this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I've been waiting for a post like this. Every single time I have tried Windows 11 I have fallen in love with the UI and UX. Sure, it can be buggy at times, but that's true with anything. It has always pained me a little bit every time I have to replace it with Linux. KDE Plasma 6 is the closest I've been able to find to Windows 11. Microsoft in my opinion did a really sleek and nice job making Windows 11 pretty, especially compared to Windows 10.
The WHAT
I feel this. KDE has done an incredible job making Plasma gorgeous and usable.
Now I feel like with Plasma 6 there's everything to gain and nothing to lose, aesthetically and usably.
On my old fun-and-games laptop I made everything look Aero-esque like my favorite aspects of XP and 7 haha. It's not practical but I'm experimenting with different toolbar layouts and stuff.
But the biggest improvement coming from Windows? Not having a "fake fisher-price control panel" and an obfuscated "actual control panel" somewhere else. Plasma does a really good job of putting everything easily within reach.
I haven't daily driven OSX for a few years now, but I still miss it every time I use a control panel on any other system. It's so functional, intuitive, logical, consistent, and not a pile of dogshit to look at. If I want to change my IP address, I go to network, ethernet, IP address. If it's greyed out, there is a lock icon right there. I click it, put in admin details, and then I can change the IP. All in the same window, in a consistent, logical flow.
The thing that got me to switch from Windows to Linux (the straw that broke the camel's back) was Window's "Eco Mode". Eco Mode is a cute little thing that (at least at the time) cannot be disabled. It automatically slows down apps so your computer draws less power to help the environment. What did that mean for you? ChatGPT (which was just starting to boom at the time) would become barely functional because Eco Mode would slow down the browser. You could only temporarily disable it per-process, but it will enable itself right back again whenever it wants.
Wow that's irritating!
That's what bothers me too: It's so opinionated. I guess so their "support" can suggest the same solution to every problem.
But geeze, things like fastboot, Cortana, Edge, Onedrive, or this eco-mode, or secureboot, or other features tied to deals they strike especially with laptop hardware vendors that simply assume THIS Windows is the only thing that will ever be run on this device.
That's the worst.
At least I haven't heard of them clobbering your bootloader with an update recently but I probably jinxed it now LOL.
I try not to just be a *nix-cultist. I grew up with Windows and had a lot of fond experiences with it. It just feels like it serves shareholders over users anymore.
I feel like it's trying to make its users even dumber, while I feel like we learn things while using Linux.
It's a usability nightmare for me. I sure love it when I open a PowerShell prompt, and some random window takes focus instead for no reason. Or when I create a new folder in Explorer, and the address bar inexplicably steals focus.
And that right-click menu can take a long walk off a short pier
That's one thing I really enjoy about Plasma. I never even considered things like "focus stealing" or when to raise windows, but there's options to tweak.
Heck you can even change what RMB does. (Yeah my brain doesn't need THAT radical of a change lmao)
The defaults are perfectly sane, but I like that there's buttons or toggles to see if something else works better.
Seriously. Why?! Who does this serve? It confuses newbies and just ticks off everybody else.
Also this google-apple-esque trend of trying to glyphize (is that a word? Lol) everything just for its own sake is kinda maddening too. (We don't want literacy to be a bar to clicking ads! /s)
/rant lol.
I don't think I understand what you mean with the right click menu. Do you mean when right clicking, the menu that appears with things you can do there? Like right clicking a file, and being able to rename, or open with a different program, etc? Right click the desktop and get an option to change the desktop background? What's the problem there?
I believe they're talking about the W11 context menu, where most common options (like copy, paste, and delete) are replaced by icons that look almost identical to each other. They're all soft rounded lines and have no defining features, which means you need to stop and parse the icon twice for every cut & paste. They also change position based on which options are available, so you can't memorize the locations, and since delete is one of the options, I wouldn't trust my memory.
Most of the interesting options like edit, run as administrator, open file location, readable copy paste options, or installed options like Edit with Notepad++ or 7zip > are hidden behind a Show more Options option, which just opens the window 10 context menu. Same styling and everything.
Basically, everything about the W11 context menu slows me down and nothing about it is more usable or helpful.
Keep in mind that 21% of adults in the US are functionally illiterate.