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Windows 10, From a Linux User's Perspective
Phoronix features today a review of Windows 10 that's a little different from most you might read, because it's specifically from the point of view of an admin who uses both Windows and Linux daily, rather than concentrating only on the UI of Windows qua Windows. Reviewer Eric Griffith finds some annoyances (giant start menu even when edited to contain fewer items, complicated process if you want a truly clean install), but also some good things, like improved responsiveness ("feels much more responsive than even my Gnome and KDE installations under Fedora") and an appropriately straightforward implementation of virtual workspaces.
Overall? Windows 10 is largely an evolutionary upgrade over Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, rather than a revolutionary one. Honestly I think the only reason it will be declared as 'so good' is because Windows 8/8.1 were so bad. Sure, Microsoft has made some good changes under the surface-- the animations feel crisper, its relatively light on resources, battery life is good. There is nothing -wrong- with Windows 10 aside from the Privacy Policy.
If you're on Windows Vista, or Windows 8/8.1, then sure, upgrade. The system is refreshing to use, it's perfectly fine and definitely an upgrade. If you're on Windows 7 though? I'm not so sure. ...
Overall, there's really nothing to see here. It's not terrible, it's not even 'bad, it's just... okay. A quiet little upgrade.
A lot of actual Windows users thought that the UI in Windows 8 SUCKED. It's not just Linux users. Win8 was like Vista. The fact that there is even a Win 8.1 is an artifact of how badly genuine Windows users reacted to Win8.
Pretending that this is just the complaints of Linux users is extremely disingenuous.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
"There is nothing -wrong- with Windows 10 aside from the Privacy Policy."
And apart from that, how did you enjoy the play Mrs. Lincoln!!!!
The UI is truly awful with the random flat, single mono-colored tiles and windows. As mentioned in the article, there really is no benefit to upgrading from Windows 7. If games start to make good use of Direct X 12 there might be a reason to switch, but it really isn't an upgrade in most respects.
A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
“Overall, there's really nothing to see here. It's not terrible, it's not even 'bad, it's just... okay. A quiet little upgrade.”
Cue choir music and white spotlight! This is the way it should be! I've often observed, people use applications not the OS. The OS should make it easy, simple, fast, etc. for people to use their applications in the way that they want. No more, no less. When the OS gets in the way, it is a fail. The best, and best selling, versions of Windows were the ones that moved closer to this principle than their predecessors.
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
My big hope is that this version's Environment Variable easter egg is buried under a few more layers of indirection.
With each new version, one must spend several extra minutes figuring out where the Double Secret Super Duper Advanced Don't Try This At Home Brutal Power User Steel Cage Death Match Of Dh00m dialog is located, merely to set the PATH.
You're kidding, right?
Hit the Windows key, type the first couple letters of "environment" (on my machine "env" is enough) and hit down arrow a few times to select "Edit the system environment variables" (or "for your account", whichever tickles your fancy). Hit Enter.
This has worked reliably ever since the search feature got built into the Start menu in Windows 7.
If remembering that PATH is under "environment variables" is too hard then searching for "path" will actually work just as well.
That's so true. That's also why I use a Mac, because Apple is not at all like Micros- Posted from a Mac mini. Get your own Mac mini today! -oft and will always leave me in control of my device.
Win + Break gets you to the link for 'Advanced system settings'. Works in at least win7, 8, 8.1, 10.
The one problem I encountered with Windows 10 is my Linux box could no longer print to the network printer. Sure enough, sharing had been disabled by the upgrade. But even when I re-enabled sharing of the printer, Linux couldn't print to it. Linux could find it. Linux could connect to it. But it would get stuck trying to spool the document and never show up in the print queue under Windows 10.
I opted for the obvious (and easy) solution of moving the printer to my Linux box, but not everyone can do that, especially with a truly shared printer in an office. Though, to be fair, print servers really should be running Linux in the first place. They're more reliable.
I couldn't believe how much crapware I had to disable with Windows 10, though, especially from the menu. WTF would I want an "XBox" account tile for when I don't own a gaming system of any kind, much less one susceptible to the "red ring of death"?
On the bright side, all of my commercial databases seem to run just fine. Even Cygwin hasn't given me grief yet.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Because that's intuitive.
Settings, even "advanced system settings" should be in the control-panel.
It's like Windows is following the Gnome crowd. "Let's hide configurations, because letting the user adjust the workspace to his work is confusing!"
