Tsikbal: from my perspective

It's quite sad, and unnerving, that governments seem to be so slow to adopting modern technologies to make it's functionalities as streamed lined to make it work more efficiently. With the limited resources governments have, they have to be a lot more conscious on how they use them with the biggest impact. One of the areas that would help, would be using open source software to build a common platform for the government. Mainly because by using open source software, government wouldn't be tied up to a single provider to maintain the systems they use. They would be able to actually make better use of the resources they got, by actually being free to pick the service provider that gives them the best value for what they expend on their services. The adoption of open source software by all the government agencies, has the added benefit that all their operations will become more transparent. Not by allowing full access to their data, but on how they work. Not all t...

When it comes to the GNU/Linux distros, and how to choose the one that's right for you, it seems to come down to what you want and need on OS. There is no single distro that does everything, but there is one that will fit your needs like a glove. The distro that works for some, might not be the distro that would work for you. Because of this, it becomes vital to do some research in order to see what distros are the best fit for you. If there more than one distro that does what you need, the best thing you can do is to actually try them before you settle for one. Not all distros are created equal, since the communities behind them will develop them with a different set of priorities. As such, the way they approach things is different from each other. That's why it's important to give a try to the distros that are geared toward the areas you need, in order to find which one is the one that will allow you to work how you feel most comfortable. This is why I lo...

With time, I've come to become even more sure that free and open-source software(FOSS) is the way to go. Not only that, but some aspects how FOSS is developed could bring enormous benefits to humanity at large if there where replicated in other areas. One such example is open science , that promotes scientific development could have great positive impact for everyone not only the scientists who work on the research. Letting people coming together to work openly, and enable them to share their work freely, can help their work have the best possible impact in the widest possible way. Most importantly, since they'll be working in the open it will make it harder to make bad uses anything done this way. Not all bad use can be prevented, but it will be harder to pull and it would be easier to hold accountable those who act wrongfully. It's easier to audit things when they are done openly, than when they are done behind closed doors. Most importantly, when you us...

I finally got a new laptop, and since it came with Windows 8.1 I decided to give try first hand. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I expected from the reviews I've read. Yet, Windows 8 is not an OS I want to us for several reasons. The main one, is that it's proprietary software and I'm an FLOSS advocate. As such, I avoid using proprietary software as much as possible, and in my case I can use FLOSS on my personal computer. Also, there is the fact that I simply couldn't stand Windows 8. While it isn't all that bad, it still isn't usable for me. The way the OS is made, makes it hard for me to use the way I want to use it. The whole thing got in the way I do things, and that is not acceptable. So, as soon I got the time I installed Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn on it. The feeling I got to be back to an OS I love is a real good one, it feels like coming back home after a long trip you didn't want to make but had to make. I'm happy with my...

With Microsoft open sourcing its ASP.NET framework, and the fact that a replacement for the Internet Explorer browser called  Spartan in the works to be shipped with Windows 10, radical change might be coming faster and deeper than anyone can imagine. I believe that Microsoft might continue to keep making more of its software open source, yet I don't think that it would open source all of it. Ideally, Microsoft should make the move completely to open source. The move would be greatly beneficial for Microsoft itself, the users of its products, and the open source community. The idea of having Windows becoming open source, is one that can really makes me happy and gives me some hope that it would make easier for open source software to reach more people. Having Windows as an example of open source, would make a lot to help people to trust open source software in a way they don't do at the moment. What's more, turning software from proprietary to open source se...

At work, tablets proved to be a popular gift. And though I find tablets can be useful, they are not for me. My needs are not meet by tablets at all, I prefer ultrabooks and smartphone combination. The main reason for this, is that I prefer the ultrabook when I'm not moving around. Since I tend to read, while I've several other thing running on the background like my audio player and IMs, or writing, the tablet doesn't really does a good job at that. When I'm on the move, I like to have something I can get on my pocket and get out of the way when I'm not responding to messages, checking for directions, taking a picture, or listening to music. As such, the tablet doesn't really fits my needs. When I write comments, and specially on my blog, I prefer the comfort that a physical keyboard gives me. Call me old fashioned, but I like the feedback I get from the keyboard with each stroke. And for the short messages on Whatsapp, Facebook, or Twitter, the sma...

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...