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How a “Welded-to KDE3.5 User” Began a Move to KDE4.4 Part III “Konquering the Dolphin”
In part II of this series, I stated that there were some important ways in which I found that KDE4.4 was deficient when compared with KDE3.5. These were the Personal Settings controls, the file manager Dolphin and the way in which KDE4.4's complexity has produced what I consider to be abnormal situations in which far more decisions are required to carry out simple tasks. As an example of the latter, I showed that 11 separate mouse selections are required to produce a result in KDE4.4 where a similar practical result requires only two such selections in KDE3.5. In this section, part III, I examine one of these problems in more detail: the Dolphin File Manager. I intend to show that, despite my earlier statements, I was eventually able to make Dolphin behave in a way that is almost identical to the behavior of Konqueror in KDE 3.5 . The reader should also be aware that my use of Konqueror in KDE3.5 was relatively simple. Most, if not all of my activities involved: copying of files, relocation of files, creation of folders, searching for folders or files and renaming files or folders and I shall restrict myself to this set of procedures.  As can be seen, the default display consists of two views or columns whose size can be adjusted by moving the central bar. The left hand column contains a tree presentation of the file system and this can be opened or closed by selecting the small “plus icons” at the front of a folder name. You can scroll up and down and if necessary, you can move to a higher level in the folder structure by selecting the “up arrow” on the tool bar. If any folder in the tree is selected, its contents (folders and files) are immediately displayed in the column on the right hand side. You can also copy files or folders from one side to the other if you wish using the usual “drag and drop” method. The right hand display can also be interchanged between a tree and icons simply by selecting the appropriate icon on the tool bar. Occasionally, there are file-copying situations in which it is very useful to have two separate copies of Konqueror running simultaneously and this is not a problem. Files or folders are dragged and dropped across the two separate copies in the usual way. USB sticks are an excellent example where this situation occurs routinely since insertion of a stick automatically opens a sub-window asking if you wish to open the stick in a new copy of the file manager. I should like to preface my discussion of Dolphin with a few remarks. For the past 3 months I have experienced varying degrees of frustration when using this piece of software and it is only a few days ago that by sheer luck or accident I have finally solved all of my problems. In part II of this series I seriously attacked Dolphin's abilities and its lack of facilities and I should like to put the record straight in part by saying that what I wanted out of Dolphin was already there: it was simply that I did not know how to get at it. From my perspective, the solutions were somewhat difficult to find but are blindingly obvious once you are aware of them. That in turn raises some more questions, but more of those later. The Dolphin Default Screen  As can be seen, this differs considerably from the default view of Konqueror in KDE3.5 and this brings me to my principal complaint for the KDE4 team: in view of what I have now found, I find it incredible that the KDE4 team chose to make the above screen the default view for Dolphin. To ease newcomers upgrading into a novel piece of software, at least make the interface resemble something that they are used to. It's a rule that too often I find has been broken by KDE4. For three months on various occasions, I have fought with Dolphin. Obviously, the display suggests that you are dealing with columns, and if you select View from the Menu bar you will find an option called “Split”. This does indeed split the central column, but each side is then operating completely separately. I also tried working with the tool bar selection of “Columns”; this certainly splits the screen in two, but one half is grayed out and there is no indication of what you need to do to activate it. I did manage at one point (and at that stage I could not remember how I finally got there) to split the screen in two and have a tree down the left hand side with icons down the right hand side. However, each was totally independent of the other and the moment I closed Dolphin, it lost all those settings. Frustration wasn't an adequate term. I thought too, that perhaps Konqueror in KDE4 still retained its usual interface despite the fact that it is now the KDE4 browser. It is easy enough to find the appropriate place in Personal Settings and make Konqueror the default file manager, but to little purpose. Konqueror has now been worked over to make it into a nearly dedicated browser and I gave that idea up very quickly. The Dolphin “Panels” Part of the problem is that for some aspects, Dolphin uses a different term for what the Konqueror user would simply call a “column” and again, I think that KDE4 has moved to terminology complexity rather than simplicity. Dolphin uses the term “panels” for these vertical, rectangular side columns. As