KDE 4.1 delivers the next-gen desktop experience
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
But anyway, I gave up the whole desktop thing a year or so ago. Xmonad is the way to go. No stupidity to get in the way of work.
I cursed that lack of this or that in KDE, while gradually appreciating assorted little things. In the end, I felt it was largely a matter of trading annoyances, while getting the bigger win of a better, more stable, development environment.
Three off the top of my head: the contrast of dark grey for focused apps to light grey for unfocused ones means that you can see what's focused instantly. This is useful because Apple encourages opening multiple things at once: the green button for maximize sizes most apps so they fit whatever's being displayed and nothing more.
There's no unused pixel. KDE 4.1 shown here has large blocks of matter at the edges of their windows. OS X does not. Likewise, that little grey button on the top right, the one that minimizes bars that you don't need, allows for much more efficient screen economy. No, you don't care, because you like looking down your lengthy xmonad nose at us common serfs, but a lot of us LIKE doing a lot of different things with our computer, and Apple doesn't compromise: we get an efficient system AND one that, you know, does stuff.
Not to reel off Apple's most recent ads, but Stacks mean you can access a lot of information without cluttering your screen, and you can still keep it all organized. Making Downloads into a stack means that suddenly your desktop is blank except for things you drag off from other apps and screenshots you take. It compartmentizes your computer into Downloads, which are things that take a little while to get, Desktop, which are things that you grab quickly, and Documents, where things are organized.
Three given as impulse. I could literally spend hours going into fine detail about the small little bits of polish that Apple has applied to their operating system. You can say a lot about OS X. You could argue that it's not "efficient," though by some definitions of efficiency it outstrips Linux and Windows by far. But you can not argue for its not being polished. Apple is the industry MASTER of user interface, they have perfected the art of polish, and if you say otherwise you are a stupid, ignorant fuck.
I say that with all due respect; I'm sure I'm overthinking your little flippant remark. I upvoted you because your comment leads to a venus of discussion - but you're about as wrong as a nerd arguing operating system on a Y Combinator site could possibly get.
The finder folder windows have tons of unused space that should be filled with buttons for useful actions. I recently did arrange by name on the desktop instead of the folder because I had to go to the menu bar on top and didn't realize the folder was no longer active, so it did the desktop instead.
The folder itself should have buttons that do these things, so I can go directly to what I want. And to make it worse there is no undo arrange!
The mac desktop is not polished - it's sparse. Apple fixes usability and polish by removing functionality.
The finder windows, depending on customization, usually show exactly what you need. You don't need to go to the menu bar up top. There are icons in the bar that sort it automatically. As for undo arrange: considering arrange is realigning a view, the idea is that it's not an action per se. So, again, hate to be disrespectful, but I've never come across that stuff myself.
Really? What about the rounded corners on the top of the menu bar?
No, you don't care, because you like looking down your lengthy xmonad nose at us common serfs, but a lot of us LIKE doing a lot of different things with our computer, and Apple doesn't compromise: we get an efficient system AND one that, you know, does stuff.
I never said I looked down at anyone. I use Xmonad because I think that managing window geometry is a job for the computer, not me. The more the computer does for me, the better. I only want to work on programming, or writing, or reading hacker news; not arranging windows, selecting The Perfect Desktop Background, managing the position of files on a desktop, etc. Those things waste my time.
Which menu bar has rounded corners? The rounded corners of the windows? The menu bar looks pretty flat if you ask me.
"Those things waste my time."
That's something that the Mac helps with for me, actually. Because of how fast Spotlight goes, combined with how thorough keyboard commands are, I find I can go between programs pretty quickly. Though I'll admit that it took me a while to find a good desktop background.
Yes, I go over the top when I write. Yes, it can be portrayed as assholish. It doesn't mean I don't try to make valid points when I write. I don't just go through the site, see something saying "Oh, look, somebody expressing an opinion, let's be contrary." I try to write what I feel to encourage discussion (like what happened with some of the other repliers), and I don't censor myself because I think that nobody on the Internet is thin-skinned to start crying when I call people something like "stupid fuck." I don't even say that out of disrespect for the OP. I upvoted the thread. It's just that that's the way that I talk in certain moods, similar to how several other people I've read have snarky attitudes or snappy attitudes or "say the first thing that pops into my head" attitudes. It takes all kinds.
So I give my opinion, give a few examples that I think back up how I feel, and post it, hoping for a discussion. Instead I get several downvotes (which I'm guessing is for tone rather than for lack of useful argument), and a jackass like you popping up to spew shit nobody cares about hearing.
I don't use a Mac because I'm a fanboy. I use it because I think it's an amazing OS, worth the money. Many people use Macs for the same reason. And my reasoning for WHY I like it has to do with the fact that it is, in fact, incredibly polished.
So, at risk of losing my precious karma further, fuck off. I'm trying to have a discussion without sacrificing my mannerisms. You're being a dick. There's a big difference, and it's that what I have to say might actually provoke interesting conversation.
I don't see Hacker News as a formalized discussion area. People congratulating each other and joking with each other tend to be observable in several places. This is a place for smart discussion, yes, but not necessarily formal discussion.
Given that, then yes. I would absolutely say a line like that, expecting people listening in to understand that it's a piece of hyperbole rather than an actual belief. The fact that I then responded rationally when the OP replied should show that, in fact, I don't hold him in any sort of contempt. And, if I was in a setting with reasonably bright people having a conversation, I would use the phrase "stupid, ignorant fuck." The language alone should have made it obvious that I was being hyperbolic to attempt a point of debate.
I guess that's not how you see it, though, so I'll avoid any sort of dialect like that in the future.
Not well. It's sort of like using X11 apps on OS X. Alone, they look great. When inside OS X, they look terrible. Gnome is like that on KDE.
The only KDE app that is worth using compared to GTK counterparts that comes to mind is probably Amarok [and I still prefer Rythmobx].
Am I missing something here?
In my experience GTK apps look and work a lot better in the KDE environment then the other way around.
For everything else, most people use the KDE version of whatever app they are looking for. I haven't used any applications other than emacs, urxvt, firefox, and amarok for years, so I can't really tell you what those are.
Edit: actually, I can tell you some things. There are themes that make Firefox look like a KDE app, and of course there is Konqueror (I tried 4.0 for a while, it was much nicer than FF2.) There is also a GIMP equivalent for KDE, but the name escapes me. My advice is to install a KDE 4.1 version of Kubuntu, and click stuff in the menus.
Well... gVim is pretty nicely integrated into Gnome, picks up theme/colors/icons, etc. I like it a lot.
Thank you for replying BTW: I will definitely install 4.1 myself. If FF and Gimp experience won't suffer, I may actually consider switching.