Linked by Kroc Camen on Sun 8th Nov 2009 10:21 UTC
Is complexity (and wearing this on the outside) an inherit part of open source design? FactoryJoe compares the OpenOfficeMouse (a mouse with 18 programmable buttons and even an analogue joystick) and the Apple Magic Mouse-"To me, the OpenOfficeMouse seems like such a typical product from the open source community." [Kroc: I honestly believed the OpenOfficeMouse to be a very clever satirical joke, the irony that it isn't suspends belief]
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You must not have to use your computer for much
by nt_jerkface on Mon 9th Nov 2009 01:05
in reply to "Why I (sort of) like complexity ..."
Member since:2009-08-26
if you value complexity for the sake of it.
Some us swim in endless software complexity at work and don't need even more when we come home, especially when it exists to make people feel special and not to improve productivity.
I've always felt that design aspects of Unix appeal more to bored admins who want a difficult learning curve rather than to strongly left-brained engineers. The Unix command list was created by programmers who when boys insisted upon secret handshakes for the sake of them. Thank god VMS/NT broke with the unix tradition of silly command line names and counter-intuitive, cryptic design.
Edited 2009-11-09 01:06 UTC
RE: You must not have to use your computer for much
by lemur2 on Mon 9th Nov 2009 04:48
in reply to "You must not have to use your computer for much"
Member since:2007-02-17
if you value complexity for the sake of it. Some us swim in endless software complexity at work and don't need even more when we come home, especially when it exists to make people feel special and not to improve productivity. I've always felt that design aspects of Unix appeal more to bored admins who want a difficult learning curve rather than to strongly left-brained engineers. The Unix command list was created by programmers who when boys insisted upon secret handshakes for the sake of them. Thank god VMS/NT broke with the unix tradition of silly command line names and counter-intuitive, cryptic design.
Let me guess, you haven't used a contemporary Linux desktop for serious use recently at all, have you?
As a user, there is no need whatsoever to use the command line.
OTOH, if a person has even modest training, then the fact that Linux adopts the same command names for its UNIX work-alike commands is a boon, because it means that shell scripts written for UNIX bash shells will also run on Linux. As it turns out, I myself as a "strongly left-brained engineer" have written (self taught) my own bash scripts (procedure calls and everything). Let me tell you that it is both considerably more powerful and also, at the same time, many times easier to write for than MSDOS and NT.
As for OpenOffice itself ... it is an Office suite. It uses a GUI. It is easier to use and to adapt to for MS Office users than trying to migrate to the ribbon:
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.0/
Edited 2009-11-09 04:56 UTC
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Member since:
2006-09-21
I used to hate the complexity of my computer, until I realised something. I love the city. Cities are beautiful things that thrive on complexity. As with software, some of that complexity is hidden under the surface (communications, electrical, sewers, water). Yet a lot of that complexity is also exposed to us, to enrich our lives.
I may choose not to enter those dingy fortune teller shops, sterile post-modern art museums, gaudy tourist attractions, mind numbing box stores, sleezy bars, and all of that other stuff. But that's okay. The people that I spend my life with may, and they enrich my life with the stories of their experiences.
Open source design is much the same. I will choose not to use stuff like the OpenOfficeMouse because I love trackballs and trackpoints. But the people around me may choose to do so. I may disregard the mind boggling widgetness of KDE and abandon the elegance of Gnome for the crudeness of an old style window manager. But that is a choice that I choose to make in the richness of our open source "city".
In my mind, the messiness of that complexity is a good thing. It enriches our lives much like a thriving city enriches our lives. I would much rather that over the sterile gated communities of closed source gadgets and stylish Apple products.