far as I am concerned, “panels” are to be found at the borders of the opening screen of the operating system, and they contain the launcher icon, clock, and a variety of other information, but that concept now needs to be altered for Dolphin's special formats. The procedure used to transform Dolphin into a KDE3.5 Konqueror mode is so absurdly simple, I am still amazed that it took me 3 months to ultimately find it. You can of course say very loudly: “Read the (blank) manual”.......My response is two fold: first, I expected Dolphin to behave in a similar way to the file manager I had left behind with respect to the display formats, but in a number of aspects it doesn't; and second, the help manual certainly would help its writer, but its contents are not exactly clear to a confused person trying to learn a new piece of software. To put it another way, once I had figured it out for myself, I could understand exactly what the manual was trying to say. From here on, the two side columns of Dolphin will be referred to as panels. If you examine the default screen of Dolphin, you can see that the left hand panel is titled “Places” and the right hand panel is titled “Information”. In addition, you can see that these panels can be maximized, minimized or deleted. When I first deleted them out of simple curiosity, they remained deleted after I closed Dolphin and restarted it...it took some time for me to work out that I could replace them by choosing View from the menu bar, followed by Panels and then Places and Information respectively. And why I did not then link the term “panels” with my needs I have no idea. Possibly information overload, but also possibly because I was searching for anything that would display a “tree” mode, and this term is neither suggested by nor present in the various menu headings. Changing Dolphin's format to a KDE3.5 Konqueror display To get Dolphin into a KDE3.5 Konqueror display, three small steps need to be taken: 1. Select the “close” button on the top right hand corner of the Places panel, and it will disappear. 2. Select the “close” button on top right hand corner of the Information panel, and it will disappear. The Dolphin window will now be a plain window full of icons and one more step needs to be taken. 3. Select View on the menu bar, followed by Panels from the drop down menu, and then “Folders” from the second drop down menu.  This is the classic Konqueror view and it behaves in exactly the same way, such that if you open a folder on the tree, it will open the folder as icons in the main window. You can copy back and forth and all in all, it does exactly the same tasks with the same display background as a KDE3.5 user would encounter with Konqueror. Even though the Folders panel appears to be a separate entity, you can drag the central bar to increase or decrease the size of each area of the window, just as could be done with the central bar of Konqueror in KDE3.5. Best of all, Dolphin remembers your settings for this window so if you close and restart Dolphin, you will have the same display format. File paths, “Bread Crumbs” and the Terminal in Dolphin The line immediately above the main window, the Location Bar, shows the active file path for the default display in what the Dolphin manual terms the “Bread Crumb” mode. I, personally, prefer the conventional display (Dolphin calls this the “Editable” mode) in a true text entry window using the “/” symbol rather than an arrow head, simply because that can be copied and pasted very easily. This is particularly useful if you get Dolphin to search for a file and you need to insert the location in either a separate document or a CLI procedure when using a terminal window. In its default window display, Dolphin uses the Bread Crumb mode but I suspect most users will want to use the Editable mode so that they have immediate access to “copy and paste”, and an example of Dolphin displaying Editable mode is given in the screen shot below:  There are two ways of reaching Editable mode. The first is a temporary one in which you click once in the gray area at the end of the Bread Crumb mode path display on the Location Bar. The display will immediately transform to the Editable mode path display. You can also flip back to the Bread Crumb display by selecting the “tick” button at the right hand end of the Bar. Many users may prefer to have a permanent Editable mode displayed. That is easily done with the following selections starting from the Menu bar. Choose “Settings” followed by “Configure Dolphin” from the drop-down menu. This will open the Dolphin Preferences window and the necessary selection of “Startup” is open by default. Tick the box which is labeled “Editable location bar”, then select “Apply” and finally “OK”. From now on, Dolphin will display the Editable location bar when it starts. Note however, that you can still select the green “tick” button at the end of the Bar and the display will revert to the Bread Crumb mode, or again select the gray area to return to Editable mode – but no matter which is finally present, from now on Dolphin will open with the Bar in Editable mode on restarting unless you alter the Configuration settings. I mention here that Dolphin contains an identical procedure to that used in KDE3.5's Konqueror but which I never found occasion to use simply