Tsikbal: from my perspective

I use open source software mainly because of ethical reasons reasons. There are some technical ones too, but in some aspects the ethical side came first. Collaboration is between individuals is important to bring forth innovation, and humans are by nature social. A such, we have a need come together to share and exchange ideas. Anything that artificially puts barriers to collaboration should be avoided, instead we should be motivated to work together for common goals. We also should be free to express our ideas and opinions openly, since this brings people together. By being exposed to the way other people think, we gain the knowledge and wisdom that otherwise we wouldn't have come about on our own. Also by being able to see how things work, we get a better understanding of why and how things happen. By having this knowledge, we empower people to be less dependent on others and give them the chance to bring something of value back to the table. By spreading knowled...

Smartphones, computers and tablets with Internet access are one of the most powerful tools to bring people together, and give the masses the ability to work together for common goals. These devices give the average people access to information, tools and communities that otherwise the individual wouldn't be able to have. All these things together empower people, and makes it practical to actually organize on the grassroots level in order to achieve things that otherwise would be a lot harder to do. Not only that, it humanizes people and as such helps us to empathize with them. All of the sudden, what happens in other places doesn't happen just to unknown people. Those people have faces and names, and we feel more readily compelled to give them a helping hand. We are more aware of whats going on around us, for better or for worse. Since we know, action can be taken and other people can be made aware of the facts. It truly helps to make our communities stronger, ...

I've been always curious just about everything, I like to find new things and share them. This led me to Anime/Manga, Science Fiction, Linux, books, meeting new people and finding great places. The thrill of the discovery, and the road toward it, fills me with a sense of satisfaction and wonder than few other things do. I enjoy the process of learning new things, as well I do sharing those new things with others. There have been several flops along the way, but even then the lessons learned are valuable. And many times, those flops have taken me to new places and to meet new people. My eyes are opened to new realities, view points and ways to do things. I can honestly that my curiosity has helped to become a better person all things considered. One thing that I've learned is that if you want to discover new things and meet new people, go to places that are conductive to human interaction. Those places where people feel at ease, and invite them to engage each other....

One of the things we all enjoy doing, is to share. People do that, and tend to go to places where sharing is easy. We are all social by nature. Sharing what we find, or do, with others is something we like to do. We enjoy discovering new things, and we do we want to share with other people. Not only that, many times we discover new things when other people share what they have with us. This is why we tend to gather in places where other people go. I can think of several examples of things I enjoy doing that I discovered because someone shared it with me directly, or at a forum. And also have presented others with my discoveries, and they have liked it. Yet there are groups that instead of using the need to share we have to their advantage, they try to keep people from doing so. And their efforts are mostly in vain, since people always find a way to share what they like with others. Instead of trying to stop people from sharing, a mechanism that let's people to ...

Another of the things I like about FOSS, is that there is a lot of variety to choose from. This helps to configure you computer the way you want it to work, and also the way your desktop looks. One can really customize the computer as one pleases, making using your computer a really pleasant experience. Almost every Linux distro supports several users interfaces, making it easy to choose a distro that looks and feels like you want it to. Not only that, one doesn't really have to an expert on command lines. You can find several distros where you don't actually need to go to that level, or find the distro that suits your level of expertise on the matter. At the end, it's up to each user to decide how deep into it he or she wants to go. The software installed in most distros is the bares bones, which is a good thing since they include the software most people uses on daily basis. If you need a piece of software that doesn't come installed, most modern distros ...

The diversity that comes with the FOSS movement is another thing that I like about. I believe that diversity actually gives both, strength and a great thing to have. Diversity is good because it brings different points of view and experiences to the table. Thus enabling to make things happen a lot faster, since the odds of someone of someone having faced the same or similar circumstances are greater. Giving the community the ability resolve things a lot faster. Also, it's good because there are a lot of people with different backgrounds the search of the right person, or group, to help in your project is a lot easier. The community can give different perspectives on how a problem can be solve, or what elements should be included on your project. As a user, it's beneficial because there are several projects that approach the same task in different ways. And because of this, you can be sure that the odds that there is a project that better for your needs is out there...

I find it mostly annoying and sad how many fans of many products tend to focus mainly on how good the design looks. And when someone points out that any part of it isn't necessary or it doesn't work that well all the fan boys are quick to refute by name calling. It seems that many users are so blinded by the bells and whistles of the products they buy, that they those focus on the usability or if they actually need the product they buy. While I like that the products I use look good, I prefer them to be practical and utilitarian. The main reason I use something is because it gets the work done, not because it looks good. One can save a lot of time and money by getting things that get the task they are designed for effectively, rather than by them just for the looks of the product. There are out there several examples of product that are both practical and good looking, but most of the time one has to choose one or the other. Let's face it, getting there is more...

The Internet has is one of the technologies that has the most potential to bring, and keep, people together. It's a platform on which everyone can participate, share and truly reach a larger number of other people in order to organize in order to reach common objectives. As such, it's important that the Internet runs on open standards and software. It should be easy to see how the underpinnings run, so that no group can have a way to impede free speech. Or any other freedoms at that. Individuals have the right to freely associate as they see fit, in order to advance their interest. Walled gardens are to avoided as a matter of principal, since they take control out of the hands of the people and put it on the hands of the owner of the gardener. Freedom of speech and association are corner stones to keep our freedom. We should be the ones settings the limits to them, not outside forces. Why anyone should have a word on what I say, or with whom I associate with? W...

Is really sad how it seems that there is a trend followed by many companies to take control away from the user. Each time a new version is announced, the company who makes takes away features that would allow the user to control less and less of what to decide what the software can do. Which is bad, because that means that the user is left at the mercy of whatever the company want to do. The user should be able to have complete control of what it's running on his computer, and how is it running. After all, who know better what the user needs that the user himself. As users, we should do more that mindlessly consume whatever it's given to use. We should be aware of what is going on around us, so we can do more than react when things aren't going our way. If we give them that, the users give up being able to effectively fight back. Walled gardens are not beneficial for user, since walled gardens only serves the interests of those who own the garden. And they ...

One of the things that irks me the most on any piece of software, being the OS to any other program that I run on my computer, is when it takes from me control the ability to set it up to work as I want it to do and how it share the data I feed into it. I want to have as much control as possible of whatever is going on my computer, and being able to set my privacy level as I see fit on every piece of software running. There is no need for the developers telling me how I should use and set the software once it is on my computer, or to be protected from myself. If I need any protective tools, those are the tools that help me understand and protect my computer and data from outside threats. And the most important tool of all, is information on the possible threats I'm facing. Clear and concise information that helps me understand how certain things might harm me is far more useful at the time of making decisions about what software I download, or what sites should I avoid...

For all the hype about the cloud, I've a hard time embracing it for all my computing needs. I find that for be, I want some of my files on the cloud while other I want them to be on my hard drive. I do believe that for most people needs, they are going to use a mix of cloud and local. For most intends and purposes, most people needs are meet by a mix of cloud and local storage or processing. The cloud is mostly used for sharing files, music and photos, or for collaborative projects where multiple people need access to a file to work with. If you don't need to do any of those things, you could use your computer and local drives to meet all of your needs. At the end, there is no need to have everything on the cloud or stored locally. You just need to find the right mix for you. Most importantly, is important to use services that use open standards at least. This insures that if anything happens to the service, your files can be read by any other service. It would...