__/ [ mlw ] on Monday 10 July 2006 12:49 \__
> I haven't seriously used Windows in almost a year, I have a Windows 2000
> box that I compile on, but I use it largely with VNC or ssh, and then, in a
> mostly cygwin environment.
This reminds me of a previous post of mine.
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.advocacy/browse_frm/thread/2a79a08cdbe0abe7/3e35f0592efde29b?lnk=st&q=windows+get+work+done+schestowitz+vacation+linux+advocacy&rnum=1#3e35f0592efde29b
I survived with Windows for two weeks, but I was utterly disappointed with
the experience. Anyone who is forced to work under Windows will be extremely
unproductive at the end of the day. Only by mastering other platforms can a
regular Windows user appreciate productivity gains. That's the sas thing
though. Very few people in the world (perhaps 80%) have used an operating
system other than Windows. There is no room for valid judgment to be made.
> Well, a friend wanted to do some stuff with her computer and I offered to
> help.
>
> What a mistake.
>
> I don't know how anyone can say Windows is easy to use. I use Macs, KDE,
> GNOME, Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris machines regularly.
>
> Did you ever notice, it seems like XP tries to hide other programs? If you
> are not familiar with the environment, you click on the menu button, and
> you have to really look at the menu items to see what you want to do. With
> every other environment, it is easy to follow, with Windows you can't work
> by "reflex."
I was never keen of Windows' support (or lack thereof) for keyboard
accelerators. It just doesn't facilitate the feature properly. The
assignment of desktop items to Ctrl+Alt-based shortcut is inflexible.
Moreover, this means that I had to place items on my desktop just so that I
can assign shortcuts to them. Scripting and third-party addons were out of
the question (work, complexity, nags, and resource drains).
> Did you ever notice that the start button menu takes up a large portion of
> the screen?
It's the lipstick factor. The bigger the better. Would you like me to
supersize that, Sir?
> Did you ever notice that the childish artwork on the window frames and
> titles bars is HUGE and uses up a lot of the screen? The environment is so
> inflexible that, unless you get some 3rd party add ons, you are more or
> less stuck with this layout.
You neglected mention the Teletubby mounds that are there by default. Tinky
Winky!! I got Windows installed! Now how in f*cking h*ll do I modify that
s*it?
> The command line sucks!!! Limited line editing, poor scripting, yuck, no
> wonder I use cygwin.
This reminds me of a nice essay that speaks of all the functionality you lose
if you ever migrate from Linux (back*) to Windows. I could probably find it
on DesktopLinux.com, even eWEEK.
> Cut and Paste sucks, when I highlight some text, and I middle click on an
> edit box it doesn't work. I have to go back, hit <ctrl>c on the source
> text, and hit <ctrl>v on the destination.
Try copying and pasting 1000 fields from one program to another manually.
It's not just the Ctrl-based shortcuts that make you lose the will to live.
It's also Windows focus, which in Windows forces a click. *sigh*
> There's no multiple screen system so that I can have many things up at the
> same time, each time I want to change applications, I have to <alt>tab
> through the list until I find the one I want.
There are third-party addons for Windows, but they are not integrated into
the core. Thus, they are very, very miserable in terms of functionality.
Morever, they are unreliable and inefficient (compare plug-ins and hooks
with full trunk inclusion). Not good if you move between machines, either.
Takes hours just to get it to work right. Windows requires _a lot_ more
tweaking to get it working /properly/. Linux comes mint out of the box. Just
change colour/themes, potentionally adding some packages /without/ having to
travel from one Web site to another. It's a tickbox belt-and-braces
exercise.
> Why the hell do I still have to reboot every time I install a new program
> or update?
Because you chose to be using Windows (Duh!). *smile*
> I tell you, when I came back to my Linux box, I remembered why I switched.
Don't just remember. Tell others, too. You'll be doing them a tremendous
favour, trust me.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Bottom-post: as English goes from top to bottom
http://Schestowitz.com | Free as in Free Beer ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Cpu(s): 19.8% user, 3.4% system, 14.9% nice, 61.9% idle
http://iuron.com - semantic engine to gather information
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