because Konqueror by default provides an “Editable mode” location bar. Dolphin can automatically provide you with a terminal ready to start at the desired file location if you select Tools on the menu bar followed by “Open Terminal” in the drop-down menu. File Searching In previous comments about Dolphin, I wrote that I could not get the software to search for a file. Today, I have the file search function working perfectly at long last, but in this case, I blame the KDE4 team for laying a false trail. If you look at the top right hand corner of the Dolphin window, you can see a text entry area with the word “Search” included. Naturally, I assumed without hesitation this was the file search facility for this new piece of software and therefore looked nowhere else. So, I entered a file name, the Search button appeared and became activated, but when pressed, there were no results. I tried various ways of doing this over several weeks, but this afternoon, I did another check for some other reason and looked at the menu bar item of Tools. If you select this item, you will get a drop down menu with the subheading of “Find File” and from this point onwards, Dolphin behaves in exactly the same way as Konqueror behaves in KDE3.5. I have now successfully found files in any part of my filing system. Currently, I am still exploring the function of that “Search” text entry area at the top right hand corner. Exploring Dolphin: Split Screens Once Dolphin is put into the recognized KDE3.5 Konqueror format, it is well worth exploring. A rather nice attribute is the “Split” button on the Menu bar. This is a “toggle” selection button and it will split the screen into two columns or restore it to a single screen. Each of the resulting columns is independent of the other, but whichever of the two you have selected will also be interdependent with the Tree/Folders panel. You can, if you like, have a tree on one side and icons on the other, or whatever suits your needs or fancy ~ but on closing and reopening Dolphin, a two column split screen will have reverted to a single screen and may be also be a tree or an icon display depending on where you were last working...It is a matter of a moment or two to select the appropriate display using “Icons” or “Details” on the tool bar. An example of the split screen is shown below.  I suspect the Split procedure has another bonus which I have yet to test. In KDE3.5, I have occasionally found it necessary to have two copies of Konqueror running simultaneously when copying files. The Split procedure provides precisely those conditions while running a single copy of Dolphin. Exploring Dolphin: Tabs Tabbed displays are one of those file manager abilities that some will find extremely useful while others have little or no need of them whatsoever. I fall into the latter group, but that is no reason to ignore this interesting little procedure. KDE3.5's Konqueror can display a series of tabbed main displays, each of which can be showing a separate set of folder or files depending on which part of the system filing tree was selected when that tab was active. In Konqueror, you obtained new tabs by selecting Window from the menu bar followed by “New Tab” from the drop-down menu. Dolphin is also able to provide tabbed displays although the menu location to create the tabs is different. To create a new tab, select File on the main menu bar followed by “New Tab” from the drop-down menu. You can create a series of these tabs and, just as in Konqueror, each will display a different set of contents depending upon which part of the main system filing structure was selected when the tab was open and each tab will have the title of that particular active folder. Tabs are easily closed by selecting the usual “tab close” button at the top right of the tab. Multiple panels, floating panels, file/folder information and display tweaks Assuming that Dolphin is not covering the entire monitor display area, I have already found that if you select the “maximize/minimize” icon at the top of the Folders panel, it detaches from the Dolphin window and can be dragged around and used as a floating “toolbar”, however it remains fully linked to the files in the main Dolphin screen. The removal of the Folders panel gives more display area for files if that is your current need. Select the “maximize/minimize” icon once more, and the panel slots back into its normal position. You can even have two panels at a time on the left hand side. Whether you keep the Information panel is really a matter of choice, but by default, Dolphin does not display a floating information output when the cursor is placed over a file or folder. You can get Dolphin to do this via the “Settings” control on the menu bar. Select Settings followed by “Configure Dolphin” from the drop-down menu and then select “General” from the side panel. The “Behavior” tab is open by default and towards the bottom, select the box beside the heading “Show tooltips”. This will allow you to have a floating information box appear when the cursor is held over a file or folder. Beside “Show tooltips” is the word “Configure”. If you select this, you will open a small sub-menu which allows you to decide exactly how much information you want to display in your cursor floating information window. A very brief note of information about file size does appear along the bottom of the Dolphin window but all relevant information about a file or folder is given in the Information panel. I prefer the floating tooltip output and find that the Information panel takes up a bit too much of the display area. You can maximize and detach the Information panel and it still remains detached if you stop and restart Dolphin. It's a different way of doing things and ultimately, it's a user's choice. Examples of the two panel and floating panel layouts are shown below.   