JDS - Dumbed down and dumber

Question

Re: JDS on Solaris 10
Summary: Dumbed down does not mean easier.
I don't think I have ever, in 15 years as a Sun customer,
hated anything as intensely as I hate the Java desktop!
Hate it, hate it hate it hate it!
1) Launch menu - cryptic names for things eg. 'Web Browser'
rather than 'Mozilla'. It is a good idea to know the name
of the program you are using. Are people too stupid to deal with
the possibilty that there might be more than one
type of browser, or file viewer, or word processor etc?
Call programs by their names, and organize them into tree-structured
hierarchical menus, with help tips to elaborate on what they
are. Also, what if we have several versions of the same
program on the system?
2) Nautilus - Defaults to 'Documents' directory. Stupid, retarded, one
of the most idiotic Windows concepts ever to infect Unix.
Tells user that they
should dump all their files in a 'Documents' folder. What they
should do is to organize their files by topic in a tree-structured
directory, starting with the Home directory. There is no
way to disable this "feature".
One other thing - why can't Nautilus have an option
such that if there isn't an action associated with
a file, you can have it default to open in a text
editor? The CDE file manager does this easily enough.
3)gnome terminal - Should default to 'Backspace' and 'Delete' as
delete characters, not some silly control character.
4) Evolution - Not well integrated into user's account.
     - Can't drag messages into Nautilus
     - Can't drag messages into Local folders higher than 'Mail'
     eg. some subdirectory not in within Mail     
     - can't save just the text part of the message
     - can't open saved mail files except in Mail directory
The CDE mailer does all of these things. It appears that
progress means "loss of functionality".
5) Launch menu - pretty sparse, with respect to applications.
User has no way to add menus and submenus to the Launch menu
as they do in GNOME. Only the Applications and Preferences
menus can be changed. Instead of hiding a potential wealth
of applications in an "Applications" menu, the main
categories should be right in the Launch menu. One possible
example of menus appearing in the Launch menu:
Accessories
Documentation
File Browsers
Games
Graphics
Internet
Multimedia
Office
Other
Spreadsheets
System
Word Processing
Isn't that intuitive? You can find programs by what they do.
There are many possible variations, if only the menu could
be customized.
6) Dumbing down of StarOffice. SO launches with a "Templates and Doucments"
window, that shows the files listed in the most recently-visited
directory, but doesn't give any clue as to which directory
that is (eg. no path. Okay, it tells the name of the current directory,
but without the larger context of the path, that is only partly
useful. What's wrong with the full path? Also, why only show the names in
the menus, and not the dates and sizes of files? That information
can often help indicate contents.
The people who decided these standards should be fired. I'm not
being facetious. I don't want people who think like that
(what, were they hired from Apple?) working for Sun and dumbing
down Sun's products from one generation to the next. If I wanted
a system designed for idiots I'd use Windows-XP. Sun can't
win by being exactly like Microsoft. Sun must offer a DIFFERENT
and BETTER product.

Answer 1

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>wew64 wrote on Sat, 10 September 2005 18:48</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
brian, I >recommend you stick to your Unix command prompt.
>Then when you want something, you'll be stuck in your little home
>directory, and you'll only be able to type commands of programs you
>know.
>Example: if you want a web browser, you'll have to type in mozzilla, or
>konqueror, or firefox, Web browser will not work any more, intuitive
>enough??
>Hows that for simple.
One of the great things about modern Unices is the ability to
quickly switch back and forth between command line and
GUI. However, especially when bringing in new users who
have never used anything but Windows, you need to have a
good GUI.
I routinely introduce students in my university genetics
courses to Unix. We do all of our bioinformatics on
Unix, and the last thing I want to have to do is
to give them an environment that is less powerful than
Windows.
In our research work in genetics and bioinformatics,
again, we need a fully-featured desktop. The command
line is sometimes ideal, but other times more ackward
than the GUI.
>If you don't know how to change/rearrange/organize menu startup
> items, documents, etc... Maybe your just too smart for your own good.
>If you were a Unix/Linux administrator, you would know how to add
>profiles for users, then you could change all those little pee-ons you talk
>about.
In fact, I do know how to change menus in GNOME, which
is no simple task. I do not have root permissions on our
campus system, so changes would have do be done
using vfolders, which as I've pointed out, has many limitations.
As well, I don't relish the mess involved in getting new users
to each fix their menus.
The issue is not that there aren't workarounds, but rather,
that I consider Sun to be the best computing platform on
the planet, which I why I have had Solaris exclusively on
my desktop since 1990. Therefore, a trend toward dumbing
down what has up to now been a great system is very
troubling to me. Sun should be leading the way in providing
power without sacrificing useablilty.
>I also think you should learn more about a product before hackin it like
>that.
I speak from experience using Sunview, Open Windows, CDE,
KDE, Red Hat's GNOME, Java Desktop, not to mention Windows XP
and limited Aqua.
Currently, the only "computer" in my office is a SunRay. I don't
use Windows for anything. Everything from routine office
tasks to DNA sequence analysis to programming
is done on the SunRay.
The convenience of not having to switch back and forth
among several Windows boxes for different things is
priceless.
My comments, then, are from the perspective of someone who routinely
does real-world work in the Unix environment.
>This is just me blabbin away, as I do not like to hear negative comments >about JDS.
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