3/28/2022
Remote work.
3/08/2022
Propaganda is everywhere around us.
People have a hard time detecting propaganda, or believing that propaganda is a tool used not only by all governments. Propaganda is also used by companies, religions, and groups of people that want to influence the behavior and beliefs people hold.
Propaganda is part of our daily lives, since is used to try to shape our behaviors and beliefs in a certain way. Governments wants us to behave in a certain way, or to support certain causes, while certain groups within the society might want us to act differently. Companies might want for us to have a positive view of them, while having a negative view of their competitions. All of them create propaganda to influence us in a way that benefits them.
Importantly, propaganda is not always done overtly. Most of the time it is done in subtle ways, so we don't immediately realize that we are being targeted by it. The realization that we are targets of propaganda, can be very off putting for most people making it a lot less effective. As such, propaganda is most of the time made so we don't see it.
That most propaganda is disguised as something else, makes it both hard to see and dangerous. When people can't see the propaganda they are targeted with, they can't decide if they want to change their behaviors of beliefs because they be benefited by that change.
Propaganda by itself is not dangerous, but it become dangerous when its packaged as something else.
3/03/2022
A few minutes of research doesn't give you full understanding.
2/24/2022
The real world and the Internet are beginning to blur.
It's impressive how integrated our digital lives have become to what we do on the real world. So much so, that we don't think twice about how much of what we do in one affects the other one. In many respects they are not parallel to each other, but have become virtually indistinguishable from each other.
In itself, it's not something good or bad. All comes down to how we manage them, since the results of the use give them will dictate the outcome of their integration. Most importantly, there is still a lot of people that aren't conscious about what they do on the Internet will have an impact on their lives on the outside world. It has become almost impossible to separate what we do online from what we do on the real world.
Many of our interactions online are an extension of what we do in the real world, and the same goes the other way around. Not to mention that it's possible to almost completely conduct almost all of lives online in some cases, and almost impossible not to have part of our daily interactions online.
We are now at a moment in history on which, that those without access to the Internet are at disadvantage to those have access to it. Not only most of human knowledge is on the Internet, but as time goes on the number of things that can only be done online keeps increasing.
The real and digital worlds have started to blur, becoming and extension of each other. This makes it difficult to even imagine how future generations will experience them, all we can do is to lay the foundations for a more fair access for as many people as possible. Not to mention to create the systems that allow for people to be able to learn the tools needed to actually use to the fullest what they need to be happy and be the best version of themselves.
Almost everything we know will change dramatically, and we need to give the future generations what they need to make the best out of it.
2/05/2022
Technology and the lack of learning resources.
I find it worrisome how many people blame technology for their shortcomings, rather than actually working on them. It has become easier to say that technology is to blame, rather than working to better oneself.
All technology is just a tool we use for a mean, yet not everyone is being trained to make the best use of the new technologies relevant to their needs. That is why so many people find themselves displaced by new technologies, they simply don't have access to the training they need to be able to make use of them in a relevant way.
The fear of new technologies is not unfounded. Yet it could be easily put aside if the training needed to make the best use of it was widely available, so that people could actually know what those technologies are about and use them to look for work.
At the end, education is what is most lacking. Not everyone is getting the education they need to be able to deal with how technology is changing the world around them, and they are being left behind. Most importantly, the jobs being lost aren't being replaced fast enough, creating a lot of resentment.
The lack of access to education, and quality education, is what widening the divide and what is behind the lack of trust on the emerging technologies. While technology holds promise, not all can make good on that promise.
2/01/2022
Home office or a hybrid model is the way going forward for most jobs.
Once again, the ability to connect remotely to work has proved that I can work from anywhere with my laptop and a Internet connection. While the tools have been there from a while now, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced most of the administrative personnel to work from home, and we have proven that for most of us working remotely is something we could continue doing in the future.
Personally, I use Linux Mint on the laptop I use work from home. While we use Windows Server at work, using Remmina to connect as a remote desktop I've been able to work without any problem at all. Remmina has allowed me to work as if I'm at the office, no matter where I'm physically at that point in time.
What I'd like to see after the pandemic is over, is at least being able to have a hybrid work schedule at least. Working from home is has become my preferred way to face my professional life, because it simply gives the most flexibility with my time, and allow me to be more productive since I can focus on the task at hand with less distractions.
While I can see the benefits of going to the office for a few hours each week, going full time is not the best option for me. My job can be done just as efficiently remotely, specially because even for the documents I handle can be forwarded to me electronically, without needing a hard copy at any point.
Not only that, all the important communication I need with my coworkers can be done via e-mail, WhatsApp, or a phone call. All of this doesn't require for me to be present at the office, and it means that I can do my work from where I've access to a good Internet connection.
