4 ms·

Aren't there plenty of little UX niggles in macOS/windows just like this that haven't been fixed for years either? I'm not sure why this is being used as a reas

Aren't there plenty of little UX niggles in macOS/windows just like this that haven't been fixed for years either? I'm not sure why this is being used as a reason why "Free desktop operating systems are a joke". I think "use KDE" is perfectly valid advice here too. The toilet analogy doesn't really hold, your satisfaction of software that works for you shouldn't be at all affected by the existence of software you don't like and don't use, that's just silly.

saagarjha 6y ago
The point is that there are fewer because people actually have to use that UI that can't figure out workarounds.
ncmncm 6y ago
There are overwhelmingly many such contempties in Apple and MS systems. Not more, but different and disabling. Apple and MS don't try to present the illusion that what they build is for your benefit. People know they are Big Corporations that care less-than-nothing for you or me, or our wants or needs, and that it is only by luck when we can get them to do anything at all. It is the imagined promise that Free Software is done for our benefit that lends us the delusion that things should be the way we want them. In fact, Free Software things are much more likely to actually work, in the way that somebody wants, than Apple's or MS's. Just, not you. In the case of Apple and MS, there is typically no living individual who wants it to do what it does, but changing it would require initiative whose attempt at exercise would severely punished.
city41 6y ago
Frankly I find the whole blog post silly. All OSes/software have trade offs. It's just a question of what is important to you. I'm primarily an Ubuntu user but I have one Windows machine. There are things in Windows that just flabbergast me that people put up with. And Windows users can easily say the same thing about most Linux variants.
- proactivesvcs 6y ago
  IMO it's perfectly valid criticism in its lambasting of the bug itself as well as its vintage. When I want to upload a screenshot, photo or video to an email, an IM, a web page etc., I really do not want to send the wrong one.
  - city41 6y ago
    I can agree with that. But I could say that about things in Windows and MacOS too. It's not like Gnome is unique in this regard. In some regards Linux is more advanced than Windows or MacOS, does that mean Windows and MacOS users are "used to mediocrity" as the article says? As for not wanting to upload the wrong one, doesn't the file picker show a preview of the selected file? Sure, not as good as thumbnails, but it should be enough to avoid the problem.
    - proactivesvcs 6y ago
      I do say things like that about Windows too, and I back anyone who writes a blogpost excoriating Microsoft for their longstanding faults. As a long-time Windows user I can definitely say I am used to mediocrity in many areas. Thankfully no longer on a daily basis :-) Some of the GTK filepickers on my system do show previews (e.g. Signal) but others do not (Mozilla - since fixed by the incantations needed to have them use KDE's).
  - p1necone 6y ago
    It absolutely is valid criticism. It was more the snarky "and therefore commercial software is better than free software" stuff that rubbed me the wrong way.
    - proactivesvcs 6y ago
      At the risk of splitting hairs, to me it reads more that the author is slating free software (or perhaps the only available free software), rather than praising commercial software. I think I read the article as a bit of a "stream of consciousness rant" and often give the spewers of such words a bit of leeway for interpretation. I've written in a state of mind of frustration and later thought "Yeah you did go a bit over the top there, but it's a reflection of your state of mind at the time".
proactivesvcs 6y ago
I can speak for Windows and say absolutely, yes. With each major version Microsoft try a new method of abstracting away the file system from the user in File Explorer and it just makes it less intuitive. One example being: the new "add recent places" feature just fills the navigation pane with garbage from system/program files areas. There are still some keyboard navigation issues with File Explorer which can sometimes make it act in unreliable ways, there is a strange bug with system tray context menus still to this day and don't even get me started on the dumpster fire that is Windows 10's entire Start Menu design and implementation.

saagarjha 6y ago

The point is that there are fewer because people actually have to use that UI that can't figure out workarounds.

ncmncm 6y ago

There are overwhelmingly many such contempties in Apple and MS systems. Not more, but different and disabling. Apple and MS don't try to present the illusion that what they build is for your benefit. People know they are Big Corporations that care less-than-nothing for you or me, or our wants or needs, and that it is only by luck when we can get them to do anything at all. It is the imagined promise that Free Software is done for our benefit that lends us the delusion that things should be the way we want them. In fact, Free Software things are much more likely to actually work, in the way that somebody wants, than Apple's or MS's. Just, not you. In the case of Apple and MS, there is typically no living individual who wants it to do what it does, but changing it would require initiative whose attempt at exercise would severely punished.

city41 6y ago

Frankly I find the whole blog post silly. All OSes/software have trade offs. It's just a question of what is important to you. I'm primarily an Ubuntu user but I have one Windows machine. There are things in Windows that just flabbergast me that people put up with. And Windows users can easily say the same thing about most Linux variants.

proactivesvcs 6y ago
IMO it's perfectly valid criticism in its lambasting of the bug itself as well as its vintage. When I want to upload a screenshot, photo or video to an email, an IM, a web page etc., I really do not want to send the wrong one.
- city41 6y ago
  I can agree with that. But I could say that about things in Windows and MacOS too. It's not like Gnome is unique in this regard. In some regards Linux is more advanced than Windows or MacOS, does that mean Windows and MacOS users are "used to mediocrity" as the article says? As for not wanting to upload the wrong one, doesn't the file picker show a preview of the selected file? Sure, not as good as thumbnails, but it should be enough to avoid the problem.
  - proactivesvcs 6y ago
    I do say things like that about Windows too, and I back anyone who writes a blogpost excoriating Microsoft for their longstanding faults. As a long-time Windows user I can definitely say I am used to mediocrity in many areas. Thankfully no longer on a daily basis :-) Some of the GTK filepickers on my system do show previews (e.g. Signal) but others do not (Mozilla - since fixed by the incantations needed to have them use KDE's).
- p1necone 6y ago
  It absolutely is valid criticism. It was more the snarky "and therefore commercial software is better than free software" stuff that rubbed me the wrong way.
  - proactivesvcs 6y ago
    At the risk of splitting hairs, to me it reads more that the author is slating free software (or perhaps the only available free software), rather than praising commercial software. I think I read the article as a bit of a "stream of consciousness rant" and often give the spewers of such words a bit of leeway for interpretation. I've written in a state of mind of frustration and later thought "Yeah you did go a bit over the top there, but it's a reflection of your state of mind at the time".

proactivesvcs 6y ago

I can speak for Windows and say absolutely, yes. With each major version Microsoft try a new method of abstracting away the file system from the user in File Explorer and it just makes it less intuitive. One example being: the new "add recent places" feature just fills the navigation pane with garbage from system/program files areas. There are still some keyboard navigation issues with File Explorer which can sometimes make it act in unreliable ways, there is a strange bug with system tray context menus still to this day and don't even get me started on the dumpster fire that is Windows 10's entire Start Menu design and implementation.