Tsikbal: from my perspective

I've been using either Ubuntu or Linux Mint on my daily driver computer since 2005, and it has been a great experience. For the most part, it has been so good that I haven't had to really be conscious about the fact I run a Linux distro for the most part. Since 2018 I've settled on Linux Mint, mainly because changes on Ubuntu has made Linux Mint the better option for my needs. All the software I use on my personal life is available, and works great, on Linux Mint. The best part, is that it has been getting better over time, and I haven't faced any mayor issue with Linux Mint at all. What has made the whole experience better, is that I'm able to work using Linux Mint from both the office and home. Since we need to connect to a remote desktop, no matter where we are, being able to do so with no issue from my laptops using Remmina , has meant that I can keep working as usual using my laptop without any problems at all. So much so, that the IT department at work are fin...

Personally, what is pulling people apart isn't technology in itself. What is pulling people apart, is how people use technology. Most often than not, people use technology use technology to hide when the world they face isn't one that allows them to engage others in a healthy way. When the world around them is one that facilitate the use of technology to connect with others in a healthy way, technology become another tool to do so. Yet, when the world people face is one that is toxic, technology acts as a shield to hide from it. There is also how we were thought to interact not only with technology, but also with how to deal with our emotions when things don't go as we want, or expected, them go. If we aren't thought to deal with our emotions, and view technology as a tool and not as a replacement for the world around us, it becomes quite easy to use said technology to hide from our emotions and the world. There is a need to stop blaming technology for people hiding beh...

The Internet has given society access to all the knowledge we could ever need about just every subject, and it keeps getting bigger with time. The problem is that, also there is a lot of misinformation and lies along with all the valuable information. What makes the situation worse, is that our education systems don't give most people the tools needed to navigate the Internet to find the information that is valuable to the subject at hand, and disregard the misinformation out there. This makes moving forward a lot more difficult, since some refuse doing so based on misinformation. There is a need to change this, and changing how our education systems work is one of that can have the biggest and most valuable impact to improve the situation. Even so, it can take years to actually make its impact felt. Yet, there is a need to actually doing to do so if we want to build a better future for humanity. We need for all to be able to keep learning throughout their lives, as something that ...

Ever since I started using Android in 2012, it has been getting better. Currently the device I use as my daily driver has Android 11, and it has been quite the step forward. When I made the jump, to be honest I had my reservations. I had become used to using Nokia devices running Symbian, so making the switch to Android was something I wasn't all to keen to do. Yet, the only other options I had at the time was a Windows phone, or an iPhone. I ended up choosing an Android device, because there were no Windows Phones that I liked, and moving to the iPhone was not something I wanted to do if I could avoid it. So, I got an Android device and almost from the start Android just worked for me. All the apps I needed were available, and I could set the user interface to work just like I wanted it to work. While in the ten years since there have been several changes to Android, most have been for the better or haven't really been something that took away from the experience. Actually, wi...

As someone who uses Linux Mint on daily basis on my daily driver, I can say that Linux is ready to be used by basically everyone. The only reasons anyone couldn't move to Linux, is if they need an specific software that isn't supported on Linux, like Photoshop, Microsoft Office, or some accounting suites. Other than that, Linux distros are fully capable systems that anyone can use. Distros like Linux Mint and Ubuntu , can be used by anyone for most of the average user cases. Specially when used basic tasks like web browsing , and media streaming , Linux distros can handle them without any problem at all. With time, the user experience has been getting better since many distros have been working on making the average user experience better. While there is some learning curve coming from Windows , or macOS , it has been getting easier to make the switch with time. Linux Mint is one of the best examples, specially with when using Cinnamon , which I've been using for 3 years ...

After about 8 years using Android smartphones , it has become my go to mobile operating system . Android just works for me, in a way iOS just can't compete. Not that iOS is bad, its just that it simply doesn't works how I want it to, and Android fits with how I use my smartphone a lot better. Add to it, that with each new Android version it just keeps getting better for my use case, moving to iOS is less appealing. There is also the fact that Android OEM keep releasing better smartphones each year, it does feel like an upgrade each time I make the choice to get a new one. Most importantly, the mid-range Android smartphones give a great value in the hardware the have. They might not have the greatest, and latest, tech in them, but they work great for the use I've for my smartphone. They actually find they give me more for the cost they have. The fact that there are several options with in the Android ecosystem, making OEM having to compete among themselves, makes for appe...