One last minor aspect concerning the main column display is that the size of the icons is controlled by a sliding scale directly underneath the display. You can move the slide control to give larger or smaller views of the icons – the text however, remains the same size. It's one of those controls that I find that I set once, and then forget all about it. If you want to get rid of it altogether, you can, using an appropriate selection in the Configure Dolphin menus. Now that I have Dolphin defaulting to an equivalent of the KDE3.5 Konqueror display and working virtually identically, I am discovering that Dolphin is actually fun to explore. When I think about it, I have removed every irritation or problem that originally arose when I first encountered the software package. Manuals are fine, but they really don't work properly until the user has some familiarity with the software. Now that I am becoming reasonably familiar, I find the manual is a treasure trove of information. Looking back, I think that most of my frustration and problems arose because Dolphin was a totally unfamiliar interface in its default mode, and there were no simple hints as to how I could get it into a familiar format. This is a definite problem that should be kept in mind by the KDE4 team because it is such an unfortunately effective way to alienate previous KDE3.5 users. And that is a crying shame, because from my personal usage perspective: Dolphin may not be perfect, but for my purposes and now that I understand it, I don't know of anything that could do the job better. Dolphin is possibly a more complex piece of software compared with Konqueror in KDE3.5 and I am sure it probably does have some additional facilities that I have yet to explore. Personally, I find that the administration controls are a little bit more “devious/intricate” and (again, as far as I am concerned) less intuitive, but these problems will undoubtedly diminish over time with increasing familiarity. The new term of “panels” for those special columns is a “non-event” once you understand it. I confess with a certain amount of wry humor, that had I not had the incredible strokes of luck a few days ago in which I finally understood both the panel terminology and the correct search routines, I would have made such enormous errors about Dolphin in this part of my series of articles, that it would not have been a simple case of “putting my foot in my mouth”; by now I'd have not only swallowed my foot, I'd be up to the knee as well. In that sense, I'd like to offer a sincere Dolphin olive branch to the KDE4 team: “After all my previous negative comments, I should like to say that I was wrong. Dolphin does work for me when its configuration is set to those parameters which produce a KDE3.5 Konqueror display, and I personally find it excellent for my daily file management purposes.” References How a “Welded-to KDE 3.5 User” Began a Move to KDE 4.4 - Part 1 http://lxer.com/module/newswire/lf/view/144200/ How a “Welded-to KDE 3.5 User” Began a Move to KDE 4.4 - Part 2 http://lxer.com/module/newswire/lf/view/144900/ And thank you as always to Scott Ruecker for his help and encouragement. Postscript: The author wishes to state that he has had some past experience in the production of information manuals for complex biological modeling and key software. He was responsible for the production of the entire first edition software manual for the Lucid biological key software and also has been responsible for the tutorial set and accompanying explanatory notes for the first edition of the CLIMEX biological distribution software. Both of these manuals were written for subsidiary organizations within the University of Queensland, Australia. |
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Comments (28)
8 earlier comments in the full thread.
Even yhough you live "just down the road", I never knew what you look like..... you look just like yourself.
Quoting:Even yhough you live "just down the road", I never knew what you look like..... you look just like yourself.
I was thinking the same thing -- in fact, you look more like you than anyone else I've ever seen.
Tracyanne and ComputerBob.......thanks......LOL :-) I look at that face every morning while shaving and eventually I too have to accept that it is me. I figured it was nicer if you could see the crusty old curmudgeon who was writing this lot so you could either: print and use for dart board centre; or ..... decide his white haired venerable appearance stopped you from hurling an extra tomato.
"Just down the road" is a matter of a few 100 km however......which is a pity.
"Just down the road" is a matter of a few 100 km however......which is a pity.
Nice article, Turning Dolphin into Konqueror 3.5 mode is pretty much the first thing i do on a KDE4 installation.
