Tsikbal: from my perspective

It seems that no matter what, I keep coming back to the Unity user interface . After a couple of weeks of using the MATE user interface , I just had to move back to Unity. I really liked the experience I got with MATE, yet it lack something that Unity gives me. It's not something tangible, it's mostly my personal taste. I do recommend MATE as an option, yet personally I prefer running Unity. The major change I make to the stock setting, is using the Numix theme and circular icons. Personally, no other user interface quite fits what I want my desktop to work and feel quite as well as Unity does. My two other favorite user interfaces, MATE and Cinnamon simply don't work as well for me. In a way, this is way I like GNU/Linux. I like to have my choice of how my OS works, and how it looks. My personal choice is Ubuntu running Unity, though I also like and recommend Linux Mint running Cinnamon. I haven't used Mate on Linux Mint, yet I do like it and recommend it...

That Tallef Fog Heen had to quit as a Debian systemd maintainer do to bulling as he explains on his blog , reflects badly on all the open source community. There is an urgent need to change the way dissent is shown, since it is only given in a negative way which is not beneficial to anyone. Though dissent, and the debate that comes with it, make communities healthy, we can't allow it to descend into bulling when other don't agree with the other's side view point. Sometimes the project we support, makes the choices we agree with. While other times, it will make the choices we don't agree, or like, with. Keep in mind that with any change comes to a project, it must come with consensus of the majority. This means that not everyone needs to agree with the change, if the majority comes to the agreement to make the change proposed. By resorting to name calling, and bullying, those who don't agree with us, we are not creating the kind of environment really nee...

After hearing a lot of good things about the Mate desktop environment , and the fact that it became available for Ubuntu, I've decided to give it a spin. So far, I've liked much. I got remained of why I fell in love with GNU/Linux, and Ubuntu in particular, in the first place. I felt right at home from the start, and I didn't have much trouble getting up to speed with it. Ever since Ubuntu started using Unity desktop environment as default on the Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal release, Unity became my go to desktop environment. I've tried using Cinnamon desktop environment with Linux Mint a couple of times now, but never felt as comfortable with as I'm with Unity. Yet, Mate has felt a lot better than both Unity and Cinnamon have so far. The best part for me, is that I can run it on Ubuntu with ease. Which means that I don't have to leave my favorite distro to use Mate, while getting the desktop experience I feel most comfortable with. I know that...

One of the biggest misconceptions about open source software, is that one needs to be a skilled programmer, or even a hacker, in order to use it at all. Yet, even though having such skill do help trouble shoot some of the problems one can encounter while using any software, it's not mandatory since there are ways to get help from people who know how to fix the problems you might encounter. What's true, is that depending on the GNU/Linux distribution the needed technical skill change. Distros like Linux Mint and Ubuntu are really friendly to people who don't have that many computers skills to use it. Then you have distros like Arch Linux and Debian, where having a strong technical skill set is very important to have to use it to their full potential. It's not like your average user wouldn't be able to use it, but they will not have a good experience with them when they run into problems. Open source software can be used by everyone, independently of how ...

Robert Lindh's blog post over at opensource.com , make a good point arguing that open source software might need a re branding. There is no need to change the core principals of the movement, but how they are conveyed to people who are not familiar with them. One of the biggest obstacles that keep people from embracing free software is their perception, and it only gets worse when it comes to free and open-source software . At the core of free and open source software are the user rights, so that they truly own their both their computer and software. They can do with them as they please, but that doesn't mean that others can do it as well. It's also about people coming together to build communities around the software they use to make it better, by sharing the changes they made to it among themselves. Also, making it safer by looking for bugs and vulnerabilities in order to take them out. Free and open source is not about people working for free, or stealing ...

I upgraded to the Ubuntu 14.10 Utupic Unicorn last Friday, and even though there aren't that many changes on the user side, I've felt an improvement from the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr release. One of the main things that people points out about Utupic Unicorn, is the fact that it doesn't bring that many changes along with it. I don't really see it as an issue, since with all the work being done on Mir display server, Unity 8 and Ubuntu Touch it's just a matter of time before we are just getting some breathing room before the bulk of the changes to Ubuntu come our way on later releases leading to the 16.04 LTS release. As I said before, so far my experience with Utupic Unicorn has been quite good. There has been some small bumps along the way, but having passed just a few days since it was released it's expected. Getting it just the way I like it took me about 45 minutes at most, and easy as pie. So far, Canonical has been delivering an OS that...

Yesterday Ubuntu marked it's 10th birthday, quite a landmark since there many other distros that have come and gone during this time. Personally I've been using Ubuntu for the constantly since the 10.04 LTS Lucid Lynx release. I've just stop using Ubuntu for a about 4 mouths, when I tried the cinnamon shell variant of Linux Mint 17 LTS Qiana. Though I liked Linux Mint, it doesn't quite feel as right as Ubuntu does for me. The Unity shell fits the bill for me on how I expect my desktop to look and work. When the move was made from GNOME to Unity on the 11.04 Natty Narwhal release, I was somewhat doubtful about it. I really liked how GNOME work, even though it didn't feel as well as Unity does now. If there was a moment where I could have jump to another distro, it was then. After more of two years of using Unity, and seeing it getting better over time, I must admit that it was become my favorite shell out there. I freely admit that Ubuntu is far from per...