the end user or have been solved in a timely manner. Linux Mint is the Linux distro that just works for me, and in a way that it doesn't gets in the way of getting things done. Most importantly, I don't have to constantly having to figuring out why a part of the system broke and having to fix it. And while I've become more proficient on doing things on my system under the hood, its not something I want to do regularly. And let's face it, most the people want just that. They just want to focus on their regular job, and not have to figure out why their system stop working they way they want it to every so often. That...

The news that Windows 10 will soon ship with full Linux kernel with Windows Subsystem for Linux 2(WSL 2) has the potential to be either a really good, or really bad, for Linux. While it can be considered a victory for Linux in particular, and for the open source community at large, we'll have to wait to see how it actually plays out in time. That it becomes something great for Linux not only depends on how Microsoft behaves, but also how all big players on the Linux community react to the situation. In many ways, things need to be made in such a way so that its on Microsoft's best interest to play nice with the rest of the Linux world. That means that some people will have to get used to work with Microsoft at some level, and its on their best interest doing so. Let's face it, Microsoft has come to be a player to stay. As such, we better act in such a way that makes Microsoft do as much as possible to play nice with the Linux community at large. By doing so, we ...

As someone who likes reading, and viewing, tech related subjects, I've started to see mainstream people actually saying that some Linux are real options for the casual user and for some professional ones. It seems that distros like Linux Mint, and Ubuntu, have become more than polished enough to used as the daily OS for a wider set of users. As a user of Linux Mint on my personal laptop, I couldn't agree more. I'm on an unique position, since I use Windows at work and Linux Mint on my laptop. While the user experience is not exactly the same on both OSes,to be honest my experience on Linux Mint hasn't have anything to ask for to the Windows one. To be honest, in most cases it has been better. For the casual user, there no real reason not to move to Linux Mint. Even some more advance users would feel right at home using it, specially since nowadays the ones who wouldn't be able to make the move are becoming more the ones who need specific apps that have ...

I've been using Linux Mint continuously for 6 months now on my daily driver, and it has cemented itself as my go to OS . It has worked for me, and haven't had issues with it so far. And the best thing for me, it that it lends itself to my needs flawlessly. Linux Mint is a really mature OS, and one that users with any skill level can use on daily basis without running into any problem. The only reason for not recommending Linux Mint, is that the person in question needs an app only available for other OS. And more often than not, the pool of this apps is growing thin. Yet, for casual users Linux Mint is quite a good option. All mayor apps run on Linux Mint, or have an equivalent than is at least as good or better than the app they are replacing. At work I use both Window 7 and 10 , and neither is superior to Linux Mint. On the user experience side, most people wouldn't really miss much of what Windows has to offer. With time, Linux Mint has become a solid OS t...

As a geek, one of the most frustrating thing I've to face on daily basis is being told that I can't be one because I don't look the part. Most of the time, the main reasons given is that I don't look the part either because of the way I dress, or because I'm not socially awkward. It seems that most people don't realize that most geeks don't fall into either those negative stereotypes. While there are people who are socially awkward, and don't know how to dress well(sometimes both), it doesn't make them necessary means they are geeks. I do realize that there are some geeks out there that fall into the stereotype, they don't represent the community as a whole. Many of us, who identity as geeks, do so because its what better represents the interests we choose to pursue. We are inclined to video games, comics, manga, and intellectual subjects. Many of these things, don't really interest many outside the geek community. Yet, we do hav...

With the raise of the smartphone , and with some help of tablets , Android has come to have the largest user base of any operating system. While Microsoft Windows is still has the second largest user base, iOS has the the third spot with quite a lead over the macOS at fourth place. I find it interesting, that 2 out of the top 3 OSes used by people at large are used to power our mobile devices such smartphones and tablets. It means that we have shift the way we use computers, from desktops and laptops , to smartphones that we carry with us most of the time. It all happen in a relative short time, compared with how long personal computers took to become as common as smartphones have. Nowadays, people are more likely to own a smartphone than they are to own a desktop, or a laptop, in most of the world. What makes it all more impressive, is that in such a small package smartphones have more than enough power to do much of what can be done in a computer with quite an ease...

The vast amount of information we can access via the Internet, and other media, has made education ever more important to be able to accurately judge the value of the information we consume. The sheer amount of the information out there, means that there is a lot of misinformation out there. This means that education has become ever more important to be able to judge the quality of the information we are presented with, and also the content we consume, and not becoming overwhelmed on the process of doing so. With the wealth of sources out there, relying on a single one is a luxury we can no longer afford. There is a real need to have several, and that have different points of view, to have a better view of what's going on around us. All media has a degree of bias, which dictates how they relate the stories they share and the stories they choose to share. There is no such things as a completely unbiased and objective media outlet, at the end of the day they are made up ...

