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from the perhaps-providing-prompt-prompts-prompts-perceived-performance-primacy dept.
Have you ever had that nagging sensation that your computer was slower than it used to be? Or that your brand new laptop seemed much more sluggish than an old tower PC you once had? Dan Luu, a computer engineer who has previously worked at Google and Microsoft, had the same sensation, so he did what the rest of us would not: He decided to test a whole slew of computational devices ranging from desktops built in 1977 to computers and tablets built this year. And he learned that that nagging sensation was spot on—over the last 30 years, computers have actually gotten slower in one particular way.
Not computationally speaking, of course. Modern computers are capable of complex calculations that would be impossible for the earliest processors of the personal computing age. The Apple IIe, which ended up being the “fastest” desktop/laptop computer Luu tested, is capable of performing just 0.43 million instructions per second (MIPS) with its MOS 6502 processor. The Intel i7-7700k, found in the most powerful computer Luu tested, is capable of over 27,000 MIPS.
But Luu wasn’t testing how fast a computer processes complex data sets. Luu was interested in testing how the responsiveness of computers to human interaction had changed over the last three decades, and in that case, the Apple IIe is significantly faster than any modern computer.
https://gizmodo.com/the-one-way-your-laptop-is-actually-slower-than-a-30-ye-1821608743
(Score: 2, Insightful) by RandomFactor on Saturday December 30 2017, @10:13PM (2 children)
"rearranging everything so we have to get "training" to find where everything is moved to"
I am of the opinion that Linux squandered a big opportunity. It was actually easier and more familiar for people to upgrade from XP/7 to something like Ubuntu/Mint than to Windows 8/10
That said - If you want Windows 8+ to be less excruciatingly user hostile you can start by installing Classic Shell (or one of the various similar apps)
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 3, Interesting) by RS3 on Saturday December 30 2017, @11:01PM
I agree. On most of my Linux machines (where I use the GUI) I use fvwm, so I think most XP-style UI users would love it.
Add-on shells / window managers for MS Windows have been around since the early 90s as I recall. I think Norton had one? I have to help / support people using who use Win10 so it's in my interest to get used to the UI. Well, I doubt I'll ever get used to it- whenever I do, it will be replaced! I don't mind the concept of typing and search suggestions come up in the "start menu" or whatever it's being called. "Master control popup"? Holder for unwanted ads? Receptacle of despair?
(Score: 2) by number11 on Sunday December 31 2017, @12:33AM
Unfortunately, the developer of Classic Shell has given up. It's been opensourced, and hopefully someone else will take the task on.