[Discuss] an "Enterprise" Linux for desktop

[markw at mohawksoft.com (markw at mohawksoft.com)]

>> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
>> bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of David Kramer
>>
>> On 11/25/2011 07:46 AM, Edward Ned Harvey wrote:


> But, I learned years ago when I started using slackware and I customized
> my
> desktop using some arcane windows manager which disappeared on the next
> release...  In any OS, it's best not to get deeply entrenched into what
> you're calling "advanced" features of the UI.  I'm going to call them
> details.  Whether it's linux, mac, windows, solaris or anything, all this
> stuff is prone to change.  For better and worse.  Learn not to be
> dependent
> on specific details.
>

This, to me, is an example of exactly what I have been saying. UI design
is crap, changes are arbitrary -- driven more by "look and feel" whimsy
than by actual understanding of usability.

If a feature comes and goes, what does that mean? Why was it introduced if
it was not understood to be useful? If it was useful, why did it go away?

The IBM CUA was the last SERIOUS work on computer usability I know of. Not
merely look and feel, but productivity and actual usability. What is going
on now is retarded. iPods, and Androids are interesting tools, but
interfaces for them do not necessarily translate well to a laptop or the
ever diminishing desktop or workstation.

When all is said and done, the fancy "eye candy" is very slick, but it
does not help me do my work. Changing existing paradigms is usually a bad
practice unless there is sufficient evidence a new paradigm is better.