Windows 7 end of life is finally due on January 14, 2020. Windows 7 has been the last Windows version that I've used on regular basis, since its the OS we use at work, and the last Windows version I used on my personal computer that actually enjoy using. As such, the demise of Windows 7 got me somewhat nostalgic. Even if I've no plan to move back to using Windows on my personal laptop, as a regular user at work I've grown accustomed to using it, and I somewhat like how it works. Though I like the looks of Windows 10 better, I haven't used it long enough to say much about it and I is something I'm not looking forward to. The first Windows version I used was Windows 95 , which I remember with certain fondness mainly because it came with my first ever laptop. My favorite version would be Windows XP , and has been the only version of Windows I actually like as a whole. Windows Vista was a complete mess for me, and was the main reason I moved to Linux as ...

I regularly use three different OSes, Windows 7 at work, Linux Mint on my machine, and Android on my smartphone. With this, I've come to appreciate cross-platform software since it gives me the ability to access the things I like no matter the OS I'm using at the moment. The apps I use the most on the three OSes are Spotify , Firefox , and Dropbox . For many reasons, being able to use these three apps on every device I uses independently of which OS they are running makes them very convenient for me. Specially in the cases of Spotify and Firefox, since been able to access my accounts makes it easier to access the content and services I use regularly all that easier and practical. Cross-platform software became important for me since I moved full time to Linux, since at work I've to use Windows because some of the apps needed for the operations is Windows only. And because I wanted to keep using Firefox, and Songbird the music player I used at the time. As a ma...

The Internet has not only made access to information a lot more easier for more people than ever before. It also has made it easier to get founds for projects, either by traditional means or by crowdfunding . Sites like Patreon and Liberapay allow people that create media, or take new products to market, get funds for their project directly from people who are interested on what they offer. Which means, that they don't have to go to traditional sources to get the funds they need. Other benefit is that many ideas and product that might get rejected on traditional channels, now can get produced with the help of those who find it interesting or useful. There are less gatekeepers that decide what the people funds, where from, or the people who get to fund them. While not everything that comes out with crowdfunding, it helps to better connect supply chains with those who want what they offer. In some ways, it helps to streamline the way things are produced and delivered. ...

As someone who enjoys technology, and believes that it can bring quite an improvement to our lives, I find it quite irksome to say the least when people try to push their particular favorite piece of tech as the absolute best. One of the most high profile being the Android vs iPhone discussions. Die hard fans of both platforms claiming that theirs is the absolute best, minimizing any of the negatives each platform has. The thing is, that is that the best will be the one that better fits to each person needs, and expects, from their smartphone. For some, an Android devices got their needs covered while for others the iPhone is the way to go. Forcing people to one or another without considering their needs is a recipe for making the whole experience a disaster, cementing quite a negative impression of the platform you gave them. Personal preferences aside, we need to start seeing each and every technology as a tool that will help us do something happen. As such, we need to s...

Up until a month ago, I used Spotify on my mobile device on the offline mode to listen to a couple of my playlists and on the desktop to stream music in order to discover new music or listen to a broader selection of my favorite artist and genres. With time I found myself using Spotify more on my smartphone while I'm commuting, or when I want to listen to music without having my laptop to enjoy some. As such, streaming from more playlist or radios became a lot more practical since that means not using as much storage on my smartphone or having to decide which ones to delete in order to make space for new one when I want to change playlist or discover new music. When music streaming services came along, I was somewhat skeptical about them. Now, Spotify has become a main part of my daily music consumption. It has helped me to enjoy the music in ways I didn't before. Not only that, it has enhanced the way I discover new music by allowing me to browse a larger library of...

Ever since I made the jump to Android a few years ago, I've really feel that the OS has been improving steadily. The first device I got, came with Android Gingerbread installed. To be honest, I was a bit doubtful when I made the jump coming from a Blackberry Curve. I really liked the physical QWERTY keyboard, ever since I started using it with a Nokia E63, and being a bit old school sometimes the whole touchscreen didn't attracted me all that much. But Android quickly won me over, it really made feel at home and easy to use. For the next devices one came Android KitKat , and the other with Android Lollipop . Both felt quite solid, and did more than enough to keep me on the side of Android. Last year, I got a device running Android Marshmallow . This version of Android made a really great impression for me on the technical side. It felt a lot more solid and stable for daily use, and cemented Android as my go to mobile OS. Yet, with  Marshmallow I still felt a bit j...

It's both, interesting and disconcerting how technology is either viewed as what will save or utterly destroy humanity. At the end of the day, technology is only a tool to be used for an end. Its our responsibility to use technology in such a way that helps move forward, in the best possible way. We'll have to deal with the consequences of its use, and how it is used. We've to pay close attention how the technology we use affects us, and make decisions depending on the results we are getting. Just because we have a technology doesn't mean that we have to keep using it if we get something better, or if we don't get the results we were hoping for. The idea that we have to use something just because it's there, is not a reason to do so. In many ways, technology is our best tool to make our lives better and to make changes for the better. It can do so by empowering people getting better education, or getting better information to make the best decision ...