Linux distros can be really easy to use...

I find it someone ironic when some people I know bash Linux based operating systems to be hard to use, while ragging as mad how easy to use their Android powered smartphones, or tablets, are to use. They seem surprised when I point out that the OS they like so much, is actually Linux based.

Many people still believe that Linux based operating systems for computers are hard to use, and still use a command-line interface. This is true that for some distros, command-line interface is the default user interface. Also, all Linux based distros allow the user to use command-line even though they use a graphical user interface by default.

The truth, is that there are several great and easy to use Linux based distros for every level of user. There are several distros that better suited for beginners, while others are targeted for power users. The distro to used is determined by each user, and what they need from the distro for their daily routines.

Linux based operating systems really let the users control the experience they get from computers, by allowing them to choose from several options the one they feel more comfortable with. It might seem a bit confusing, yet there are distros where technical knowledge needed by the users amounts to just knowing how to install software on their computer. The experience they get once the OS is install, is virtually the same they already know. There is a slight learning curve, but most distros targeted for beginners such curve is not that steep.

I've using Ubuntu for some years now, and used Linux Mint for quite a while too, and if you want to try Linux I whole heartily recommend any of these options even if you are a beginner. They are easy to use, and they come with a graphical user interface for default.

Value of a fork...

Forking a project is a good thing? Yes, being able to create forks of a project is good. Having a fork, or several, of any given project gives people options, making it possible for users to be able to choose from different proposals the one that better works for them.

The real question when it comes to forks, is whether or not any values is added. If no value is added, then there is little motive for users to move to the fork and it adds to the stock of options made available to developers to work with.

Forks are valuable for the project's community at large, since they widen the capabilities of the software by adding features or simply by giving options on the way to implement it. It makes the software more robust, and less dependent on the continued existence of a single core of developers. The software can be taken to other places by other developers, without compromising the quality or the support given to keep it updated.

The value of good forks can't be overstated, since they make software better and the ecosystem healthy. They can drive innovation, since they make developers working hard to make their particular branch of the fork relevant. Users benefit the most out of this, since they get to choose among several options that need to give something of value to them in order to keep them using their offering.

Developers also benefit, since they have a wider network to rely on in order to help them solve any problem the could face. Also, it means that if they have doubts about something the odds are that there is someone that can help them.

Forks should be encouraged, but keep in mind that support should go to the ones that are add value and are well made.

Another case for FLOSS...

Another case in favor of FLOSS, is the how software can be developed. FLOSS gives a lot of flexibility, since development is not centralized it allows for software to grow more organically.

There is a more symbiotic relationship between the software and the community that grows around it, meaning that the software grows as it's community grows. Which is a great thing to have, since it means that the software is less dependent on a small core of developers. As such, the odds of it going under are a lot less than closes source projects.

The freedoms that FLOSS gives, mainly that you can study and modify the software, means that projects can be forked to better suit needs that the original development team can't, or doesn't have the intention, support. This aspect give FLOSS a lot more flexibility to better cope with the needs of users, by being able to be adapted to new environments, or just the changing needs of users.

Being able to adapt, or if needed fork, projects to better suit user need can be a lot faster. It comes to down to communities to adapt software for their purposes if the core development team doesn't do so. Forking a project can be an option, a powerful one, if there is a need to do so.

In many respects, this level of flexibility makes FLOSS a powerful for people. Specially because it empowers people, by giving us the tools to be able to build the software we need when we need it. There is no single centralized core to tell people how certain software should work, yet several nodes of people joining forces to implement the best way to do what they need to do.

It's a pairing of what people needs, with the tool they need to do the job done.

Importance of social media...

The importance of social media can not be underestimated, since it has proven to be one of the most powerful tools that people have at their disposal. In many ways, it helps people to become closer to the people and places they care about no matter the distance.

Contrary to popular belief, social media can strengthen human bonds since it helps to bridge distances and time. People can share many of the things they care about the most with the people they care about, keeping in touch easily no matter how far from the people they care about they are.

Social media also helps people to get to know new friends, and discover new things to share with others. It helps to bring the world to the tips of our fingers, it's just a matter to actually set ourselves to find it.

At the end, it's up to us how to use it. We can use it as a way to meet new people while keeping in touch with family and friends, or to isolate ourselves. That's a personal choice, that isn't made by social media itself. What we put into social media, it's what we are going to get from it.

Blaming social media for individuals isolating themselves is shortsighted, since that is only the consequence of a set of problems that were already there. Social media just gives them a way to relate to the wider world in a way they can handle better, since they know no other way to do so.

Social media can be as social as each of us makes it.

Social media...

One of the many uses of social media, and one where it's more valuable for society at large, is as an awareness generator. Through social media, there is a real chance to create awareness of relevant information that other wise might go unnoticed.

Mainly because the users of social media themselves can generate, or share, the information needed to bring attention to the issues that matter to them. Social media allows people to take their issues directly to others, so it makes it a lot easier to connect with people that can help solving the issue at hand.

Social media helps to remove obstacles, and makes it easier to for people to find the help they need.

The awareness that social media can help generate can be more useful, since it lets the people that need the help connect directly connect with the people that can help. This direct line of communication makes people to be more willing to help, since they can communicate directly with those who they help or intend to help. The level of trust that can be gained this way cannot be understated.

When people connect with people, great things can happen. And social media can be a key component to help connecting people directly, allowing them to work together in ways that before where almost unheard of.

With social media, more and more people are finding out that their voice can be heard by a wider audience. As such, they can join other people that have the same goals or had the same problems in order to find ways to solve whatever problem they have. People find out that they are not alone, and they can reach out for help or support.

Social media has the potential to play a key part on constructing a better world.

Software security...

With the Java security debacle there are several things that can be learned, mainly the importance of fixing important security bugs sooner by the developers and for users to keep their systems updated.

It also it gives strength to the point that FLOSS software is more secure than its closed sourced counter parts. Being a common good, FLOSS has the advantage that its code is continually check for this kind of security flaws. What's better, it's not only check by the people working for the original developer, but by others from outside can check the code for any vulnerability.

Adding an additional layer of protection, a fix can be offered to the core team of developers by a third party. Meaning that the processes of patching any security hole is speed up, because any security issue can be addresses a lot sooner by anyone who can patch it and sharing that patch with the community at large.

In many ways, there is more people making sure security is as tight as possible. And when a vulnerability is found, a patch can be made available a lot sooner.

Making software safe becomes not the job a small group of coders, but it's the job a all interested in making that software as secure as possible. It becomes harder to exploit any vulnerability, mainly because it goes undetected much less time.

Let's keep in mind that no software will have a perfect security bill, yet FLOSS offers the best way to keep security as tight as possible by having as much eyeballs working to making it as secure as possible.

Backward compatibility should be maintained...

If planned obsolescence wasn't bad enough on itself, the fact that many tech companies simply don't have any backward compatibility just adds insult to injury. There is no real reason why we should have to change all of our gadgets every time we change one of them.

Yes, it's true that in occasion there is some king of adapter so that the new device plays nice with the old ones. Then again, that's a solution that shouldn't be needed to begin with.

There is no real reason why there shouldn't be full backward compatibility, in most cases there is no technical reason not to have it. The reasoning is mostly financial, in order to make more money out of the user just make him have to buy again all the gadgets he already had to begin with.

Backward compatibility shouldn't be an option, it should be something that we can take for granted. In many ways, it's also a bet on the long term sustainability of our resources. The longer we can keep them working, the less resources we would be using.

At the end, we as users should be the ones deciding when to get new things and what devices we renew at any given time.