Compatibility should be standard...

I find it rather irksome, not to say almost unethical, for tech companies to corral users to their platforms. To make matters worse, in some cases they seem to make their devices as incompatible to others as they can just to make it close to impossible for their users to leave the ecosystem the company created for them.

As users, we are better served by having products built around a single, and open, standard. This way we can have the freedom to move to another companies products if we choose to do so, while not having to worry if what we have will work on those other products. We have the right to use whatever products we want, and companies have no right to lock us to their devices.

When it comes to competing standards, users must have a bigger say on on which one they prefer. Once the standard becomes the reference point, it should be open and free for all to use. Standards shouldn't be used as a tool to keep competition out, and users locked in whatever walled garden the company chooses to make for us.

Technology is here to serve people, and making technologies that lock people in isn't conductive to that principle. All technology should be open, so that we can all make the most use of it for our particular needs or those of the community we live in.

Open standards is about making technology available to as wide an audience as possible, so it can benefit the majority of individuals.

Closing them give the upper hand to the few that control, so they get to say how the technologies built around that standard get to work and who gets it in what form.

At the end, people is the core on which all technology revolves.

The Internet must remain neutral...

The Internet must remain neutral, no government or central organism should have control over all of or any part of it. At most, bodies should be set up to add and maintain standards that run the Internet, not what to regulate the Internet itself.

With the Internet becoming an integral part of our daily lives, there is a real need to keep it neutral so we all can make use of it as we need to. Just as city streets, and other public infrastructure, where only basic standards are placed to make use of them, so that everyone that needs to can make use of them freely with no discrimination other that not engaging on illegal activities.

The only part that needs some kind of regulation on the Internet, are the standards on which it runs. Those standards should be open for all, built and maintained on a transparent way so that any one interested in studying them, or making a contribution, can do so without any impediment.

Most importantly, those standards should be freely available for all to use while not being under the control of any particular entity, whether it is private or public. Granting any level of control over a standard to any entity, private or public, we run the risk of having any part of the Internet that uses that standard, being hijacked because of any interests that entity by have on doing so. Worse, if it goes down, whatever the reason may be, there will be a need to replace that standard because no one outside that entity know the details of how it works.

Whether the governments, or private companies, want or not, the Internet has become a place where they shouldn't say any power at all. It belongs to everyone, and to no one in particular.

No control from companies over our devices...

It's sad to see that the current state of the technology field tends to be pro business, not pro users. The users are losing ground, giving up their freedom to use their devices as best they seem.

In many cases, companies still own the devices we buy. Companies have a lot of say on how we can use our devices, and what we can run on them, in many cases having the right to punish users that don't use their devices as envisioned by the company who made it.

Even though illegal behavior must be punished, taking users rights over their devices can't be approved or done in name of cracking on such behavior. User should be able to modify their own devices as they want, and to share how to make such modifications, freely while they are not engaging in any illegal activity.

The problem is that, in several cases, innocent people are being punished because of behavior that isn't illegal. They only engaged on activities that weren't approved by the big businesses, yet users got treated as if they were actually hardcore criminals.

Businesses need to be stopped from doing so, and users protected from such aggressions to their freedoms and right to make use of their property as they see fit. That a certain company doesn't like people that bought their product modifying it for lawful purposes, should not be allowed to stop people from doing so.

All technology should be at the service of the people, and the companies who produce those technologies should have no say how users use such technologies once they are granted ownership.

The correct software for the job...

It's interesting to see how many people don't really understand that the results given back by any software, are only as good as the data entered into it to compute. In many cases the problem is not the software itself, but how people chooses the data to work with.

No matter how good the software is, if the right data sets aren't selected to begin with the results are just not going to be the ones expected. It's important to understand what data sets are meaningful to your problem, in order to make sure that those are the ones that are picked up. If not, all the hard work will be for nothing.

The problem that's being targeted needs to be correctly stated, so that the right parameters to be measured and the right data is collected to be studied. Armed with that information, the software can be better selected to the problems needed to be solved.

I've seen a lot of times, how a great piece of software selected to be used in a way it wasn't intended for. Needless to say, the results weren't the ones the users wanted and the software was blamed.

