[ale] Wabi 3.0 - SoftWin 95

Dan Newcombe newcombe at mordor.clayton.edu
Mon Jul 14 09:21:44 EDT 1997


>> >According to the person I chatted with, they consider each e-mail to
>> >represent 100 potential users.
>> >
>> >I've sent mine,
>I sent one too.  But mine said I don't want the interface.  Why take 
>a beautiful OS like Linux and pile crap on it.  Doesn't make much 
>sense to me.

Yeah - that X interface is just wonderful.  Why have a decent interface
when every program can go and reinvent the wheel?  Who cares if it makes
the OS and windowing system more difficult to learn...you have freedom.

Yeah - Linux may be a beautiful OS most of the time, but face it - X
sucks.  Actually, X itself kicks ass...but the way X has been done bites.
The fact that there is no common user interface is bad.  Oh yeah, I know -
method not policy, but that can only go so far.  You explain to someone
why in one app I have to use the middle mouse button to drag a scrollbar
and in another the right.

And the "standard" interface (MOTIF) is a the ugliest thing I've ever
seen. 

True - we don't need the bloat that win95/NT has...but you have to admit
the common interface is better than almost anything that X has to offer.
The fact I can do something like OpenFileDialog in a program and know that
each program I do that in, I will get a fully functional file-open dialog
is a lot better than "Well, do I want to just support command line options
so I don't have to write a file open dialog?"

Putting a well-known, semi-decent, CONSISTENT interface on Linux does make
sense.  I'd love to be able to save files to my desktop, have a graphical
file browser, etc... 

--
Dan Newcombe                                      newcombe at mordor.clayton.edu
"The fool who escaped from paradise will look over his shoulders and cry...So
I'll hold my peace forever when you wear your bridal gown."   -Marillion






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