*spit*
--
BMO
From TFA:
Windows 8 era Start Menu replacement apps like ClassicShell and Start8 seem to retained perfect compatibility with Windows 10
With all this need to install third-party addons to undo the crap that the vendor has put in, it's almost like using Firefox.
First, he complained about the download. I anticipated this problem, downloaded the ISO on Windows 7 with Microsoft’s stupid downloading program, and burned a DVD/USB. Problem solved. Also, you can buy Windows 10 OEM media in stores.
Then, he complained about the updater not having a clean install option. It’s not obvious, but there’s an option somewhere in the installer to “Keep nothing.” This does a clean install.
He did not complain about tying the Windows account to a Microsoft account. It’s possible to make a local account not connected to a Live.com, and it’s more obvious how to do so than in Windows 8.
Then, he complained about the hybrid Start menu. That can be resized.
Other than that, I guess the review was okay. I liked the part about the Hi-DPI experience.
Have a nice time.
Brilliant. Someone hand me a thesaurus and I'll find plenty of reasons why a search bar for finding your bearings in an unfamiliar environment is incredibly fucking stupid. You have to wonder who the genius at Microsoft is that thought this was such a wonderful idea. Joe User who hasn't ever heard of System Restore will not be able to find it when he searches for "fix my computer," but he'll certainly find the "I am from Microsoft and your computer is virus infected!" people promptly thanks to Bing(TM).
From win7 to win 8? /a/s in a command prompt
1. loss of custom window metric adjustments, font sizes, and colors
2. loss of classic desktop (eg win2k/xp)
3. forced color schemes (2:1 brightness ratio prevented darker configurations)
4. fullscreen start menu was distracting and irritating to use compared to a simple menu.
5. dwm locked window updates to 60hz (win8.0, was fixed later)
6. dwm broke a ton of easily fixed backward compatibility with programs that used ddraw to change modes etc.
7. metro apps were (and still are) useless on the desktop. ugly and clunky too
8. unified search was compromised, forcing users to go back to dir filename
9. This is a big one for me: removed technical information in stop errors. If stop errors prevent the system from booting, it makes diagnosis a lot harder.
10. two control panels. with windows 10, it's worse because some needed options for the desktop are in one while others are in the 'classic' vista era panel.
I've been a linux user since 1997, except for a couple of years when I ran OS X (10.5-10.6). I started out on Redhat (a couple of weeks with slackware before that, but too short a time to count), then went to OpenSuse after the second Fedora release and migrated to Linux Mint 17.1 because I found too many annoying bugs in the most recent release of OpenSuse. I'm strictly a desktop user and was waiting for the rise of the Linux desktop like everyone else, but always kept a version of Windows on dual boot because A. It usually came with the machine and B. "just in case".
Yesterday, I installed Grub Customizer and switched my default boot to Windows 10. It is, to me, the best version of Windows they've managed to come out with. I happen to love the start menu. I did away with all my icons I normally put on the desktop and, instead, they reside in the start menu. The privacy issues seem to be no better nor worse than you get from Apple, but the OS seems to finally be as good as what you'd get from Apple.
I have to say... I've gotten sick, over the years, of Linux being treated like the red-headed stepchild when it comes to drivers, software and websites. But, just as importantly, I've grown sick of the bugs that continually creep up in the desktop experience. Dilbert stops showing up on the KDE comic applet....search all around...no fixes seem to work....gotta live with it. Can't find an mp3 player that really seems to work, catalog my library, manage the playlists and mp3s on my samsung s3 etc. without hanging or outright crashing... It's the bugs like that which seem to really be in your face on a near daily basis....and they don't seem to be fixed. It's much more exciting to add features than hunt down bugs. I understand that. Some will say that, if I don't like the bugs, then fix them myself. But, I don't want an OS I have to learn to code and help out projects just to make something I can use.... I'm a single parent raising a 7 year old. I just want something I can use and that fits my needs....
Linux Mint has been, by far, the most polished and professional desktop experience I've had in a while. That could be because they've stayed with the same release of Ubuntu underlying it for the last couple of releases. Whatever the reason, I've still found a more pleasing desktop experience in Windows 10.
I'm not sure how well known it is but there is "God Mode" for Win 7, 8, and 10. To get God Mode you create a folder on the desktop and rename it as described below:
1. Go to the Desktop
2. Right-click and select New Folder.
3. Right-click on the New Folder and select Rename.
4. Change the name of the folder [just copy & paste the following string]: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
5. Open the folder and you will find every setting/utility under the sun organized into a sensible menu that you can browse through without knowing what name to type into a search bar.
