Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fenestrae delenda est.
Omnia systema in tres partes divisa est... Fenestrae, Linos, Pomum
Lini*
My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
661–670 of 678 posts
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#662Earlier quoted context omitted.
You just use Mac or Linux without changing anything?
> You just use Mac or Linux without changing anything? Mac, no. It's almost as bad as windows in terms of having to chase perpetual change for no reason. Linux though? Absolutely. Nothing changes unless I want it to change. Here's an admittedly extreme, but very real example: I build my parents a simplified Linux desktop setup ca.1996 (neither had any computer experience so wanted to keep it very simple). Today ~28 y…
> Today ~28 years later, my remaining parent is using the exact same setup. The last thing you want to impose on a 95 year old with fading vision is an interface change. So it is exactly what it was in 1996. Through several hardware replacements, countless updates and even distro changes, it is still exactly the same.
Thats impressive and something I wouldn't expect to work. Are they running CDE or is there some other desktop environment that was around back then? What distribution are they using now? Do you have to do much configuration to keep the kernel up to date with an old DE?
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#663Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am exclusively a Linux user (mobile and desktop) but I gotta be fair: if updates upon installation are the main complaint... Pretty sure some vendors update phones in the store to avoid bothering the customer with it. Seems like a lot of effort to boot the full inventory's amount of phones every time there's a security patch only so people don't have to download a diff on first launch (edit: found it https://www.ma…
Which Linux phone and on what phone hardware?
Just a regular Samsung (S10e because it has a headphone jack; bought second hand to reduce e-waste), running Debian in userspace on the stock kernel because I didn't want to give up things like the camera 960fps slow motion feature. I like open source but I also like practical usability ^^'
The Debian "app" gives me access to apt and anything that has an ARM build, which is nearly everything. Sometimes I write code on it, like a PoC to brute force a numeric parking lot voucher was the most recent instance, but most commonly I use qalc (best calculator ever, also use it on desktop) and sshd to remotely access photos/Screenshots. It used to be more featureful and you could run things like wavemon and aircrack, but selinux restrictions have made that a thing of the past. Surely it's possible to adjust, but I haven't invested the time in finding out how yet
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#664Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your suggestion doesn't solve the problem. I want to know about updates without being forced to install them to avoid being badgered. AFAIK that's not possible.
> My Mac is constantly bugging me to install OS updates. Same with my iPad and my iPhone. Apple gives you no option to skip the updates. The only way to avoid the constant carping is to allow Apple to do the update automatically, which is not by any means having control of your own devices. I've re-read what you wrote several times, and I can't help but come to the same conclusion that the problem you're reporting is…
I think GP wants to have the notifications, and have the option to "skip and don't bother me again with this version", instead of having the same OS upgrade notification popping up every once a while.
It seems like a valid use case (except it goes against Apple's policy of encouraging people to upgrade), but awfully awkward in the context of disputing "(Mac) doesn't bother me for anything and lets me do what I want".
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#665People need to get over the in OS ads. They’re easily removable honestly. Personally I’ve never seen windows look this good in years. The whole system shell looks really good and well designed these days. On top of that the included features like wsl2 and hyperv are great.
it's really not the ads that upset me, it's the remotely exploitable vulnerabilities that take Microsoft 3 years to fix that's kind of where I have a problem. I stopped using Microsoft products in like 1991 man sorry
I totally agree here. My point was more that I am more happy with the improvements to windows than I am annoyed with ads I can easily disable.
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#666Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You just use Mac or Linux without changing anything? Mac, no. It's almost as bad as windows in terms of having to chase perpetual change for no reason. Linux though? Absolutely. Nothing changes unless I want it to change. Here's an admittedly extreme, but very real example: I build my parents a simplified Linux desktop setup ca.1996 (neither had any computer experience so wanted to keep it very simple). Today ~28 y…
> Today ~28 years later, my remaining parent is using the exact same setup. The last thing you want to impose on a 95 year old with fading vision is an interface change. So it is exactly what it was in 1996. Through several hardware replacements, countless updates and even distro changes, it is still exactly the same. Thats impressive and something I wouldn't expect to work. Are they running CDE or is there some othe…
fvwm, customized to be basically a kiosk-like desktop with a few large buttons for different use cases (each one a virtual screen).
Currently on debian, don't remember which distros I used initially. Probably started on slackware.
For email, mutt & emacs. Although both are heavily customized to have simple and minimal commands available, so a regular mutt or emacs user would be a bit lost.
I can't stress enough the power of customizable software! The ones on list list (fvwm, mutt, emacs) are prime examples of excellence on this front.
There is nothing worse than "opinionated" software that doesn't allow extensive customization. Even worse, when they change interfaces every time a new PM joins the company. For older people, any change in interface is a huge setback. There is unappreciated value in software than can be fully customized and then left alone.
The one and only change I made to the setup over the years was to remove the connect/disconnect icons for the (dialup) modem when I upgraded them to DSL and even that small change took a months before they stopped asking about it.
The most problematic part of this stack has been the browser, which I can't keep static and has changed a bunch of times in the last ~28 years. To the extent possible I configure the toolbar to be minimal. But the basic functionality of clicking on home button and back button hasn't really changed in the last three decades and that's basically all they need, so it's been manageable.
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#667Earlier quoted context omitted.
But Microsoft is subsidising cost of the immense infra and development cost by showing you ads in excahnge for a cheaper license.
I'm paying around $200 bucks for a Windows 11 Pro license, you bet your ass I am not expecting ads after paying two motherfucking Franklins.
Why? I’ve found practically any license key from any old pc as far back as win7 will enable win11 pro. Am I missing something here? Did you actually buy a $200 win11 license? If so yeah that's a pretty fair complaint.
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#668I can't even remove 'Recommended' from the start menu, not even on a Pro for Workstations. Every time I search on the start menu there is a web search, impossible to turn off. How is that acceptable? I install Edge Beta to test something, and the I uninstall it. All of the sudden my search provider in my normal Edge is reset. And the nagging everywhere. No I don't want 'back-up' my files (OneDrive is not backup, it's…
I wish there was a registry key you could set that would make it impossible for Microsoft to put up any kind of modal UI element whatsoever.
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#669Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe I was too quick to judge based on the splash screen. Pop quiz: you click on a chrome window, then a terminal window A, then a different terminal window B. Does pressing alt-tab-tab take you back to the exact same chrome window? The idea is that it’s a history-based list of active windows. So each time you press tab while holding alt, it goes one further into history. It’s immensely helpful for maintaining conte…
This is how alt-tabbing works on modern Windows as well, so I'm not sure why you've singled out XP. It wasn't the earliest one to implement it either - I'm pretty sure 2000 did it. I don't have my macOS device on hand right now, but I'm almost certain that the AltTab app replicates that behavior. Or, at the very least, it throws out the incredibly annoying obsession that macOS has on separating switching between appl…
After trying it out: Thank you so much zeppelin101 / tavavex! This app is perfect.
Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore
#670Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Dozens of obscure config files (each with a different syntax), stored in various random places in the filesystem, with the general expectation that every user should be able to run a terminal command once in a while to fix something. The good thing is that explanations is often a `man` command away, and the location of these files is often listed in the same place. Also general computing is an expert subject. You m…
But with the terminal you still have to learn commands, it's not as discoverable as the windows 95 environment. There you could do things as a noob by just looking around and after a while you could do things without even thinking. Every windows version after that has broken that flow in some way. In Linux I keep forgetting what file to edit to get what I want. I need to look up location and syntax for most things ev…
With help of codeLLM or shellLLM, that is no problem any more