Windows 11 release last week proved how Windows has become rather irrelevant for me. I only use it for work, and through a remote desktop client , as such I don't really have to worry about keeping the OS up to date. For the better part of a decade now, I've been using a Linux distro on my personal computers. Currently, I run the latest version of Linux Mint , which just works for all my needs. Actually, I've much less issues with Linux Mint on all my laptops than with the computers I've used at work running Window 7 or 10 . Specially on computers on the lower end of technical specifications. Yet, what really solidify Linux Mint status as my go to OS, is the fact that since at work we moved to using the could for work Remmina has proved that I can keep working using Linux Mint without any real problem. What is better, since I use laptops, that has meant that I can keep working from any where with an Internet connection. With how good Linux Mint has gotten in the las...

When I got my Motorola One Fusion a couple of months ago, it came with Android 10 . Since I don't really don't care about having he latest Android version, just one of the last 3 released, it wasn't that big of the deal for me. Personally, that the smartphone I get runs Android and has at least 64GB of internal storage, about 4GB of RAM, is the baseline I go for. Android 10 really was an improvement for me coming from an Android 9 smartphone. Besides, the OS actually worked rather well on the smartphone. Yet, on the 1st of October I woke up to the pleasant surprised that my smartphone had upgraded to Android 11 overnight. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it to happen, but as an Android fan it was a nice thing to get. In the week I've using Android 11 in a daily basis, it has actually improved my user experience in the same smartphone. Mainly, the user interface was a big improvement compared with Android 10, and as a whole my smartphone has worked better o...

As time goes on, I've found that laptops are perfect for my computing needs. Laptops have more than enough computing power for my needs, and allow me to take them with me to work from pretty much most of the places I frequent regularly. Laptops just fit perfectly my lifestyle, specially with Wi-Fi becoming so ubiquitous along side with charging spots. That make possible for me to actually be able to work from almost everywhere, or just get online when I need to access things for which a laptop is a better option than a smartphone. It has been years since I've seriously considered a desktop as a replacement, or even as an upgrade to the laptop at the time I was considering getting replacing the laptop I'd at the time. Laptops just offer what I need from a computer, which is not really much on the computer power side. Portability is just far more important for me, since I like to be able to work from different places from time to time. Fortunately for me, laptops have gott...

As time goes on, Linux Mint has become the operating system that works for me for my computers. It simply works for me, and it has worked as a charm ever since Linux Mint 19 (Tara) came about. I personalize prefer the version using the Cinnamon desktop environment , since the desktop environment that better suits my needs and system work really well with it. There is also the fact that it it works great with the dual monitor setup I prefer, and that Remmina works really well on Linux Mint. The first Linux distro I ever used was Ubuntu , yet ever since they move away from using Unity I just haven't felt comfortable using it. Linux Mint, with Cinnamon, just gives me a better user experience. With each new release since Linux Mint 19, at least the base experience has remained there. There have been some improvements, like being able to creating app Web App to create direct access to most used web pages that have served to improve my experience on the end user side, but the best ...

I've been using a Linux distro on my personal computers for about 8 years now. The two distros I've used from the start are Linux Mint and Ubuntu , though as of 2019 I prefer to use Linux Mint.   At work, most of the time I've to use Windows computers mainly because that was the operating system the computer I had to use had installed. Yet, since last year I've been able to use my laptop with Linux Mint installed for work since we have to work on a remote desktop . I use Remmina , and it has work great for me. If I had issues with it, all can be attributed to a bad Internet connection or the server going off line. I didn't know much about it, but it has been really easy to configure to work as I want it to work. So much so, that I prefer it over the Windows option I was using before.   The best thing, is that it allows me to work from anyplace I can get an Internet connection. The flexibility I get from it means that I can use my time much more effectively...

After a few weeks working from home, I've come to use cash far less than I did before. Most of the purchases I do on regular basis, I can do using credit, or debit, cards of via electronic transfers. As such, I don't need cash as much as I used to. To be honest, even before the start of the pandemic my use of cash had be declining for some for years now. Working from home only accelerated the trend, with no sign that my use of cash would increase any time soon. As it stands, there is no really a good reason for me to carry much cash. The need of having cash with me, or at least large amount of it, is becoming less important for me. I just need small amounts, since most of payments I've to do by electronic ways. Most importantly, is that I can actually choose not to use cash on my every day life. In a way, I've seen this coming a long way ahead. Yet, it still got me by surprise since it came in a way I wasn't expected to come by. For me, not having to worry about hav...

As time goes by, I've come to the realization that the problem isn't the amount of information that its available online, but there are many who don't have a way to process information critically in order to differentiate which information is relevant and useful from misinformation. Most people just are able to just memorize facts and figures, but not processing information. The problem isn't the amount of information out there, but that our education systems put emphasis on memorizing, rather then on giving students the ability to actually process the information they come across, in order to learn new things and make decisions based on that information. Simple memorization is not longer useful, but rather the ability to process new information and to internalize it in order to be able to act on it in the best possible way according to the needs we have at the moment. What we need now, is that people are able to go through new information and have the ability to use it...