There is also the fact that I'm not a people person, so not having to deal with people face to face all the time is something I value. While I don't mind interacting with people for a while, I really prefer a job that gives me the chance of not having to do so all day long.
I've come to really value being able to work remotely, so much so that in a way I dread going back to the office full time.
1/26/2022
Spotify has become my go to option to listen to music and podcasts while on the go.
1/22/2022
Information overload.
1/17/2022
Linux can be used by anyone, given they are given the correct distro for their needs.
Linux has stopped to be just for techies for quite some time now, with distros like Linux Mint and Zorin OS it has become far easier for people with not much technical skills to actually use a Linux distro with ease to do what they do on Windows or macOS. Both Linux Mint, and Zorin OS, come with all the software that most people already uses on Windows, or macOS, or something that can be a direct replacement for what they have been using so far.
Besides, most distros now come with a software store that allows to install with a few clicks the software that doesn't come installed by default. Dropbox, Zoom, and Spotify can be installed quite easily this way. Most distros use either Chrome or Firefox as default, or both can be easily installed via the software store used by the distros.
Since Chrome and Firefox are supported, accessing Disney+, Netflix, or Amazon Prime Video is something you do as you do on Windows or macOS using said web browsers. The same can be said of all the web sites people have become used to accessing using said web browsers.
The only Linux distros that aren't recommended for non techies would be purpose built distros like Kali Linux or SUSE Linux. Both of these distros are purpose built for a specific set of users, so they aren't recommended for use by the general public.
Personally I use Linux Mint, and have been using for the better part of five years, and before that, I used Ubuntu for the better part of a decade. I can recommend both of them to anyone that want a OS that will allow them to browse the Internet, do some light office work using LibreOffice, or use streaming service like Spotify, or Netflix. Even if you have quite a substantial music library, you can use Rhythmbox to manage it with ease.
Linux has become something more people can use without having to be computer experts, specially if the right distro is given to them to use.
1/13/2022
The importance of choice of a desktop environment.
One of the things I like the most about Linux, is that the user can pick and choose the desktop environment that works for her/him. When I made the jump to Linux, I Linux distro of choice was Ubuntu using GNOME 2.
Now, Linux Mint using Cinnamon has become my favorite Linux distro. This combination just works for me, and it runs like a charm on all laptops I've installed it on. For while I used Ubuntu with Unity, but when they decided to drop it in favor of a highly customized version of GNOME 3 I decided to move to Linux Mint.
The idea that the user can choose the desktop environment that just works for her/his workflow, is a big benefit. Computers are a tool, an as such users have to be able to make it work according to their needs. The desktop environment they use is one of the most important ones, since its one of the things users interact directly when using a computer.
While the number of desktop environments on Linux have consolidated somewhat over the past five years, there is still enough for users find one that works for them. From lightweight ones like LXQt or Xfce, to ones with power feature sets like KDE or MATE, there is a desktop environment that will have what fits any workflow. Most importantly, they all have some level of customization to fine tune them even more to the particular needs of a particular user.
Desktop environments like GNOME and Cinnamon don't need users to have levels of technical knowledge to customize them. That is one of the main reasons I use the version of Linux Mint that runs Cinnamon, I can set it up easily to look and work to suit my needs without much trouble. I could go deeper into customizing it if I wanted to, but why bother if it already satisfies all my need with little extra work.
It has been a while since Linux can be used by anyone who is willing to give it a try, and the desktop environments have been a big part of that.
1/08/2022
Hacking is not bad in itself.
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 lives, it would be in our best interest that more people learned to hack in order to keep in check the interest of private companies to control the data that we generate daily. We need to have people who can independently verify what companies say their systems are capable of, and what they do with our data.
Along with hackers with a strong skill set to do so, it is also paramount that open-source software become more prevalent. The software itself shouldn't be what is protected, but the information contained in the software is what should be protected. Most importantly, it is important to understand that just because software is open-source it means that everyone can use it as they want to use it. All open-source licenses have some limits on how the software it covers can be distributed, the ownership of the software, and how derivative works can use the source code and its redistribution.
Most importantly, open-source software development makes harder for companies to hide things on the source code of the computer systems we use, since third parties outside those companies can legally revise the code to make sure that the software it runs actually complies with what its said it does.
Hackers have the skill set and knowledge to make sure IT providers, software developers, and computer system providers, actually do what they say they do. Governments can use the help of private individuals, and companies, in policing that our computer systems work as intended while staying within the limits of the law. As such, having a thriving hacker culture is beneficial to the general public by keeping tech companies in check.
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