[geeks] The illusion of Windows 7

[Mark Benson]

On 1 Nov 2009, at 11:00, gsm at mendelson.com wrote:

> On Sun, Nov 01, 2009 at 10:46:23AM +0000, Mark Benson wrote:
>> They actually all nicked it from OS X which has used that system  
>> since  the Public Betas to authorise system changes, AFAIK. It's  
>> certainly been in every 10.x release version. Don't recall if it  
>> was ever in 1.x or OpenStep, I suspect not.
>
> That may be where it came from, but I my experience with OSX is that  
> I enter my password about 3-4 times a week, if that. Most often I
> want it to be set to no password out of paranoia.

Typically software updates and software installation are all I need it  
for too. Mac OS X allows the mortal user a lot of freedom to tinker  
with stuff without a password, but *also* allows users to lock all the  
prefs to you need the password to alter them afterwards. It think  
that's the difference, OS X gives you the option, Windows and Linux do  
not. Anything that *might* be harmful to alter is locked off by  
compulsion in the other 2 OSs. That, IMHO, is the wrong way to  
approach it.

I don't mind UAC of Linux sudo-auth hopping up and down and barking at  
me when something potentially harmful tries to intrude, I appreciate  
having the little dude sat on my shoulder looking out for me on that,  
but I object to having to password it every time I want to alter a  
network interface IP, or install a driver for my graphics card.

> Before I had the hackintosh and just used a regular Mac, or the two  
> lines, I
> only entered it if software update, which ran once a week, found an  
> update.

'Bout the same here.

The point is it was designed as a part of OS X. It's been botched into  
Windows and Linux as an afterthought.

It always takes me back to the same point. Someone somewhere has got  
to get serious and pick Linux up by the neck and shake it until all  
the crap drops off. That might include all the GUI material. I hope it  
does. Once they've done that they need to put a well designed and  
homologous system together on top of it and create a properly thought  
through and designed OS out of it. Linux is a mess of little people's  
little ideas, which bigger people then try and patch together to make  
a vaguely holistic system. It doesn't work when it comes to GUI  
elements, it never will. You wouldn't make a round-the-world yacht  
race sale from lots of itty bitty odd shaped little bits loosely sewn  
together, so neither would you make a world class GUI for an OS the  
same way.

-- 
Mark Benson

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"Never send a human to do a machine's job..."