Recently I got a Motorola One Fusion , since the device I was using for about 3 years nos was starting to show its age. After a couple of months of usage, I must say it was quite a good choice. It works quite well for me, since it cover all my needs and expectations about how a smartphone should work. It also cements mid-range smartphones as my go to option, and Motorola as one of my top 3 brands. Motorola has been one of the brands I usually take as an option, but now having hands on experience with one of their devices it has really come to be one of the main options. It also gets extra points due to the fact that its easy for me to get it unlocked from the start. The other one would be Nokia, because of the good reviews and of nostalgia, but its hard to get one of their devices in Mexico unlocked from independent stores. I prefer to get my smartphones unlocked from the get go, mainly as a safeguard in case I need to change carrier for whatever reason. Specially since smartphones are...

The kind of jobs performed by people has changed a substantially in the last hundred years. Most manufacturing jobs now are done by robots, or are done using tools that weren't available a couple of decades ago. Many people have shifted to jobs either service industry, or an administrative position. For many, there is a lot more knowledge about the tools, or systems, needed to be effective in the job they do. They need to be able to use software, or a tool, on which there is a certain level of training needed to be able to even use it. As time goes on, even a bigger share of the manufacturing jobs will be done by machines, with only a few minority be left to specialized workers. Most people will need to move other jobs, and receive the training to be able to do those jobs. That is why education needs to change faster, since the current system is educating people for jobs that most likely won't exist in the next couple of decades. This will have a huge impact in all aspects of s...

I've been doing home office full time for the last week, and it was better than I expected it to be. It help me validate that I can all do all my work, and be effective at it, from home. Since I can access all the software I need to do my work via a remote desktop, and I can contact my coworker vie a phone call, Whats App, or an email, there is little or no need for me to be at the same place than my boss or coworkers. Besides, not having to go to the office itself saves me a lot of time and I find that even though at times work still piles up, I'm a lot less stressed about work. Though there is some adaptation to do, I do prefer to do home office. While I do miss seeing some of my coworkers in person, I do prefer working from home since I feel like I'm more effective doing home office. If any change is required, I'd rather just having to go to the office once or a couple of times a week for a few hours. That way, I'll get to get out of the house a bit more while st...

It's interesting to see how while some people already have the skills, and tools, to work from home effectively, most of the time they are reluctant to that option. It looks like that, while it could be more beneficial for them to do home office, the idea of making such a change is not one that come easy for them. While it is true that home office is not the best option for everyone, many could be even more effective working from home. Specially those whose presence at the physical location of their company is not really required and the time to get to and from there is to long. Today, there are ways to get all the information they need from they coworkers without having to be at the same place, and with the advent of tools like remote desktops to access the tools they need from where ever they happen to be with an Internet connection, it becomes even more practical to work remotely. Even a hybrid model, make people anxious about working remotely. Even when there is talk about the ...

I've noticed at work that there is a lot of misgivings about using technology we have at hand to work in better, even if it means doing things in a different way. It feels like people are scared of changing how we have worked so far, even when it has proved to work and it is better for us to make the changes to the processes to benefit everyone involved. It feels like we are wasting valuable opportunities to improve things in ways that will benefit both the costumers and us in the long run. We could be finding ways to better serve our costumers, while making work easier and more enjoyable for us using the tools already in place. There is room for improvement, but the baseline is already there to start the move, and make in a way that that will help us improve our workflow with the input of those who will interact with tools directly. As it is, I feel we are chasing what others are already doing instead of setting things in our own terms. Investment is done to catch up with were tec...

The right to repair the things we own shouldn't be something that a president had to issue a executive order about. It should be a given, that if we legally acquired something, we should be able to have it repaired if that fits out needs. Not only that, there should be a whole ecosystem of third party shops where we are able to get the repairs done if we so choose to have it done. There is a whole set of reasons why we should be legally able to do so, from price to convenience of access, that the manufactures of our devices shouldn't be able to stop us from getting repairs from third parties. For third party shops to be able to repair our devices, there is no need for them to have full access to all the trade secrets of the manufacturer of the device. Just enough information to be able to perform repairs, just have access to the information needed to do the repair and the parts to make a quality repair. Companies that block the right of repair of people, are not looking out fo...

