Tsikbal: from my perspective

There is a lot of people who argue that free software should be developed on a community level, and there is a lot of resentment when it's development it's constrained to the walls of whoever needs that specific needs. Yet, free software has nothing to do with how it's developed. It's about being able to access to the source code to study it, to modify it as you see fit, and to redistribute it without any restrictions that hinder you from doing so. If the license has no restrictions on those attributes, it's free software independently on how it's developed. The choice of how to develop any free software is from the people who are going to be develop it, and it has to suits their needs. At the end, development is independent complying with what free software guidelines ask for. If you don't want to use free software that isn't developed directly by the community, don't use it. But, that doesn't give you the right to go around telling...

It's hard to take any legal system seriously, when just about anyone can sue over how a word is used to name a group or a product without taking the context of how it's used into account. The lengths some take in order to "protect" what they think of as their intellectual property is just plain wrong. A case that comes as a perfect example of this point is the Boy Scouts of America treating to sue a group called Hacker Scouts over the use of the word Scouts. I don't really know why should the Boy Scouts of America need to do this, since Hacker Scouts are dedicated to teach children raging from eight to 12 do protects having to do with science and engineering. Which is not the things that Boy Scouts do, but not something that is demeaning or that's unlawful. Other than that both are Scouts, the other thing that both organizations have in common is that fact that both give out badges that earn by completing projects. I can't see how anyone c...

As someone that uses both Ubuntu and Windows on daily basis, I find it odd when I hear that you can't most of the things you can do with Windows on an machine running Ubuntu(or with any other GNU/Linux distribution for that matter). While it's true that there is some software that's only available on Windows, it's hard not to come across with an analog on the GNU/Linux camp that can do the job at least as good than it's Windows counter part. For general computer users, in many cases there are actually several options to choose from to fit their needs. For example, on Ubuntu you can use Firefox or Chrome to browse the Internet. There are several chat clients, like Pidgin and Empathy, if you are an active user of those services. Even Skype is available on Ubuntu, you can keep in contact with those of your friends and family who use it on regular basis. If you need a robust office suite to work with, you have the option to use LibreOffice or Apache OpenOff...

Another of the things that are beneficial about FOSS(Free and open-source software), is that it gives developers and programmers a common pool of code to work on. Thus, their work is make easier and faster since they get to use the foundations set by other before them. Not only that, it allows to innovations and improvements to come to the existing pool of code a lot faster. It also means that those innovations and improvements to spread a lot faster, since they are set on the common pool used by the people who actively use it to make their software. Meaning that all the software made from that pool shares from those improvements as they come. From the user point of view, using FOSS means that they get software that is compatible with other software that draws from the same pool. In essence, it means that the user is software built from a standard that gives the freedom to know that the data used isn't dependent on a the software being used, but on the code that came from ...

There is the misconception that just because you can get software free of cost, it means that it's free software. This is not the case, free software can cost money and still be free software; while close source source software can be given away. What make software free software, is not the price. What makes it free software is that the user can freely study the source code, make modifications and distribute the resulting software without any restrictions whatsoever. The price of the software isn't what makes free software, is that fact that there are no restrictions to access it's source code. When there are restrictions on imposed on the use of software, but it's given away for free, then it's freeware. Freeware can be both, open source or closed source(proprietary) software, since it just means that it's given away for no profit. Free software can be for profit, if it allows their users free access to their source code to be studied, modified and...

The data that each individual generates, should belong only to the individual who generates. Thus, each individual should be the one who can access it and how much of it they can see. Our privacy is based on our control over the data we create. So, we need to keep doing all we can to make sure that our privacy is kept intact. There is no valid reason why our data should be collected and shared without our consent and permission. Every time our data is collected and stored by a third party, we should be made aware of the fact, and our permission should be obtained to do so. If we don't give our permission, out data shouldn't be stored at all. If the government wants to investigate on us, and gather data the data we have generated, they should always have to have prove that they have a probable cause. As such, if they can't prove a probable cause it should be illegal for the government to do so. People should be able to presume some level of privacy every where t...

It's sad how much critical thinking is lacking, sometimes as much as common sense it seems. The lack critical thinking brings several problems, the main one being that people just accept what they are told without actually analyzing the information given to them. The fact that people don't apply critical thinking when they receive new information, means that misinformation, even lies, become accepted by many and continue to be passed on as if they are correct. What can be more problematic, is the fact that when those pieces of information become so rooted in people's mind that are near impossible to change. One important aspect of critical thinking that needs to be understood, is that when applied correctly the person analyzes the information handed over. It isn't about criticizing the information just because, is filtering to see if it makes sense. In a way, we are compering with the information we already have in order to see if there is something that should...

Humanity has come as far as it has, because we are curious by nature. We want to know more about the world, the need to look for answers is almost an instinct. Sadly, somehow that curiosity is hammered out during childhood. We are told not to ask, to conform with a set of answers given to us to memorize. The need to go and seek those answers by ourselves is taken away, we are told that we aren't good enough to do it. Yet, we need to cultivate that curiosity. Instead of suppressing it, we should be giving our children the tools to look for their own answers in an effective way. Let's make being curious a good thing, something to be proud of. Curiosity brings good things for all when it's given the tools process the information found, so that the information obtained can be used in a way that benefits in as many ways possible. There is an urgent need to cultivate curiosity, not take out. The problem isn't questioning the world around us, it's t...

The thing with security in software, is not if there is a security flaw or not. It's more about how do they get handled, not to mention how fast they are fixed. One of the things you can count upon in software development, is that mistakes will be made at some point. Some of these mistakes will be security vulnerabilities, yet focusing on them to proclaim that all is wrong is shortsighted and unfair to developers. Instead, the focus on those security vulnerabilities should be how the developers acknowledge them and how fast they get them fixed. How they manage both of these issues is crucial for people do what must be done to secure their system by taking the appropriate actions, and to get the fix as soon as the developers get it out. Most importantly, let's keep in mind that every piece of software out there is bound to have some vulnerabilities. So, instead of trying to find a software without them, we need to keep working ironing out vulnerabilities out. When w...

At work, I've been using Windows since it's the only option because the applications we use just run on it. I don't really mind it much, but I just can't help missing Ubuntu. Ubuntu has become my Linux distro of choice, beating Windows by far in all the important areas for me. The time I spend using Windows at work only reinforce the fact that I'm not coming back to it any time soon, since I've grown fond of Ubuntu since it fits my computing needs and many of my views on how software should be developed. Even though I've had some hurdles with Ubuntu, which is normal with any OS if you as me, in general Ubuntu has given me a more stable and user friendly experience than Windows ever did. Ubuntu hasn't gotten into my work flow, and with its move to Unity it has even become even less intrusive. While Windows now seems to have 1001 ways to irk me, in some cases in ways it didn't do when I was a more regular user. I understand that Ubuntu mig...

As much I've been having a great experience with the BlackBerry I got a couple of months ago, I can't get my find myself wanting to change to an Android, Ubuntu Touch, or Firefox smartphone when I get the chance to do so. The main factor, is that I what my computer and smartphone to run on open source software. On my laptop I run the latest version of Ubuntu, the 13.04 release which is my favorite Linux distro. So, I want for my smartphone to run an open source OS so both the devices that I use for my daily life follow what I believe in. It's about having devices with software built around the freedoms and ethics I want to share with the world. In many ways, smartphones are an extension of what we believe in and reflect what we value. There are a statement of our personality and who we are, because of this I want my next smartphone to run an open source OS. The way in which open source software is developed, is how I believe all human endeavors should be pursue...