No software is a silver bullet that can solved every problem, that's why the user first needs to understand what needed from the software. Once that is clear, the software can be selected. Doing it the other way around is just asking for trouble that can be avoided from the beginning by selecting the correct software for the job.

In many ways, it's a matter of thinking before doing. Not doing so, only adds to the problem instead of solving it.

Use modern mobile devices and Internet to build a better world...

We are at a point in human history, where modern computer technology can empower people in ways never imagined. The advent of laptops, tablets and smartphones, have fundamentally changed how people can access information and the way they share it with each other.

When we add the Internet into the mix, we have a platform where people from around can have a common place to come to access and share all that interested in. Now people have a real chance to go to the source of the information, and have a better chance to get it without filters applied to it. Not only that, that information can be verified and compared among several portals. Add that it can be shared in an instant with family and friends, it becomes harder to try to hide things from the people.

People are getting more control over how the information flows, with who they share it with, and the time and place they access it. We need to keep our ability to do so intact, since the control over it means that we can also control our lives and what happens in our communities.

In many ways, it can bring the world together. The idea that the people of the world can live in peace is closer at hand, if only it still needs a lot more work for us to get there.

I hope that people use the Internet, and their mobile devices, to keep making our world a better one. To finally make the idea of a global village a reality, where we all share the same rights as equal citizens of our shared planet. There is a need to make countries as we know them a thing of the past, so they become only a reference to know where each individual has his, or her, roots.

There is only one human race, and we can only go on to our future together.

Clean and minimalist design...

As with many other things, I want a clean and minimalist design on my software. I don't want any other than the necessary at hand, so I can concentrate at the task I'm working on.

Yet, I've found that designing anything to be like this is a hard feat to get correctly. It's incredibly easy to over or under do it, for the have the right tools at hand while arranging them just the right way. Not only that, it irks me when I'm not allowed to take features in or out so I can get it to be as I want it to be.

I can understand that any software comes with the features most uses as default. In any case, the user needs to be able to make any change to the configuration to make it work better for him or her.

Making the design clean and minimalist doesn't equate to taking away functionalities, it just means that there is a need to better need to understand how those functionalities are used. This way they can be better placed, so that those most commonly used can be accessed faster, while giving the user the chance to configure a way to put the functionalities favored by him in a way they can be accessed with ease.

In many ways, designing this way can be one of the hardest thing to get right since every user can have a different idea of what it means. That why it's important to give the user some freedom to configure the software he uses, and also having a wide rage of options, so that users can be the ones choosing the one that works best for them.

On what it works for the user, the user knows best.

Traditional media and social media are complements...

It's interesting to see how traditional media tries to control how information flows, trying to control the perception, only to be foiled by how people share events among themselves.

The thing is, that many times the information gets distorted too by the people. Not that many people wants to distorted, but it gets distorted because it loses context. Mainly because people tends to focus on a single part of the information, losing the context that brings knowing the background on which events are happening.

At the end, we need to get our information from both traditional outlets and from social media. The traditional outlets are useful to get the big picture, to get the context surrounding the story we are interested in. From the social media we can get a better sense on how people that are directly affected, or involved, by the issue think and feel about what's happening.

In a way traditional media gives us the context, and social media gives us the finer details to better understand the matter at hand. The complement each other, and keep each other honest.

Relying to much on one or another is mistake, since we will only be seeing part of the story. We need to have as many sources as possible, so that we can better compare what we are told with what's going on. Placing to much trust on a single, or just a few, sources is the best way to be blinded or being manipulated to think in a certain way.

If we want the truth, we need to look for it ourselves. To wait for it, is to invite others to give us the information they want us to have.

Women in science and technology...

It bothers me than more often than not, women are either under or miss represented in science and technology. The same thing could be argued on the geek culture at large.

There is the perception that women that have a keen on interest on science and technology aren't all that feminine at all. Like if femininity and these fields are mutually excluded. Almost always women that have a strong interest, or good, on these fields are portrayed as socially awkward or not even remotely feminine.

