Thread

1. fedeb95 · 1790088079 · focus · HN ↗

   I have been a long time Android fan because of the tinkering you could do more easily than Apple. Then I started appreciating some of the design decisions behind especially iPhone, and it's been almost 7 years of iPhone usage.

   Recently I am starting to question some of the design decisions. Most native apps are bloated with functionalities, most of the time useless. Ads pop up everywhere, even before persistence; iCloud and backups are clearly designed to make you pay, the free space is useless.

   I am not that sure my next phone will be an iPhone.

   I have tried a recent Mac, and the system isn't intuitive at all. The first time I used GNOME, it was a breeze. Not the same with the MacBook system.

   1. ndiddy · 1790089838 · focus · HN ↗

      > I have tried a recent Mac, and the system isn't intuitive at all. The first time I used GNOME, it was a breeze. Not the same with the MacBook system.

      I guess it depends on what you're used to? The last time I tried using GNOME, I found it very unintuitive. I ran into stuff like:

      - Why don't windows have maximize and minimize buttons?

      - Why do I have to go to a separate screen to un-minimize a window?

      - Why does launching software require going through the GNOME equivalent of the Windows 8 start screen?

      - Why can't I make the trackpad scroll speed slower?

      - Why don't I have any system tray icons?

      - Why do the extensions I installed to work around some of the above problems (some of which have millions of downloads yet haven't been added as settings) break after every GNOME update?

      1. jlarocco · 1790092576 · focus · HN ↗

         Something to keep in mind is that you don't have to use GNOME. There are a ton of window managers that run on Linux, and you can find one that works better for you.

         There's not much choice on Mac unless you install Linux on it.

         1. SoftTalker · 1790095701 · focus · HN ↗

            It's linux, you can do everything in the terminal. I've never understood what purpose a "desktop" serves.

            Want to start Firefox? type "fir<tab>" in your terminal and hit enter.

            Want to see your files? Type "ls" and hit enter. Learn just a tiny bit about pipes, wildcards, and utilities and you can leave those mouse-pushers in the dust.

            1. nkrisc · 1790100082 · focus · HN ↗

               > Learn just a tiny bit about pipes, wildcards, and utilities

               Or I could use a desktop on expend my limited mental energy on things more relevant to me. It’s far easier for me to remember things in a visual or spatial manner.

               1. aquariusDue · 1790122804 · focus · HN ↗

                  These days I can say the same, I used to enjoy trying to minimize my mouse usage and fiddling with tiling window managers but now I just can't be bothered.

                  And the weird thing is that the type of mental effort required is not even a useful one per se, it's more like a strain (to me) than something that makes me sharper.

                  Still some things are easier in a GUI while others in a CLI, just depends on their nature and how often do you have to engage with them. But after a while navigating windows by Alt+Tab (Alt+`) or the mouse is fine really. I don't care to reach for Super+PgDown/PgUp when I can move my mouse to the corner of the screen and scroll to change the workspace.

                  1. nkrisc · 1790162305 · focus · HN ↗

                     That’s a good way of putting it. CLI skills are specialized skills that I’m not going to use for anything else, whereas using a desktop environment is re-using skills I already have for other purposes.

                     Even when I do write code, I spend more time thinking about the code than actually writing so losing time to using my mouse doesn’t matter.

            2. card_zero · 1790102272 · focus · HN ↗

               If I want to start a program I can click its icon in the taskbar, if I want to see my files I can click the file manager in the taskbar, and since these actions are done with the mouse I can simultaneously lie back in bed while eating trifle with a long spoon.
            3. jlarocco · 1790108146 · focus · HN ↗

               I don't see what point you're trying to make. Those two examples work identically in the OSX terminal.

               1. mahboi · 1790145668 · focus · HN ↗

                  You gotta add firefox to your PATH first, but yeah, this isn't what the terminal is useful for.
            4. sapphicsnail · 1790108195 · focus · HN ↗

               Do you adjust audio settings in the terminal? I've been moving away from using my mouse but anything related to audio or display settings intimidates me.
            5. mahboi · 1790134147 · focus · HN ↗

               You can't use Firefox in the terminal

               1. 1718627440 · 1790162056 · focus · HN ↗

                  You can't use it "in" the desktop either, you just start it from there. Same as with the terminal.

                  1. mahboi · 1790207560 · focus · HN ↗

                     Mostly yeah. The DE does manage the browser's windows and notifications if you use those. The point is, you're going to use the mouse with Firefox, there's no advantage of using the terminal just to open it.

                     1. 1718627440 · 1790242008 · focus · HN ↗

                        > The point is, you're going to use the mouse with Firefox

                        I was imprecise. I am solely talking about using a terminal emulator program on a display server, I wasn't talking about refraining from using anything outside a VTE. That would be pointless, yeah.

                        > there's no advantage of using the terminal just to open it.

                        My point is that it is. Typing 'firefox' is way simpler to open the program, than traversing an application list and selecting it. The latter can become faster once you have a shortcut, but then it's equivalent to 'f<TAB>' or '!!' and the like. Language is more versatile, that's why we use it for fast communication. If you want the scissors from someone, you tell them, you don't make gestures or draw a picture, because that's way more work (unless you are mute).

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