Tsikbal: from my perspective

Great design is not just about making software looking pretty, or about the ease of use. It's about both, since people judge both aspects at the same time. We like the software we use to look good, while it's easy to use and let's you do what you want without getting in your way. Software needs to have both in order to be the best it possible can, if one is lacking it'll suffer as a whole. Being the best in one area is not enough to compensate for the lack of the other, no matter how well it's executed. Yet, as with anything else that deals with people, there is no single implementation that'll be universally liked by all. There a few things that every implementation would have in common, but everything else will be different depending on the people using it. That's why having different users interfaces on Linux is not a bad thing, since it let's people to choose the best one for their needs. If you don't like one, use another that bette...

When it comes to education, and research, I don't like when  politicians  say they'll increase or  maintain  the expenditure. Money given to those areas shouldn't be seen as an expense, it's an  investment  on our people and our future. As with health care or security, education and research are areas that should have a big percentage of the budget assign to them. These areas are not just expenses, they are investments and the money assigned to them is going to pay back in the future when the recipients starts using their education, or when research bears fruits by advancing our quality of life. Not investing on those areas don't just hurt the individuals who don't get access to them, the society as whole gets hurts because its members can't develop their full potential or have access to a better quality of life. Having quality education and research make society better as a whole, it doesn't just benefit a sector or the individuals who r...

It's impressive that many people out there don't have a clear background of many subjects not because they aren't smart or intelligent enough, but because their understanding of many basic concepts is lacking or there are several misunderstandings about what is happening. To make matters worse, people are not willing to take a look on what's going and how things happen. Most are contempt with having a shallow view of what happens around them, and the consequences of events can have on theirs lives. They seem to be happy, or just be contempt, to accept whatever media or other outlets tell them is going to happen. Consequences are not thought, so when they arrive the surprise that comes with them can be quite a shock. Some even feel offended because no one told them about them, even when just having thought their actions before hand could have prevented any harm. Not only that, they don't stop to think what they should do. They just do as they are to do at ...

The Internet is not just a tool to reach out to the world, but also to attract the world's attention to any particular issue that needs to be taken into account. It can really become a great tool to bring attention to an issue, and to explain why it matters. There are few tools with more power to bring attention to an issue than the Internet, since it's a platform that allows individuals or small groups the chance to directly contact people that could be of help. There is little need for intermediaries, making the exchange between the ones who need help, and those that could give it, more direct and faster. With the Internet we have the most powerful tools to create awareness about the issues that truly matter to the communities, and the individuals. There are less middle men than ever before, making contact between interested parties a lot easier with less aggregated interests to them. The messages becomes more clear, and honest, to the message that the originator int...

It's rather interesting how communication technology has been integrated to our daily lives in such an intricate way. Modern smartphones let us to share with others in many ways, it can be as private as phone call or as public as a Twitter entry. We can even share photos and videos from our mobile devices from the spot we took them, it's as easy as just selecting the file we want to upload and push a button to do so. There is a few things we can't share yet, not to mention that the smartphone is at all times with us. Information overload is an ever present possibility, and it's ever more important to be able to filter noise from useful and relevant information. So, there is a need to learn how to effectively filter all the information we get in order not to be overwhelmed, or not be able to differentiate good from bad information. The hard part is to be able to know which information is relevant to us, so that we can actually do something, and not if the in...

One of the main areas where education is lagging behind, is on science and technology. Since many people don't really understand the basic scientific concepts, it becomes harder to try to explain concepts that are more complex or how technology works. This lack of understanding is what generates a lot of the lack of trust in science in general, and why many can't really explain how the technology they use works. In many ways, since many don't really know what to expect from them, the results are never they want them to be. There is also the fact, that because of this we are losing a lot of brilliant scientist and engineers. Since many children, and teenagers, don't have the motivation to take on studies related to these areas they move on to others that seem to be a lot more interesting. As a society that depends so much on science and technology, we need to have a higher level of interest and understanding of science to be able to explain the basic concept...

When it comes to the path taken by Canonical selected for Ubuntu, as an user and fan of the OS, I agree and like with it. Yes, there are somethings that I don't like and others than I just love about Ubuntu. The one thing that I like the most about Ubuntu, is the Unity shell. Personally, I like the way it works and it actually doesn't get in my way. Not only that, most of the bugs and lack of customization have been solved to my satisfaction on the Precise Pangolin (12.04) version. And for the looks of it, Unity will become even more refined on the upcoming Quantal Quetzal(12.10) version. In the 2 years I've been using Ubuntu, I've had no major problems. The only crash I had was while testing a beta version, which is not really that much of the issue. Not only that, all the software I need can be used on Ubuntu without much trouble. I'm not saying that Ubuntu is perfect, it's not the best option for everybody and it may not fit all tasted. I find ...

In order for science and technology become a driving force that improves our lives, we need to start making them more open and facilitate people ability to get more knowledge about what it's been work on in those areas. Not only that, communities should be allowed to grow around then to work directly on those projects. That work should be allowed to be within the any set of rules made by the initial group that started the project, or independently by other communities. There should be some level of interaction, and compatibilities, among what worked by the different communities. Yet at what level of interaction should be left to the members of each community to decide. There should be some ground rules on how the can use, and what levels of compatibilities, should be allowed. But, those restrictions shouldn't interfere with the ability to work with the core technology being work with. Independent efforts, more often than not, are not as effective as efforts made in...

One of the attributes that I like about open source, is that it gives anyone the chance to take a piece of software to work with it. By allowing this, it opens up the chance for people to create versions of the software that wouldn't exist otherwise, because the original developer doesn't have the resources or any other reason. It also benefits users by allowing to make custom versions of the software they, since it maybe that the software doesn't work as well for them as it comes of the shell. Adding or subtracting capabilities could be as easy as adding modules, since in some cases there is no need to change the source code,or the source code could be modified to better comply to what it's needed by the end user. All this could be made in house, or by third parties if there is no way to do it any other way. Those changes then could be shared back to the main version of the software, or shared with others with the same needs than the one who made those changes...

Education and technology are two of the cornerstones that have to be there in order to build a better and fairer society. Both are interdependent, since in order to advance technology there needs to be educated individuals and to be able to use technology people need to have a certain level of education. One can not exist without the other,  yet both are needed if we want to advance the quality of life for society at large. There is no need to be afraid of what technology can bring, if people are given the education to use it to the best possible end. People are the ones who make use of technology, and the choices made by the people is what dictates what will come out of the use being given to any technology. This is why it's so important to give proper education, so people make the best use of technology for the individual and society at large. Technology is there to serve society, since it's a tool to use for the betterment of society. As with all tools, th...

It's shortsighted to try to pin all worthwhile innovations to a single company in any area of science and technology, when most innovations require the collaboration of whole teams that span more of one company or institute. There is a need to create the conscience that modern technologies not the work of a single company, and that individuals can be a part of bringing them forward. Not only that, all of the processes that bring any new technology, or innovation, should be open to be revised by third parties to verify that every step was taken to ensure the safety and that it meets the specifications set by the originators. Technological advancement is a collective endeavor, which requires the work of many people toward a common goal. Not only that, there could be several answers to a single problem that could work depending on the circumstances where those solutions are to be applied. Regulations need to be placed that allow open collaboration, where all process can b...