Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 8th Nov 2012 20:54 UTC, submitted by Elv13
"Theme development is a tedious and difficult task, and for the GTK devs to be so careless in breaking their API at every turn disrespects the many hours people put into making themes for it. [...] I was given to believe that this breakage stems from a Microsoft-like climate of preventing users from customizing their systems, and deliberately breaking the work of others so that your 'brand' is the best. Anytime I hear the word 'brand' being used in Linux, I know something valuable is being poisoned." I find the tone of this one a bit too harsh and overly negative at times, but his point still stands.
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Member since:2010-01-21
There are, of course, a few of us who stay in that tenuous middle ground, and I feel that's the worst place to be. It's always in flux; one day the kernel is broken because some guy upstream managed to squeeze into the release channel a performance patch that works for the tweakers but throws everyone else out of whack. Another day the devs of a very large and popular desktop environment project decide to throw out almost all the code and ideas, and start from scratch with something alien, just because they can.
That sounds about right. I was perfectly happy on KDE 3.5, where I could get work done when I wasn't geeking around for fun's sake but, now, it seems to be getting harder and harder to find something that's stable, performant, and doesn't try to force an alien workflow on me.
In fact, I think that's the real distinction. I come into a desktop knowing what I want and, if I can't get it, I'll dig in my heels and fight until I do before I'll consider alternatives, superior or otherwise.
I switched off Windows cold-turkey onto Mandrake Linux 10.0 and it still took me several months to feel safe on an OS where I hadn't been a power user since my age was measured in single digits but I was a KDE 3.5 user from the start because I knew exactly what I wanted and no desktop was going to tell me differently.
(And I was willing to put up with eye-searingly glossy/glassy icons if that's what it took to get that level of control. Remember, this was before the XDG Icon Naming Specification.)
Member since:2009-08-05
There does seem to be a pretty extreme rift in the OS world. There are those who "just want to be productive" and for them Windows, OS X and (to a certain degree) Ubuntu meet that need.
If you're not going to upgrade the system, I suppose this is true, but once you factor in upgrades and updates (and you are going to need to upgrade at *some* stage), I'm not sure it holds. Ubuntu updates often break things so that you then have to spend hours making simple stuff work again, and OS X now seems to want you to adapt to new ways of working with each new release. I went back to Slackware on my main work machine mainly because I was tired of change and wanted stability. Slackware 13.37 was the first version I'd used since 9, and I could essentially pick up where I'd left off.
Often you'll find them starting out with something like Slackware and KDE, then getting into Arch or Gentoo with a minimalist window manager, or in some extremes foregoing X altogether and doing everything in screen sessions and unplugging the mouse.
Bang on right, though for many this is a matter of productivity rather than control. I do this more and more when I'm working, for example, largely because I'm sick of desktop environments that want to reshape my work habits or worm their way into my personal identity. I just want them to get out of my way and fade into the background so I can get on with work. A simple window manager like Window Maker or Openbox in contrast for the most part does just this. And yeah, I do work in X-less sessions - I started doing this as a reaction to where modern desktop environments seemed to be going, but I've found that if all I need to do is do a test-run of a model, or write a paper in LaTeX, a purely text-based session is wonderfully distraction-free.
Member since:2012-11-09
The real problem is much larger than the predicament we're facing with arrogant developers. The younger generations are getting more and more totalitarian - they get easily offended and have less empathy. I dunno why it's like that. Perhaps in an overcrowded world with billions of egos, people have to fight harder to stay on top...
Member since:2007-08-22
The real problem is much larger than the predicament we're facing with arrogant developers. The younger generations are getting more and more totalitarian - they get easily offended and have less empathy. I dunno why it's like that. Perhaps in an overcrowded world with billions of egos, people have to fight harder to stay on top...
It's the whole coddle approach they've been through.
Honestly, when you can't lose, have to be given a trophy even if you came in last, always have to have your self-esteem measured and propped up, when you get 1+1 wrong and told you're right....what do you expect?
A me-first, I'm never wrong, easily offended generation.
Member since:2005-07-06
The real problem is much larger than the predicament we're facing with arrogant developers. The younger generations are getting more and more totalitarian - they get easily offended and have less empathy. I dunno why it's like that. Perhaps in an overcrowded world with billions of egos, people have to fight harder to stay on top...
You know, we have examples of ~"moral decay of youth is a threat to civilisation" since the dawn of preserved written word... (some Babylonian tablets, for one) which were definately more violent times than our (post?)modern world.
In related news: past tends to be often seen as better than when we lived through it (but, notably, we don't seem to have now that many problems with totalitarianism as we did in the past)
PS. And on the general topic of "those damn youngsters!" - I must note that boomboxes and shouting are a thing of past - teens nowadays prefer the privacy of headphones and text messages ;P
Edited 2012-11-09 22:05 UTC
Member since:2007-08-27
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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2005-06-29
There does seem to be a pretty extreme rift in the OS world. There are those who "just want to be productive" and for them Windows, OS X and (to a certain degree) Ubuntu meet that need. It seems the Gnome devs want to join that party too.
Then there are the folks on the other side who crave total control over their systems. Often you'll find them starting out with something like Slackware and KDE, then getting into Arch or Gentoo with a minimalist window manager, or in some extremes foregoing X altogether and doing everything in screen sessions and unplugging the mouse.
There are, of course, a few of us who stay in that tenuous middle ground, and I feel that's the worst place to be. It's always in flux; one day the kernel is broken because some guy upstream managed to squeeze into the release channel a performance patch that works for the tweakers but throws everyone else out of whack. Another day the devs of a very large and popular desktop environment project decide to throw out almost all the code and ideas, and start from scratch with something alien, just because they can.
The relative stability* of Windows, and to a lesser extent OS X, the BSDs and Solaris, makes for a pretty compelling platform for those who lean towards using their computer as a tool or appliance to get things done and/or make a living. For those of us who view the tech sphere as a hobby first and a career second, well sure we probably would benefit from some time outdoors.
Maybe I'll go for a walk while my tweaked kernel is compiling for the fourth time today...
*Speaking purely of update release schedules
Edited 2012-11-08 23:18 UTC