I do most of my work on Linux, but have to use windows occasionally. Last year I upgraded my computer for the first time in like 10 years, and decided to skip 7 and go to 8.1 for the Windows booting. So, OK, I don't use it a lot - but after installing classic shell and having it boot straight to the desktop, I don't see what all the whining is about. Every time I upgrade or install Linux, I have to customize it to my liking, too, so it's a bit annoying when I hear that as a complaint from Linux users about windows. I'm glad I get to mostly use Linux, but I didn't see what all the fuss was about - plus it had better support for my ssd and, yes, it seems to run better/be more responsive than Windows 7 or XP.
I've heard a couple of legitimate complaints from power users, but by and large what I see is a bunch of people essentially complaining it's not exactly like it was before.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
You missed a few biggies. ... menu, when it was one of the most used features. Some apps have preferences in the up swipe app menu, others have them in the right swipe system menu.
11. Requiring mouse users to use invisible gestures to accomplish some tasks, and ignoring inherent usability differences between tablet users and desktop users.
12. The schizophrenic split between Metro and the desktop extended far beyond the two control panels. Every app remained different.
13. Whatever human interface guidelines were used for Metro were 'fail'. Metro apps still have no consistency in how you access settings or access other features. Mail hides the "sync" button behind a three
And 10 is no picnic of usability, either. They've tried to unify Metro and Windows, but it's still awkward feeling. Some Metro apps are hard coded to expect the whole screen, not some reduced drawing area shortened by a task bar. The Metro division bar is capricious and untrustworthy. The start menu still covers the entire screen with a handful of tiles; the giant flat list of apps is still hiding and is still lacking folders, and search only helps if you remember the name of an app, not just the task it does. (Example: searching for 'home' does not identify "Grasshopper", a home automation app.) 10 may be more usable than 8, but it's still a whole shit-ton worse than Windows 7.
The problem is that while Metro may have been a good idea on its own, it was not a good idea to mix it with Windows. And Microsoft knew they wouldn't sell 10 copies of a Metro-only platform (but they tried anyway, unfortunately for the 8 people who bought RT) all because some idiot Monkey-Boy deluded himself into believing millions of people were just waiting for Microsoft to save the day with Windows Phone so they could throw away their awful iPhones.
John
11. Much of the UI became non-discoverable. I'm not sure if the default hiding of menu bars came with 8 or 7, but it meant that unless you knew that the alt button was magic you were unable to access the menus. Similarly, there was no discoverable way of exiting the Metro apps that would occasionally pop up when you accidentally hit one of the magic key combinations - alt-F4 works, but unless you know that that's a way to quit Windows apps, you're stuck.
I didn't realise how truly bad the UI was until my mother bought a new machine that came with Windows 8 just before I visited the Christmas before last. She's been using Windows since 3.1 and, though she's not exactly an expert, she's got more than a passing familiarity with the OS. Lots of things just left her completely stuck. I've no idea where MS found the people that they put in their usability testing lab, but they don't seem representative of users. When my girlfriend bought a new laptop, I persuaded her to buy one that came with a Windows 7 downgrade. It took her about two weeks before deciding that it was worth using, and she was someone who had managed to tolerate Vista for years. She seems pretty happy with 7 (though some parts of the UI suck: anyone know how to set up an ad-hoc WiFi network with Windows Vista, 7, or 8? The network config UIs are completely different in all three and I couldn't figure it out in any of them).
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Control/command-x/c/v for cut/copy/paste are discoverable and consistent: if you got to the edit menu of any application (visible by the default on non-braindead UIs and the starting point for finding any command), then you will see the icons next to it telling you what the shortcut is. Now that it's discovered, it's consistent everywhere. Except in terminals if you're using control instead of command, because terminals need control-c for interrupt and so break the good UI, but on a Mac it's the same in every single application including the terminal.
In contrast, most of the Windows-key-plus-modifier combinations can only be discovered by reading the documentation. There's nothing that a user is encouraged by the UI to click on that tells them about what these modifiers are (though I vaguely remember that Windows 98 had a 'show desktop' icon in the start bar that told you about windows-d in the tooltip).
Intuitive implies that you are meant to use your psychic powers or some innate knowledge to find how the UI works. Good UIs do not work that way, they make it easy for people to learn and then they allow the user to apply the knowledge everywhere. If someone complains about a UI not being intuitive, then it's a good hint that they don't know anything about HCI.
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