The Caffeinated Penguin

Posted By matt on July 28, 2008

I was reading the Unix Hater's Handbook and came across this gem:

If you sit down at a friend’s Macintosh, with its single mouse button, you
can use it with no problems. If you sit down at a friend’s Windows box,
with two buttons, you can use it, again with no problems. But just try mak-
ing sense of a friend’s X terminal: three buttons, each one programmed a
different way to perform a different function on each different day of the
week—and that’s before you consider combinations like control-left-but-
ton, shift-right-button, control-shift-meta-middle-button, and so on. Things
are not much better from the programmer’s point of view.

– Unix Hater's Handbook, p. 126

Now, most of what is in this book doesn't apply to Linux, as many of these issues have been fixed. The above, however, still does, and has been cited as “this is one of the things which needs to change if Linux is to get widespread acceptance”.

While this may be so, if it ever does happen, then I would stop using it.

The fact is that I can set up my Linux box to work the way I want do (focus follows mouse, window shading, 8 workspaces, no auto flip, hotkey bindings for the stuff I use) and you can set yours up to work the way you want (everything from “works just like OSX” to ratpoison), and our two logins won't step on each other's toes.

Further, what you're talking about here is customization – making the computer work the way that best suits you. Now, if you happen to work the way the Apple or Microsoft UI designers plan, fine. However, if you don't, you'll just have to conform.

But, say the pundits, it's consistent!

I don't care. It is a personal computer, and I can set it up so that it works the way I want, and that is why I like it.

Category: LJ Import
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