Another few things about the shittiness of Windows 8.

When I or anyone else complains about the Start menu being removed and replaced with a screen-spanning monstrosity, the Microsoft apologist response is, "It works just the same as the Start menu, it’s just larger!"

And then when I point out that, no, the Windows 7 Start menu does not in fact take up my entire screen, does not have tiles that look like AOL from 1996, and does have ways to customize it extensively, the apologist’s contention is then that, "But you can just search for what you want!"

And of course then when I say, as has been true since the 90s, that I often have so much installed on my computer that I don’t actually recall the name of it until I see it in the list, and thus cannot search for it, there is no sensible response, just that I "hate change."

And then when I say that I don’t want a Start menu that covers up my entire screen, including what I am currently working on, the apologists come up with some poorly-understood pseudoscience about, "But no one can multi-task, it’s been shown scientifically, so you don’t need to see more than one thing at a time."

Of course I point out then that when I am working on an app, and need something from the Start menu, often I don’t know quite what I want, so I need to see the thing I am looking at it and the Start menu at the same time. And then they come back with, "But no one can multi-task, no matter what." Not even addressing the actual point.

When I say that I don’t think a single app should take over my entire 30" monitor with no way to make it smaller, the "But no one can multitask" argument resurfaces, ignoring of course that many people like to compare spreadsheets, folders and many other apps side by side which would be completely impossible with a Metro-like interface.

And then when I discuss the absurdity of Microsoft attempting to remove the ability of the actual computer to multi-task, something that was long-fought and hard-won (I used computers long before multi-tasking was possible, and it sucked.), the response is that, “Well, can only use one app at a time, what does it matter?”

Use only one app at a time? Dumbass, I’ve often had Photoshop batch-processing in the background, while I am ripping CDs or converting a movie, with my IM client running, and while I am listening to music and reading a PDF.

Just because you use your computer like you bought it a Toys ‘R Us does not mean that I do.

I think I hate anyone who likes Windows 8, as there is no way I have anything in common with the people with minds who work so poorly that they like it.

The one great thing, though, is that I will stick with OSes that work, and thus will be vastly more productive over time than those flailing around with their toy OS.

I like that kind of self-inflicted justice.

Looks like Mozilla is about to ruin bookmarks, too.

It’s weird to me how when you say that you don’t like the Windows 8 interface, or hate Unity, or hate features being taken away that you use every few minutes, that it’s just because you “hate change.”

Look, motherfuckers, I’ve used more UIs (graphical and command line) in my long, long life of computing than nearly anyone alive who isn’t some old, crusty CompSci prof. I’ve been doing this since I was five years old or so. I could touch-type before I learned how to write. And if you’ve ever seen my penmanship, you might dispute the fact that I ever quite learned to write.

I’ve used TRS-80s. I’ve used Commodores. I’ve used Amigas. I’ve used Ataris. I’ve used Apples, since 1982 or so. I’ve used Tandy machines. I’ve used Solaris (CDE wasn’t too bad back in the day). I’ve used BeOS. I’ve used off-brand clones with custom GUIs that no one now even remembers and you can’t even find reference to on the Internet. I’ve used nearly every major Linux distro every released and many, many minor ones, since the 1990s. I’ve used NetBSD. I’ve used FreeBSD. I’ve used AIX. And I am sure I am forgetting many more.

So saying that I have a problem with change because I don’t like some busted-ass UI travesty that is turning my PC into a fucking phone is just a bit daft, don’t you think?

And really, who cares what you think? Experience isn’t everything, but I’ve been doing this whole “changing UIs” thing for a reaaaaaaally long time now. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. I’ve been through more UI changes than most people have changed their underwear.

Part of it is that the computing world is turning away from power users and to consumers, which in general ruins anything good. The world is being turned into cable television. There is an ulterior motive, of course, and it’s not just about money. It’s about power. A free and open computing platform and free and open internet is a great boon for liberty and gives much power to regular people.

That was doomed to a short life. Lasted longer than I thought it would, and now it’s going away. About 1996 or so I remember talking with a friend about how general purpose computers were dangerous and wouldn’t last long, and that they were a complete historical aberration. I thought they maybe had 15 years left at the time.

My timeline was a little off, but I was perfectly correct in the way things would go, and are going now.

So no, I don’t hate change. What I do hate using my 30” monitor as if it were a phone. I hate being told I should love my oppression as the computing world is rapidly turning into cable television, with locked app stores rife with censorship. I hate my computer becoming less useful, less free and less powerful with every “upgrade.”

Most of all, I guess, I hate the ahistorical idiots who wallow in their own oppression and profess to love it.