The dangers of propaganda.

The current Russian invasion of Ukraine show how propaganda spreads through the Internet, and how hard is to detect and fight it by some people. There is a proportion of people that seems unable to identify propaganda, and help its spread by sharing it across social media, e-mail, and other means.

What makes it worse, is that some people don't even question any of the information that the propaganda contains. The propaganda is taken at face value, which means misinformation, and even lies, are perpetuated without being challenged just because it fits the narrative that its already hold by the people who keep sharing it.

Furthermore, many are blind to the fact that propaganda is used not only by governments, also by political parties and companies that want to influence the narrative in a way that benefit them, or hurts they opponents. Propaganda is a tool that looks to change how people view issues, no matter that the view it is pushing doesn't benefit them in any way.

At the end, there is a need to create awareness of the use of propaganda by all governments to further their agendas. Not all propaganda is bad, but people need to able to recognize them to be able to weight its contents and decide if they want add them to their belief systems or use the information.

Remote work.

The best thing about working remotely for me, is that I can manage my time a lot better compared when I'm at the office. There are a lot of factors behind it, but one of the most important ones is that I'm not interrupted as much allowing me to focus on my work a lot more.

 

The worst part of the interruptions at the office, is that more often than not they don't directly relate to my job or they things that could be solved without my involvement in them.

Most importantly, I simply work better working remotely since I don't like to deal with people all that much. Working remotely allows me to just deal with people on my terms, or at least on terms I feel a lot more comfortable with. As such, I tend to be able to focus more on what I need to focus rather on things that I don't really matter for me.

To be honest, I've come to realize that I prefer remote work and I'm willing to change jobs to keep working remotely.

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.

A few minutes of research doesn't give you full understanding.

I find it sad, and somewhat interesting, that a quick internet search doesn't make anyone an expert on anything. To become an expert in any subject require years of either practice, or study, in order actually have the skills and understanding to actually master the subject.

A few hours of research on any subject, just give you a basic understanding on any subject. It takes years of study, or work, at any matter to actually become a master at anything, specially when the amount of information in just about anything takes years to gained. To gain mastery takes years of practice, research, and work.

 

That you have a working understanding of something, doesn't make you an expert. It just means that you know enough to know the basic, or how something works. Yet, it takes more than that to actually become a master.

When you say that you understand something because you watched a couple of videos, or read an article on it, just come to show how little you know about you are talking about. Social media post have little, or no value, unless they are supported by information backed up by people are really experts.

There is no quick Internet search that makes anyone an expert, no matter what anyone tells you.

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.

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.

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.

Spotify has become my go to option to listen to music and podcasts while on the go.

Over the years, Spotify has become a staple of my daily life. While I still have my favorite music on my laptop's drive, Spotify has become my preferred way to listen to music, and podcasts, on the go.

 

While I do listen to music on the Spotify Linux desktop app, I find that it has become the main way I listen to music and podcasts on my smartphone while I'm on the go. I enjoy more the experience of doing so than having to connect my smartphone to my laptop in order to copy my music library to it. Besides, Spotify gives me far more options to listen to while on the go.

What I like the most about using Spotify on my smartphone, is that I don't have to worry much about filling the memory. I can choose from a far wider library of options than I could otherwise.

In a way, I feel that I can take all my music with me to access at a moments notice. The limits of the amount of music at my finger tips feel almost non existent. While there a few titles that aren't available, the amount is negligible and rather niche, most of the music I love is there for to access when I want to listen to it.

Spotify has become one of those indispensable apps in both, my laptop and my smartphone.

Information overload.

With the amount of information at our fingertips that smartphones, and computers connected to the Internet is easy to get lost the shear available. It has become a question of being able to ask the right questions, not if the information we are looking for is there.

 

The ability to filter out the information out there to find which is relevant, is becoming one of the most important abilities to have to be able to actually function in the modern world. It has become easy to get lost among the sea of information available for any given subject, even not to know what sources to trust.

Feeling overwhelmed with the amount of information bombarding us almost continuously, makes it easy to become numb to it. This can be a problem in the long sun, since it can make it easy for some not be able to access the relevant information for their needs. Without that information, it becomes harder to make the right decision. Which becomes worse when one takes into account that there are people who don't have the tools to know which information is either relevant or valid to be considered.

The problem now, is not if people can find the information they are looking for a particular reason. The problem has become the quality for information they can access to, and if they can actually evaluate it for themselves. Even worse when it is hard when experts are not readily available to help find the relevant information needed.

We are at are a crossroads in history, I've little doubt that we'll get thought it. What worries me is how well is humanity is going to navigate it.

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.

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.