Tsikbal: from my perspective

The idea that computer hackers are bad by default is not true. While some hackers are malicious, many hackers are not out to do bad things. Many hackers got into hacking out of curiosity, wanting to know how computers and software work or extend their capabilities. Hackers have a set of skills that can be used for good or bad, depending on the individual. This is true for anything that people do, skill sets are not good or bad in themselves. Yet, in a world that ever more dependent on computer systems to work, hackers are described as people who are out  to no good by many media outlets. Yet, hackers can be a force for good. In fact, a good proportion of them use their skills to actually improve computer systems we use. Some by helping patching vulnerabilities in the computer systems, others by finding ways to extend their capabilities, while others help keep systems alive that have been dropped by their original developers. As computer systems become more important for our daily ...

I've been using either Ubuntu or Linux Mint on my daily driver computer since 2005, and it has been a great experience. For the most part, it has been so good that I haven't had to really be conscious about the fact I run a Linux distro for the most part. Since 2018 I've settled on Linux Mint, mainly because changes on Ubuntu has made Linux Mint the better option for my needs. All the software I use on my personal life is available, and works great, on Linux Mint. The best part, is that it has been getting better over time, and I haven't faced any mayor issue with Linux Mint at all. What has made the whole experience better, is that I'm able to work using Linux Mint from both the office and home. Since we need to connect to a remote desktop, no matter where we are, being able to do so with no issue from my laptops using Remmina , has meant that I can keep working as usual using my laptop without any problems at all. So much so, that the IT department at work are fin...

Personally, what is pulling people apart isn't technology in itself. What is pulling people apart, is how people use technology. Most often than not, people use technology use technology to hide when the world they face isn't one that allows them to engage others in a healthy way. When the world around them is one that facilitate the use of technology to connect with others in a healthy way, technology become another tool to do so. Yet, when the world people face is one that is toxic, technology acts as a shield to hide from it. There is also how we were thought to interact not only with technology, but also with how to deal with our emotions when things don't go as we want, or expected, them go. If we aren't thought to deal with our emotions, and view technology as a tool and not as a replacement for the world around us, it becomes quite easy to use said technology to hide from our emotions and the world. There is a need to stop blaming technology for people hiding beh...

The Internet has given society access to all the knowledge we could ever need about just every subject, and it keeps getting bigger with time. The problem is that, also there is a lot of misinformation and lies along with all the valuable information. What makes the situation worse, is that our education systems don't give most people the tools needed to navigate the Internet to find the information that is valuable to the subject at hand, and disregard the misinformation out there. This makes moving forward a lot more difficult, since some refuse doing so based on misinformation. There is a need to change this, and changing how our education systems work is one of that can have the biggest and most valuable impact to improve the situation. Even so, it can take years to actually make its impact felt. Yet, there is a need to actually doing to do so if we want to build a better future for humanity. We need for all to be able to keep learning throughout their lives, as something that ...

Ever since I started using Android in 2012, it has been getting better. Currently the device I use as my daily driver has Android 11, and it has been quite the step forward. When I made the jump, to be honest I had my reservations. I had become used to using Nokia devices running Symbian, so making the switch to Android was something I wasn't all to keen to do. Yet, the only other options I had at the time was a Windows phone, or an iPhone. I ended up choosing an Android device, because there were no Windows Phones that I liked, and moving to the iPhone was not something I wanted to do if I could avoid it. So, I got an Android device and almost from the start Android just worked for me. All the apps I needed were available, and I could set the user interface to work just like I wanted it to work. While in the ten years since there have been several changes to Android, most have been for the better or haven't really been something that took away from the experience. Actually, wi...

As someone who uses Linux Mint on daily basis on my daily driver, I can say that Linux is ready to be used by basically everyone. The only reasons anyone couldn't move to Linux, is if they need an specific software that isn't supported on Linux, like Photoshop, Microsoft Office, or some accounting suites. Other than that, Linux distros are fully capable systems that anyone can use. Distros like Linux Mint and Ubuntu , can be used by anyone for most of the average user cases. Specially when used basic tasks like web browsing , and media streaming , Linux distros can handle them without any problem at all. With time, the user experience has been getting better since many distros have been working on making the average user experience better. While there is some learning curve coming from Windows , or macOS , it has been getting easier to make the switch with time. Linux Mint is one of the best examples, specially with when using Cinnamon , which I've been using for 3 years ...