To make things works, the ones who are feminine or attractive are there there to take advantage of the geeky men that have no defense from their charms. At times woman are totally dependent on the technical abilities, or knowledge, of a man to save the day.

We need to change this perception, since it's costing society to lose a large number of women that have the interest to be on working on science and technology that get deterred because of that those aren't places for women.

Femininity needs to stop being a factor that makes people think that a woman isn't capable of working on technology, or being a brilliant scientist. All comes down to her brain, and skill sets she has to bring to the table. To judge her just on how she looks is demeaning and insulting.

I find smart woman, that know about science and technology, to be the more appealing. It really thicks me of when they feel that they have to water down that aspect of themselves to appear more interesting, or accepted, by others.

That needs to change as soon as possible, if we ever want to be a better society as a whole.

A social media that brings a better world, not a more violent one...

It's sad to see social media used to attack and insult opponents, widening divides while making anger make any mutually beneficial resolution less likely.

Now more than ever, we need to take social media not only as a tool to share what we think and what we care with those we care or agree with. Social media is also a tool that needs to be used to engage in true debate with those who oppose, or not share, our views. Only by doing both, communicating with those that agree and with those who disagree with us, can social media can become the powerful tool needed to build a better world.

Social media isn't here to end disagreements, or to widen the divides that already exist. Social media is here so that we can actually work together to take the common goals we all have, so that we can build a better world where all our views are represented. In many ways, social media is a way to give people a way to make their views and opinions known.

With the help of social media, individuals can really see the big picture more clearly, and arm with this vision there is a real chance that a better understanding of other points of view. Armed with this understanding, there is a real chance that people can actually come to mutually beneficial conclutions.

There is a real need to engage the opposition in a debate, where all get what they want or need. Violence is never the answer, since violence only serve the purpose of widening the divide between people.

We need to start using social media to close divides and build bridges, not making things worse. Only by truly talking to the people on the other side we will build a better world, and we are all responsible to building it.

I hope that social media becomes an important tool in the peaceful transformation of our world, not a tool of violence against my fellow human.

Truly inclusive technology...

There is a need to make technology more inclusive, not only to be used, but also in its creation, development and adaptation for different needs. If people can't have ample access to technology to do all of these things, no matter how useful or innovative at the beginning, it'll soon be obsolete or irrelevant.

If any technology is made so as much people can do more than just work with it, chances are the technology will reach its full potential. And it's more than likely than that potential is far beyond anyone can foresee. To take technology there, it needs to let everyone in and let them modify it or add to it openly. Closing it to the general public is the best way to ensure a short life for it.

Inclusive technology is the best way to make out present, while at the same time ensuring our future. Technology gives us the best tools to do both, and the best way to do so is to have technology that is work on and developed in an open and transparent manner.

People have a way of making all the technology they need, or use, their own one way or another. So, it's in the best interest of everyone involved to make sure that people can do so from the very moment a technology is available for them to make the best use of it, even if it means its modification. Any limitation, or guidelines, should be ethical at most.

Technology needs people, as much as people needs technology.

FLOSS is the option to follow...

Another of the reasons that I love FLOSS is the way it works, and the culture that surrounds it, is the fact it allows people work and form communities around it as they would normally do. The best software that come out from FLOSS is one where people can claim as their own, and work on it as they can.

In many ways, FLOSS represents people working together in order to produce what they need in they way that best suits them. It really it's the software of the people, for the people and by the people. This is the way software needs to be made, and worked on in order to make it the best possible for use it's intended.

People should be able to come together to work on the software they need, to develop it and share it with others freely. Others should also be able to take the source code of any software to be used and modified to suit their needs, with the only condition that they give credit to the original developers and share those modifications back to the community so they can be used by other in the same way they used the original code.

We need to make FLOSS the norm, so that people can truly benefit from the full potential that software can have to benefit people's lives.

People have the need to share what they find and do with others, and FLOSS gives people the best option to do in the most beneficial way to everyone involved. It's a model where developers and users stand to receive the benefits from their work in a more equal fashion.

The model that FLOSS brings to the table is one that makes people and their needs the focal point, not the originator of the software. That's the way it needs to be, since technology needs to be at our service.