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Changes on how, and where, we work need to come.

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 ...

Falling behind with the technology that could help us get ahead.

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...

Right of repair should be a given.

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...

Android vs iPhone.

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 ...

Android just works better for me.

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...

A better office setup.

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...

Quite happy with the new system at work.

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...

Freedom of choice.

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...

Heading to a cashless society.

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...

Make forums a real place of exchange of information and knowledge.

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...

Freedom of speech is a two way street.

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...