After about 8 years using Android smartphones , it has become my go to mobile operating system . Android just works for me, in a way iOS just can't compete. Not that iOS is bad, its just that it simply doesn't works how I want it to, and Android fits with how I use my smartphone a lot better. Add to it, that with each new Android version it just keeps getting better for my use case, moving to iOS is less appealing. There is also the fact that Android OEM keep releasing better smartphones each year, it does feel like an upgrade each time I make the choice to get a new one. Most importantly, the mid-range Android smartphones give a great value in the hardware the have. They might not have the greatest, and latest, tech in them, but they work great for the use I've for my smartphone. They actually find they give me more for the cost they have. The fact that there are several options with in the Android ecosystem, making OEM having to compete among themselves, makes for appe...

Windows 11 release last week proved how Windows has become rather irrelevant for me. I only use it for work, and through a remote desktop client , as such I don't really have to worry about keeping the OS up to date. For the better part of a decade now, I've been using a Linux distro on my personal computers. Currently, I run the latest version of Linux Mint , which just works for all my needs. Actually, I've much less issues with Linux Mint on all my laptops than with the computers I've used at work running Window 7 or 10 . Specially on computers on the lower end of technical specifications. Yet, what really solidify Linux Mint status as my go to OS, is the fact that since at work we moved to using the could for work Remmina has proved that I can keep working using Linux Mint without any real problem. What is better, since I use laptops, that has meant that I can keep working from any where with an Internet connection. With how good Linux Mint has gotten in the las...

When I got my Motorola One Fusion a couple of months ago, it came with Android 10 . Since I don't really don't care about having he latest Android version, just one of the last 3 released, it wasn't that big of the deal for me. Personally, that the smartphone I get runs Android and has at least 64GB of internal storage, about 4GB of RAM, is the baseline I go for. Android 10 really was an improvement for me coming from an Android 9 smartphone. Besides, the OS actually worked rather well on the smartphone. Yet, on the 1st of October I woke up to the pleasant surprised that my smartphone had upgraded to Android 11 overnight. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it to happen, but as an Android fan it was a nice thing to get. In the week I've using Android 11 in a daily basis, it has actually improved my user experience in the same smartphone. Mainly, the user interface was a big improvement compared with Android 10, and as a whole my smartphone has worked better o...

As time goes on, I've found that laptops are perfect for my computing needs. Laptops have more than enough computing power for my needs, and allow me to take them with me to work from pretty much most of the places I frequent regularly. Laptops just fit perfectly my lifestyle, specially with Wi-Fi becoming so ubiquitous along side with charging spots. That make possible for me to actually be able to work from almost everywhere, or just get online when I need to access things for which a laptop is a better option than a smartphone. It has been years since I've seriously considered a desktop as a replacement, or even as an upgrade to the laptop at the time I was considering getting replacing the laptop I'd at the time. Laptops just offer what I need from a computer, which is not really much on the computer power side. Portability is just far more important for me, since I like to be able to work from different places from time to time. Fortunately for me, laptops have gott...

As time goes on, Linux Mint has become the operating system that works for me for my computers. It simply works for me, and it has worked as a charm ever since Linux Mint 19 (Tara) came about. I personalize prefer the version using the Cinnamon desktop environment , since the desktop environment that better suits my needs and system work really well with it. There is also the fact that it it works great with the dual monitor setup I prefer, and that Remmina works really well on Linux Mint. The first Linux distro I ever used was Ubuntu , yet ever since they move away from using Unity I just haven't felt comfortable using it. Linux Mint, with Cinnamon, just gives me a better user experience. With each new release since Linux Mint 19, at least the base experience has remained there. There have been some improvements, like being able to creating app Web App to create direct access to most used web pages that have served to improve my experience on the end user side, but the best ...