The whole Android vs. iPhone thing is something that really has bugged my for quite some time now. As an Android user, I can see some ways iOS is better. The same goes for the hardware itself, there some things I really like about the iPhone that I wish Android devices had. Yet, there is simply no motive for me to make the jump to the iPhone. Android, and the devices that run Android, simply work better for me. The only thing I really somewhat envy from the iPhone ecosystem is the amount of holsters made for it. Other than that, Android devices are just a better for my usage. What irks me the most, is when the iPhone is directly compared to the low end of Android devices. There is no competitions there, and the manufactures of those devices aren't even trying to compete with the iPhone. Low end Android devices are targeted for people that just need a basic smartphone, with a low price. To make matters worse, even high end Android manufactures most of the time try to cater users in ...

When the first iPhone, followed by the Android smartphones that followed the form factor, I admit I was somewhat doubtful that it work for me. At the time I had a Nokia E63 , and if I preferred a physical keyboard at the time. The first smartphone without a physical keyboard that caught my eye was the Nokia N8 , since Nokia was my go to smartphone brand at the time, and I really like the Symbian OS at the time. When the time came to change my smartphone, I decided to give Android a try with a device that had Android KitKat on it. It impressed my for the better, specially since Android does all what I want it to do in ways iOS doesn't do. At the moment I just got a Motorola One Fusion with Android 10 , and Android just keeps giving me what I expect, and need, my mobile devices to do. While I've tested some iPhone devices, Android based ones simply work better for me. I admit that the iPhone and iOS are pretty good, but Android just works better for me. As time goes by, Andr...

I've been using my laptop that runs Linux Mint at work as a test for a week now, and so far it has been quite a good experience. To do my work, I mainly use Remmina to access the remote desktop we use to access the software we use to manage things, and do invoices for our customers. I also use WhatsApp desktop app to communicate with the coworker that sends the remissions to be invoiced and fulfilled for our customers. The current setup I use at work is the one showed in the picture, and it has proven to be far better than trying to use a single monitor or using my smartphone to monitor WhatsApp for the remissions to be invoiced and passed over to be fulfilled. I never imagined that I could use my current setup as easily as I'm doing it now. While I have been able to work from home when needed using Remmina, the idea to be able to do so at the office was an idea I was playing with for quite sometime. I really didn't went tried it because I wasn't sure I could setup th...

As time has gone by, I've gotten used to the new system we started using at work since April last year. For the most part, I actually like the new system over the one we used to work with. Mainly because it allows me to get most of the information I need to do my job rather quickly, and in a way that allows me to do things faster and more accurate way. Mainly because I can set in the information I need in a way that helps accessing it faster and easier. If any changes that it seems in need, there are on the warehouse administration side of things. The process of getting the stock of the products we have, can get to be a bit hard know in real time. Which can be a pain in the ass, since it's information that several people need to know with as much accuracy as possible at a moment notice. Other than that, on my side of things it has been just a question of time to adjust my work flow to the new system. The amount of information about all what I need to know to do my job, can be a...

All my personal computers run either Linux Mint or Ubuntu, while at work I use Microsoft Windows. If you told me a couple of years ago that I would be able to seamlessly run a Windows server desktop on either Linux Mint or Ubuntu I would have not really believed you. Yet, since last year I've able to do so using Remmina without any issue at all. I've been able to bring some work home and connect to the server at work without any issue what so ever. So much so, that if I had to, I could bring to work any of my laptops to the office and keep working without much issue at all. To be honest, that is something I have wished to be able to have the option to do so for a while now. Not only because it gives me the option to keep working for where ever I want to do so, but because it gives me the option to do so using the OS I prefer to use. And it finally it gives me the chance to use Linux as a viable option. Ever since I began using Ubuntu, I've been looking for ways to use Linux...

Since last year, it has become ever easier not to use cash. As time goes by, its becoming easier to pay via credit, or debit, cards, or just make a transfer via your bank's app. Even digital wallets are making it easier to pay without even having your usual cards on you when making a purchase. To be honest, having to depend on cash as much was something I never thought I would see on my lifetime. Though we are still a long way from becoming a cashless society, big strides are made every day that are bringing it closer every day. The amount of cash I need to have on me has been steadily decreasing with time, and with the pandemic the pace seems to have being picking up. The things I actually need cash for have been decreasing as time goes by, so much so that I find myself surprised when there is at least no an option for electronic option to pay for something. The only thing I have to use cash that I usually pay for, is adding founds for my prepaid mass transit card. Every thing el...

