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Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

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Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#151
post #129
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox for iOS supports keyword and %s url scheme for search engines. I am not sure why extensions are needed in desktop. You can change default search engine, but you cannot add extra search engines in Safari without building your own extension (and paying apple for it)

> Firefox for iOS supports keyword and %s url scheme for search engines. I am not sure why extensions are needed in desktop. So does Firefox desktop...? Extensions aren't needed, just right click on a search field and add it. You can customise placeholders and keywords too

It just creates messy bookmarks. Greatest UX for search...

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#152
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For Firefox Desktop, just create a bookmark with your search URL and assign a keyword to it, e.g. URL: https://api.hackertarget.com/geoip/?q=%s Keyword: @geoip ...then Alt+D and queue off the keyword directly from address bar.

Okay, it is possible. But firefox UX is the greatest. You must use bookmarks to config search. And now I have many nonsense bookmarks because I want to use them as search

The UI is weird, that said, the feature goes back 20 years, see e.g. http://johnbokma.com/firefox/keymarks-explained/comments.htm... I wonder if it existed all the way back in a version of Netscape Navigator?

On Firefox Android, you can also just go to into settings, search, manage search engines, + add search engine. So, basically, exactly where you would expect it.

I think on desktop it's just as easy? Can't you just right click on most submit forms?

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#153
post #26

Windows just keeps getting weirder. There's this regrettable dichotomy between (1) a rock solid OS core with great features like Hyper-V, PowerShell and exceptional back-compat, and (2) a crap, sluggish, inconsistent UI slapped on top, laden with ads, "Rewards" Points and tracking.

WSL2, power toys and hands down the best window management of any OS, I hate working on my MBP just due to the difficulty of managing different windows and aligning them on the same desktop.

BetterSnapTool is great for this. Check it out.

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Rectangle for this purpose.

If you have it already, another alternative is to use BetterTouchTool and set it to override the behavior of the green corner button. For me it works just like Windows where there’s “minimize” on the yellow button and “maximize” on the green. I still use gestures like exposé but never have to worry about switching desktops or getting stuck in full screen.

+1 to BTT. I also love how they have a (fully disable-able) drag to split, similar to Windows' hot edges

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#155
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The second all my games are fully compatible with Linux natively, I'm ditching that horrible "does it all, but poorly" corporation.

> The second all my games are fully compatible with Linux natively, I'm ditching I've been seeing this sentiment since 2001 at least. No one ever follows through; if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats. You will, whether you consciously realise it or not, switch to playing windows exclusive games the minute all your games run on Linux, hence you will never switch.

I think we are at an interesting reflection point. Desktop Linux is to the point where it does pass the grandma/cousin tests for usability/install. Games were one of the big items from a compatibility perspective. Combine that with Windows 11 not working on older, viable hardware... 2025 is going to be interesting.

Those of us who used it on desktop Linux helped drive the handheld, which is really accelerating compatibility. When Windows 10 hits EOL, folks got to go somewhere - and many are not going to toss out their hardware for new.

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#156
post #151
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Firefox for iOS supports keyword and %s url scheme for search engines. I am not sure why extensions are needed in desktop. So does Firefox desktop...? Extensions aren't needed, just right click on a search field and add it. You can customise placeholders and keywords too

It just creates messy bookmarks. Greatest UX for search...

https://superuser.com/questions/7327/how-to-add-a-custom-sea...

The resulting search shows up in the search UI, whether you have firefox configured for a seperate search bar or have their default of the address bar also being the search bar. This is the same as the extension method.

If your complaint is that they also show up in bookmarks, then ehh, whatever. Most people either don't use bookmarks or have a giant dumping pile. If you're one of the 1% that organizes them, just put all your search bookmarks in their own folder.

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WSL2, power toys and hands down the best window management of any OS, I hate working on my MBP just due to the difficulty of managing different windows and aligning them on the same desktop.

Probably seems weird to you, but I've never got on with the Windows UI. There's too many things that steal focus. I've been XFCE for too many years now, but it doesn't change significantly that I find I have to invest time learning what's changed. There used to be a 'tile windows' since windows 2.0 or something like that, but it did just that, splatted the windows to take up all the space. One thing I like about X11…

you can't slide the top of the window off the screen

You can use "move" in the system menu. Once activated, the arrow keys in the keyboard will move the window outside the desktop window, not sure if you can do it using the mouse somehow.

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#158
post #77
post #26

Windows just keeps getting weirder. There's this regrettable dichotomy between (1) a rock solid OS core with great features like Hyper-V, PowerShell and exceptional back-compat, and (2) a crap, sluggish, inconsistent UI slapped on top, laden with ads, "Rewards" Points and tracking.

I don't know, Windows 11 came with many things I've wanted for years: - notepad with tabs - shell UI with tabs, VT-100 support and ability to replace the shell - Paint.net with AI - even Windbg has massively improved

With five tabs open in Notepad, since they are placed in the titlebar, there remains only about 1 cm of titlebar by which I can grab the window to drag it around. This area is distinguished only by a short vertical pale grey line like a pipe character, because it's not cool to have a border around any interface element any more apparently. So I often drag a tab off the window by mistake and have to put it back and hunt for the small part that's actually the titlebar.

Then there's the way they put search into a fixed floating window, which when you search upward sits on top of the search result, obscuring it.

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#159
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably seems weird to you, but I've never got on with the Windows UI. There's too many things that steal focus. I've been XFCE for too many years now, but it doesn't change significantly that I find I have to invest time learning what's changed. There used to be a 'tile windows' since windows 2.0 or something like that, but it did just that, splatted the windows to take up all the space. One thing I like about X11…

you can't slide the top of the window off the screen You can use "move" in the system menu. Once activated, the arrow keys in the keyboard will move the window outside the desktop window, not sure if you can do it using the mouse somehow.

Interesting, I didn't know that, I think I'll stick to alt-moving, it's been very convenient so far!

Re: Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice

#160
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

power toys is buggy. It has had this bug that shows on non-US keyboard layouts, and of course it will never be fixed because who cares about non-US keyboard layouts? Meanwhile on KDE I have an easy option to swap caps lock and ctrl, without having to install some weird .exe file off github.

Powertoys got a significant update for foreign users just 4 days ago. https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases

I'm subscribed to the issue. I'd have gotten an email if it was fixed.
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