[Fri Oct 21 13:12:42 CDT 2016]

Here is an interesting article on 3 command-line file conversion tools for Linux. {link to this entry}

[Wed Oct 12 15:18:13 CDT 2016]

Are you an Android user bothered by the Flipboard app often installed as a default app by many phone carriers? Well, these directions to disable the Flipboard Briefing feature (yes, the one that shows up every single time you accidentally scroll towards the left from the main screen) appears to work fine on the Samsung Galaxy S5, even though the directions were written for the Samsung Galaxy S6. Also, if you prefer to disable the app altogether (so it doesn't bother you anymore with messages and updates), you should be able to do this from the Applications Manager. Simply go to:

Settings --> Applications --> Application Manager --> Flipboard --> Disable

Mind you, the service is quite good. I'm just not that interested in keeping up with the news and, above all, find it very annoying. {link to this entry}

[Wed Oct 12 15:12:18 CDT 2016]

In case you didn't know, WeChat is a very popular instant messaging system that has been spreading like wildfire. If you would like to run it directly on your Linux system, check out this article. The installation is quite straightforward, and it appears to run fine. Just in case you need, here is also an article explaining how to add an application to the desktop menus in GNOME Shell. The install doesn't take care of that automatically. {link to this entry}

[Thu Oct 6 15:47:28 CDT 2016]

Reading that IT moves to open workspaces, but not everyone is happy one wonders about certain things. According to the article:

In the past decade, open workspaces have become inextricably associated with Silicon Valley startups seeking office environments that matched their casual styles and appealed to millennial workers' ideals about non-hierarchical organizations. The concept since has spread to well-established corporations including AT&T, GE and KMPG, which have moved at least some parts of their organizations to open space.

Managers and team leaders believe an open environment fosters community and supports collaboration better than a traditional office-and-cubicle setup, but not all employees are onboard, particularly those who prefer a quieter, less visually stimulating environment in which to concentrate.

So, what does one wonder about? Mainly about the human inclination to always trust in miracle solutions and follow trends. If there is a constant in history is that, it seems. Did it ever occur to someone that perhaps there is not a single working style that should be enforced on everyone? That perhaps different people will feel comfortable in different settings? Not only that, but also that different people will be more productive in different ways? Why do we always have to force these things down people's throats? Mind you, I am one of four SGI employees (all of them foreigners, interestingly enough) who chose to tear down cubicle walls and share space with other people back when we moved to a new building around 2002. It's not that I dislike the so-called "open workspace". It's only that I disagree with the obsession for finding a single solution to everything. Life is always way richer (and mora fascinating) than that. {link to this entry}