Windows Vista's stupid, tiny, little, hard-to-use, but transparent(!) windows.
According to my "System Information", Windows Vista is the 6th major version of Windows. According to Wikipedia, Windows is about 23 years old. And based on my own personal experience, I know that both environment variables and printers predate Windows.
So, can someone explain to me how 23 years and 6 versions later, this is the best Microsoft can do for an environment variable editor?
Neither the environment variable list window, nor the editor are resizable. The maximum size of the value of an environment variable is somewhere between 2048, 8192 or possibly unlimited in certain cases under Vista. But at most we're able to see maybe 40 characters at a time.
Command line junkies may be wondering why I don't just set it with setx. Well, first of all, setx is no marvel of good command design. Second, for most people it isn't even an option without downloading an extra support kit from Microsoft. Luckily(?) with Vista, it's now included. But where a GUI exists, should it at least not be AS useful as the command line? Or preferably better? It's not impossible (see TortoiseSVN). At the very least, it should be resizable. But I know, these windows were probably built with MFC or possibly something even older. The source is probably one of those pieces of code that new developers are afraid to touch and for which the original author has long retired (or quit and moved to Google).
It's clear this window is old. It looks older than Keith Richards would if cast in the role of Neo in the Matrix movies. "Red pill or blue pill? F@ck it, I'll take both. Get that Tank guy to load me up a Vicodin and Jack program while you're at it."
Come on guys. If this was the only example I encountered tonight (errr...at 1:00 in the morning), I may not have bothered taking the time to whinge here at you all. But no, twice in one night it hit me. This time while adding a new printer...
To give you an idea of how incredibly stupid this Window is, let me just say: Why the hell isn't there a free text search box on this screen? Perhaps so I can just type "LaserJet 1012" and have it find the printer (or in this case NOT find it). But no, in order to NOT find my printer in the list, I have to scroll through 14 pages of manufacturers and 100 PAGES of printer models in the HP printer list alone.
Take note Microsoft: This is where Google is beating you -- no, not in printer dialog boxes. In the details that matter!
My screen has over 1.7 million pixels. Please allow me to use them all, in every possible case.
So, can someone explain to me how 23 years and 6 versions later, this is the best Microsoft can do for an environment variable editor?
Neither the environment variable list window, nor the editor are resizable. The maximum size of the value of an environment variable is somewhere between 2048, 8192 or possibly unlimited in certain cases under Vista. But at most we're able to see maybe 40 characters at a time.
Command line junkies may be wondering why I don't just set it with setx. Well, first of all, setx is no marvel of good command design. Second, for most people it isn't even an option without downloading an extra support kit from Microsoft. Luckily(?) with Vista, it's now included. But where a GUI exists, should it at least not be AS useful as the command line? Or preferably better? It's not impossible (see TortoiseSVN). At the very least, it should be resizable. But I know, these windows were probably built with MFC or possibly something even older. The source is probably one of those pieces of code that new developers are afraid to touch and for which the original author has long retired (or quit and moved to Google).
It's clear this window is old. It looks older than Keith Richards would if cast in the role of Neo in the Matrix movies. "Red pill or blue pill? F@ck it, I'll take both. Get that Tank guy to load me up a Vicodin and Jack program while you're at it."
Come on guys. If this was the only example I encountered tonight (errr...at 1:00 in the morning), I may not have bothered taking the time to whinge here at you all. But no, twice in one night it hit me. This time while adding a new printer...
To give you an idea of how incredibly stupid this Window is, let me just say: Why the hell isn't there a free text search box on this screen? Perhaps so I can just type "LaserJet 1012" and have it find the printer (or in this case NOT find it). But no, in order to NOT find my printer in the list, I have to scroll through 14 pages of manufacturers and 100 PAGES of printer models in the HP printer list alone.
Take note Microsoft: This is where Google is beating you -- no, not in printer dialog boxes. In the details that matter!
My screen has over 1.7 million pixels. Please allow me to use them all, in every possible case.
posted by Clinton Begin at
12:55 AM
