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Linux's Difficulty with Names

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the more-important-than-you-think dept.

JohnTyler writes "This article at XYZ Computing takes a look at Linux's strange naming practices. When compared to their Window's equivalents, the names of many Linux programs are difficult to recognize and even tougher to remember. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it is actually an important usability issue. Just think, if you had to do a bit of graphic design which would be easier to pick out of the menu, GIMP or Photoshop? Or if you wanted to play a song, Media Player or xine?" The article is a bit thin, but it raises an excellent point.

2 of 946 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Like most of the *NIX family . . . by MrBandersnatch · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Actually, one of the things Ive wanted to figure out with GIMP (just aint had the time) was if it was possible to call/access some of its image manipulation functions from the command line (e.g. resize 50 infile.jpg outfile.jpg to resize an image to 50% of its old size). I know its (GIMP) scriptable, I know there are libraries out there for image maniplation...Id just like to have otherways to access the programs functionality OTHER than via a GUI...

  2. Re:Cleverness vs Clarity by bersl2 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Cleverness vs. clarity has clear merit when it comes to software engineering. But with the software's name? That's a waste of energy.