Tsikbal: from my perspective

One of the best things about FOSS(free and open-source software), is that users have choice over their computer experience in all aspects. With open source, software adapts to they users needs, not the other way around. FOSS isn't about being free in the sense of having no monetary cost, or that developers can't have a profit from their work. FOSS is about the users freedom to control their software, and hardware, by being able to study, modify and redistribute any piece of software installed on their computers. In many ways, is putting the users freedoms ahead of other concerns. It's about people and the communities they make to work on the same objectives, or people just getting together to share what they are passionate about. It's time to put users freedoms at the forefront of software development, and not the interests of corporations and their profits. All software needs to protect the freedoms of its users as principle, and serve their interests as w...

The perception that science and technology are boring and hard to understand, are two persistent misconceptions. Those perceptions steam from how they are presented to society at large, we are told that they are that way all the time. Adding the fact that our schools systems seem to be on the business of teaching it so it becomes boring, making it harder for our children to become interested on them. Since we remember how science classes where boring, it becomes evident that it becomes hard to understand because people had no incentive to study science in a way they can make sense of it. Not only that, in many ways science classes don't tie what they teach with technologies, or other instances, on which what it's being teach is applied. So, many just don't see why science is useful, or how it's part of their everyday life. If we want to keep moving science forward, and to benefit from its fruits trough new technologies, we need to give people at least worki...

When I think about getting a new laptop, the first question that comes to mind is which design is one that I'll be happy to use for at least the next 2-3 years. That is that minimum amount of time I expect any good laptop to last with the type of use I give to my laptops. As a matter of fact, I could use one up to 5 years before I need to change it because it can't be repaired or because the specs are not up to my everyday usage. My current laptop has about 3 years, and I can safely say that could last about 1 more year. So, it's time for to start thinking about the replacement. The only two factors that aren't subject to change are that it has to be able to run Ubuntu, and that the screen size shouldn't be less than 13". All other aspects are variable, and all depends on what offering are on the market that meet the prior two requirements while being something that I can see me using for at least 2 years. I want it to last for at least that lo...

I've been using Ubuntu 12.10 for some time now, and I'm liking it much so far. I upgraded from the 12.04 version, and most of the things I use regularly have been improved. The main thing that I've noticed so far, is that Unity has been improved a lot from what I was used to. As it has been the norm for each time that I came to the latest version of Ubuntu, I've like it better than the one before. There has been some details with which I'd some problems, but overall Ubuntu has delivered on each release. If work on Ubuntu keeps going as it has, I'll be a long term user of the OS. My next laptop replacement has to be Ubuntu compatible if I'll buy it, this requirement is not optional. Now, I only need to change my smartphone to an Android powered one to have all my devices running on open source software.

Great design is not just about making software looking pretty, or about the ease of use. It's about both, since people judge both aspects at the same time. We like the software we use to look good, while it's easy to use and let's you do what you want without getting in your way. Software needs to have both in order to be the best it possible can, if one is lacking it'll suffer as a whole. Being the best in one area is not enough to compensate for the lack of the other, no matter how well it's executed. Yet, as with anything else that deals with people, there is no single implementation that'll be universally liked by all. There a few things that every implementation would have in common, but everything else will be different depending on the people using it. That's why having different users interfaces on Linux is not a bad thing, since it let's people to choose the best one for their needs. If you don't like one, use another that bette...

When it comes to education, and research, I don't like when  politicians  say they'll increase or  maintain  the expenditure. Money given to those areas shouldn't be seen as an expense, it's an  investment  on our people and our future. As with health care or security, education and research are areas that should have a big percentage of the budget assign to them. These areas are not just expenses, they are investments and the money assigned to them is going to pay back in the future when the recipients starts using their education, or when research bears fruits by advancing our quality of life. Not investing on those areas don't just hurt the individuals who don't get access to them, the society as whole gets hurts because its members can't develop their full potential or have access to a better quality of life. Having quality education and research make society better as a whole, it doesn't just benefit a sector or the individuals who r...

It's impressive that many people out there don't have a clear background of many subjects not because they aren't smart or intelligent enough, but because their understanding of many basic concepts is lacking or there are several misunderstandings about what is happening. To make matters worse, people are not willing to take a look on what's going and how things happen. Most are contempt with having a shallow view of what happens around them, and the consequences of events can have on theirs lives. They seem to be happy, or just be contempt, to accept whatever media or other outlets tell them is going to happen. Consequences are not thought, so when they arrive the surprise that comes with them can be quite a shock. Some even feel offended because no one told them about them, even when just having thought their actions before hand could have prevented any harm. Not only that, they don't stop to think what they should do. They just do as they are to do at ...

The Internet is not just a tool to reach out to the world, but also to attract the world's attention to any particular issue that needs to be taken into account. It can really become a great tool to bring attention to an issue, and to explain why it matters. There are few tools with more power to bring attention to an issue than the Internet, since it's a platform that allows individuals or small groups the chance to directly contact people that could be of help. There is little need for intermediaries, making the exchange between the ones who need help, and those that could give it, more direct and faster. With the Internet we have the most powerful tools to create awareness about the issues that truly matter to the communities, and the individuals. There are less middle men than ever before, making contact between interested parties a lot easier with less aggregated interests to them. The messages becomes more clear, and honest, to the message that the originator int...

It's rather interesting how communication technology has been integrated to our daily lives in such an intricate way. Modern smartphones let us to share with others in many ways, it can be as private as phone call or as public as a Twitter entry. We can even share photos and videos from our mobile devices from the spot we took them, it's as easy as just selecting the file we want to upload and push a button to do so. There is a few things we can't share yet, not to mention that the smartphone is at all times with us. Information overload is an ever present possibility, and it's ever more important to be able to filter noise from useful and relevant information. So, there is a need to learn how to effectively filter all the information we get in order not to be overwhelmed, or not be able to differentiate good from bad information. The hard part is to be able to know which information is relevant to us, so that we can actually do something, and not if the in...

One of the main areas where education is lagging behind, is on science and technology. Since many people don't really understand the basic scientific concepts, it becomes harder to try to explain concepts that are more complex or how technology works. This lack of understanding is what generates a lot of the lack of trust in science in general, and why many can't really explain how the technology they use works. In many ways, since many don't really know what to expect from them, the results are never they want them to be. There is also the fact, that because of this we are losing a lot of brilliant scientist and engineers. Since many children, and teenagers, don't have the motivation to take on studies related to these areas they move on to others that seem to be a lot more interesting. As a society that depends so much on science and technology, we need to have a higher level of interest and understanding of science to be able to explain the basic concept...

When it comes to the path taken by Canonical selected for Ubuntu, as an user and fan of the OS, I agree and like with it. Yes, there are somethings that I don't like and others than I just love about Ubuntu. The one thing that I like the most about Ubuntu, is the Unity shell. Personally, I like the way it works and it actually doesn't get in my way. Not only that, most of the bugs and lack of customization have been solved to my satisfaction on the Precise Pangolin (12.04) version. And for the looks of it, Unity will become even more refined on the upcoming Quantal Quetzal(12.10) version. In the 2 years I've been using Ubuntu, I've had no major problems. The only crash I had was while testing a beta version, which is not really that much of the issue. Not only that, all the software I need can be used on Ubuntu without much trouble. I'm not saying that Ubuntu is perfect, it's not the best option for everybody and it may not fit all tasted. I find ...