One thing that I recently has starting irking me on Internet forums, is that someone ask some basic question the just google it answers begin to pour in. For me, they are starting to feel like people lack a certain empathy for others that ask a question in a forum looking for an answer from a person that could help them. Not only that, some who ask don't want to use a search engine either because they don't know how to phrase the question, or the amount of information that they get back is just to much for them to process. And when you add into that the amount of trash you get with it, the things get a lot harder to figure out for people who don't really know much of the issue they are asking about to begin with. Sometimes, you just want or need the kind of answer you get from another person. One thing are the answer you get from the results you get from a search engine, and quite another the answers you get from someone who knows about the subject matter you asked about. N...

It seems that the people that complain about that now nothing can be said without offending someone, are those who get called out for being racist, misogynistic, or just plain offensive. They can't deal with the consequences of what they say, believing that freedom of speech means they don't have to deal with those consequences. They seem to want to return to a time when they didn't have to face the push back for their actions the way do with the advent of the Internet, and smartphones, which gives voices to those who have an issue with what they say or do. Sure, the push back is not always correct, or proportionate, but that doesn't mean that there is push back that has substance to it. There is an expectation that people should not raise their voices to change things. The people who express their disdain for those who point out that that certain things no longer have place in our society going forward, are the ones who just are unable to evolve and understand that soc...

One of the main things that worried me if I had to work from home because of the the pandemic, was the fact that on my personal computers at home I use Linux Mint , while at work we use Windows based systems. As such, I was worried about not being able to work from home due to compatibility issues. While I wasn't keen on trying out Wine , because some people who had used it for work have had some stability issues with. As such, I had to look for alternatives to be able to use the remote desktop I use for work. Worst part was that I just had a short notice to set it up to, and start using it in less than an hour. So, after looking for options I ended up opting for Remmina , and it actually is a really good option to do work on remote Windows desktops. So much so, that now is routine for me to bring work home to catch up if I need to do so and I don't want to stay extra time at the office. I have found Remmina to quite stable, and easy to use. It lets me to actually concentrate ...

After Dr. Seuss announced that they won't reprint 6 Dr. Seuss' books due racist images they contain; the New York Times ran an opinion piece by Charles M. Blow rising a point against Pepé Le Pew, who normalized rape culture; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of the drunk and lethargic Mexicans; and Mammy Two Shoes, a heavyset Black maid who spoke in a heavy accent. To be honest, I do agree with him about the issues he raised. Yet, the backlash about the possibility of Pepé Le Pew being cancelled got me worried. It really shows that violence against women is so normalized in our society that even the possibility of a cartoon where it is portrayed offends people more than the violence itself. It mind blowing that people haven't have problem against the kind of behavior Pepé Le Pew displays just because it is shown in a funny way. Some even go as far as justifying it, saying that it is just a cartoon or it shows perseverance by Pepé ...

How much telecommunication technologies have helped many people to keep their jobs, by allowing them to work from home is what one of the things that have impressed me the most of what has changed because of the pandemic. If it wasn't because of people being able to do home office, the level of unemployment might have been a lot higher. Also a lot more businesses could have faced bankruptcy if they have given their employees that option. On the other hand, it shows that the capability to make use of home office has been there for quite a while. Seems that many businesses have been reticent to make use of this option because they were afraid that employees would not perform as they they do on site. Yet, the results may give more businesses the data they need to make home office something more of their employees use more often. To be honest, it would be something that I'd like to make use at least once a week, and several of my coworkers would have the option to use with some reg...

One of the mayor lessons that the COVID-19 pandemic, is that no country can truly and effectively, face such big challenges by itself. Multilateralism has become the best way to face not only problems like COVID-19, but to tackle other challenges like global warming and to bring more people out of extreme poverty. Isolationism is not a long term solution. In many ways, it would only compound the problems each country has by not being able to access solutions other countries have, or make it viable to get outside help without being at a weak negotiating position since there isn't much to bargain with that other countries can't get else where. Most importantly, multilateralism doesn't mean that a country has to give their identity away. It means that there is willingness to engage the rest of the world in a way that is beneficial to all parties involved, with a set of rules that have to be followed by all of those who want to participate in any given activity. It doesn'...

The beginning of 2021 has been a lot rougher than expected, specially with the riots that led to storming to the US Capitol . It feels like all what happened on 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic is carrying over, specially since there is still no clear end in sight. People are angry, and stressed, that the economy is still highly restricted. For many, it means that their source of income has been lost with little chance of recovering it. For others, it means a reduced income and for others a certain uncertainty about being able to keep their job for the foreseeable future. For others, it has meant losing family or friends. Even seeing some loved ones battling the virus without certainty they make it. The feeling of uncertainty we live in, is something that for many is proving to be to much to handle. People are scared, or exhausted, about not being able to at least be sure about the short term. In addition, for many is hard to come by with credible information almost about everything the...