On Fri, 2005-11-25 at 13:11 +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Desktops as such don't hide complexity, they just mask it with a different complexity. A simple desktop may hide complexity but then so may a simple window manager with a different paradigm, how about TWM with a single xterm window on it?
So are you against a GUI interface in general and the Desktop concept is just part of that paradigm ?
I never understand this way of thinking, you must agree that the WIMP interface opened computing up to people who would have never touched it otherwise. Humans generally relate to something which in itself relates to a physical environment. Although limiting once you venture outside tasks the designers didn't envisage, it gives ordinary people a chance of finding out how to do something without continuously referring to documentation.
I am not saying there isn't a place for terminal windows and text mode only software...there is and it can be (with the help of a decent shell) very very powerful, more so that even the best designed GUI's. But for some tasks it is easier...it is more intuitive and frankly it just makes sense.