While I'll grant you the 600s battery issues, I've never had any other problems with my 560, 600, 770, or T20. The T20 did start getting flaky after I dropped it and cracked the case, but even then it was only after I upgraded the memory (apparently the cracked case flexed the internals enough blue screen).
I used to use 7-zip as an alternative to WinZip, but as another poster has mentioned, the UI leaves a little to be desired. The third way between naggy WZ and unfinished 7Z is UltimateZip. There's a 3 second "ad" (really just a splash for the authoring company) when browsing zips, but you get explorer integration for free.
I wonder why Linux doesn't have a database/hashtable of the scattered config files on the system. Seems like you get the benefits of the registry (a single directory for accessing info) without its pitfalls (see posts further on).
This could also lead to a more (well, Windows user) friendly program management console. You would never have to wonder where the programs you installed ended up, or how to remove them. All this information, again, could be stored in a human readable format.
Your comment is spot on, but I'd suggest that Java for building usuable desktop apps is not as unrealistic as it once was, considering the advent of SWT . At least on Windows, SWT desktop apps run like native, though they still have the liability of larger footprint (and a correspondingly longer startup time).
Save for the GUI development bits (which I don't use at work at all), I don't see where VS.Net environment has an edge over Eclipse/Java. Without a doubt, Eclipse has improved my productivity by lots (I'm not willing to put a number on it) by providing all of the helps VS.Net provides.
Yes, I am an Eclipse fanboy.
http://www.zclipse.org
I have the answer to the UI "problem" in OSS: watch a user. I know within 1 minute whether a GUI is any good, and happily voice my concerns when the software underneath is useful enough to make it worthwhile. The fundamental thing is, unless you're dealing with technical software, you should never have to consult a manual to get at the core (say 70 percent) functionality of the program. I will call this the "70 percent solution".
You're obviously referring to the cathedral and bazaar (which I haven't read), but his Art of Unix Programming is one of the best books on programming that I've read. Not just for its solid and tested ideas, but also because it's written with an honest and engagin style.
I don't know ESR the man, but I respect him as an engineer (for lack of better word). And for that matter, I didn't find his Open Letter all that inflammatory--he makes a case for Sun to open Java with only a minimum of drama (the bit about RedHat share piece). As for his position as a leader, the fact that Sun responded suggests he possesses some influence.
I completely agree. The rivalry between MS and Linux is certainly fun to read about, and any corporate adoption will likely help to push innovation, but Linux can't fail in the same way as commercial software. If Linux was a complete mismatch for the rest of the world, it wouldn't change my attitude or usage.
Anyway, if it takes M$ this long to fix things, then their products suck.
Given the enormous impact of patches in Windows (because of the size and diversity of its userbase), three months seems an almost reasonable amount of time for development and QA Testing. The only thing that could be worse the getting a virus would be compounding the problem (or creating a new one) through a faulty "fix".
Re. #2: Right on brother! I don't know how many times I've been browsing the Windows File Explorer and accidentally dragged and dropped files or folders. I used to search in a panic for the destination folder (sometimes its not obvious since I wasn't paying attention when selecting anyway), but ctrl-z (undo) will usually fix things.
Um.... sure. But the point of any process (and maybe XP in particular) is to elevate the efficiency of all developers on a project to some acceptable minimum. It's trivial to say, "given enough time and talent anything can be done right." What's tough is guaranteeing quality under tight constraints with a team with different abilities.
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While I'll grant you the 600s battery issues, I've never had any other problems with my 560, 600, 770, or T20. The T20 did start getting flaky after I dropped it and cracked the case, but even then it was only after I upgraded the memory (apparently the cracked case flexed the internals enough blue screen).
Might as well get on with the rest of the list:
I've further comment on my wiki
Todd
I wonder why Linux doesn't have a database/hashtable of the scattered config files on the system. Seems like you get the benefits of the registry (a single directory for accessing info) without its pitfalls (see posts further on).
This could also lead to a more (well, Windows user) friendly program management console. You would never have to wonder where the programs you installed ended up, or how to remove them. All this information, again, could be stored in a human readable format.
Your comment is spot on, but I'd suggest that Java for building usuable desktop apps is not as unrealistic as it once was, considering the advent of SWT . At least on Windows, SWT desktop apps run like native, though they still have the liability of larger footprint (and a correspondingly longer startup time).
Save for the GUI development bits (which I don't use at work at all), I don't see where VS.Net environment has an edge over Eclipse/Java. Without a doubt, Eclipse has improved my productivity by lots (I'm not willing to put a number on it) by providing all of the helps VS.Net provides.
Yes, I am an Eclipse fanboy.
http://www.zclipse.org
I have the answer to the UI "problem" in OSS: watch a user. I know within 1 minute whether a GUI is any good, and happily voice my concerns when the software underneath is useful enough to make it worthwhile. The fundamental thing is, unless you're dealing with technical software, you should never have to consult a manual to get at the core (say 70 percent) functionality of the program. I will call this the "70 percent solution".
I don't know ESR the man, but I respect him as an engineer (for lack of better word). And for that matter, I didn't find his Open Letter all that inflammatory--he makes a case for Sun to open Java with only a minimum of drama (the bit about RedHat share piece). As for his position as a leader, the fact that Sun responded suggests he possesses some influence.
I completely agree. The rivalry between MS and Linux is certainly fun to read about, and any corporate adoption will likely help to push innovation, but Linux can't fail in the same way as commercial software. If Linux was a complete mismatch for the rest of the world, it wouldn't change my attitude or usage.
Given the enormous impact of patches in Windows (because of the size and diversity of its userbase), three months seems an almost reasonable amount of time for development and QA Testing. The only thing that could be worse the getting a virus would be compounding the problem (or creating a new one) through a faulty "fix".
Re. #2: Right on brother! I don't know how many times I've been browsing the Windows File Explorer and accidentally dragged and dropped files or folders. I used to search in a panic for the destination folder (sometimes its not obvious since I wasn't paying attention when selecting anyway), but ctrl-z (undo) will usually fix things.
Correctable or not, it's incredibly annoying.
In short, GUIs are great browsing, when you don't know exactly where you are/want to go, the commandline is better when you know what you want to do.
Um.... sure. But the point of any process (and maybe XP in particular) is to elevate the efficiency of all developers on a project to some acceptable minimum. It's trivial to say, "given enough time and talent anything can be done right." What's tough is guaranteeing quality under tight constraints with a team with different abilities.