I do like split mode though as i was hand reared on the DOS XTreeGold filemanager which i loved and i still dont think that app has ever been bettered it was a pleasure to use although Krusader comes close in terms of functionality.
I'll admit it took me about an afternoon to figure out how to convert it when i first started using KDE4 and why they ship dolphin in the configuration they currently use i have no idea, as just about everyone i know agrees it is practically useless for file management in that configuration.
I do like split mode though as i was hand reared on the DOS XTreeGold filemanager which i loved and i still dont think that app has ever been bettered it was a pleasure to use although Krusader comes close in terms of functionality.
I'll admit it took me about an afternoon to figure out how to convert it when i first started using KDE4 and why they ship dolphin in the configuration they currently use i have no idea, as just about everyone i know agrees it is practically useless for file management in that configuration.
I have to admit that after reading this http://dot.kde.org/2011/01/26/kde-puts-you-control-new-works... for the first time in years I actually felt a rather excited about KDE.
For Tracyanne.....isn't it odd how the same thing hits people in different ways ? And that's not wrong, it's just how things should happen. As you will see from my post on that KDE topic, I liked part of it, and felt completely swamped by others. I do think however, that there is a definite move to re-label what is currently KDE4. "Plasma" sounds so much "avant-garde" and cutting edge when compared with dull old KDE, especially if Trinity KDE takes off which it seems to be doing. And that could be the underlying reason ?
I am part of what appears to be a minority that doesn't mind KDE4 when running on a machine with adequate horsepower which is unlikely to be pushed to the max. Seriously, it does work and looks pretty. It does also require lots of tweaking. It may be the easiest desktop for people coming from a recent vintage of Windows.
Want to see KDE done as close to right as a distro has managed? Want to see a really nice wizard that really is configuration for dummies? Look at Pardus 2011.
Want to see KDE done as close to right as a distro has managed? Want to see a really nice wizard that really is configuration for dummies? Look at Pardus 2011.
In which case, Caitlyn, I am currently part of that "doesn't mind" minority as well, although for me it's more like "very contented to quite happy". KDE4.4.4 is running like a well oiled swiss watch on my laptop (my principal computer) and it is **extremely** stable in my experience, fast enough for my purposes and I like it a lot, now that I have it running the way that *I* want it to run. As I have said in other posts, as long as I can reduce KDE4/Plasma to the KDE3.5 mode I want, I will be happy with it, but given the complexity that is now being put into KDE4, I am unsure of that.....which is why Xfce lurks on my horizon and I will definitely trial that DE later this year.
I'm playing with Pardus 2011 on my one and a half year old HP netbook. Adequate horsepower really means anything not terribly old nowadays. It runs perfectly well and I have no problems making KDE sing and dance and behave the way I want it to. I still prefer Xfce as my primary desktop but for a newcomer to Linux or for anyone who wants eye candy KDE does a really nice job.
Quoting:Turning Dolphin into Konqueror 3.5 mode is pretty much the first thing i do on a KDE4 installation.
Finally, this marks the spot where Linux is eventually on par with Windows!
I mean, what do you do as soon as you start using your new Windows XP? Indeed, make it look like Windows98! Put back the start menu to classic, send away the green Teletubbie-hill, have sharp edges again instead of the rounded edges of the Windows, try to fix the search menu, re-enable displaying extensions, show hidden and system files and so on. A long list.
And now, finally people are treating Linux as if it were Windows, starting to use KDE4 for the first time and then trying to make it look like KDE3!
I think Linux came a long way. I never touched a Mac, but from what I can say, people at Ubuntu are doing their best to make their OS look / behave more and more like MacOSX, including the purple background. So eventually, we don't even need XP desktop environment anymore on Linux, because we have a native version of Windows called KDE!
I think for those running Windows and wanting to try Linux, it's great. Potentially, that number is larger than the current number of people running Linux, so if it's the largest target audience, I understand why KDE is aiming at that larger audience, and less at their 'smaller-number' legacy-users. Which means the legacy users will have to go and use some 'legacy'-thingie. Last thing I heard is, KDE-legacy is now called 'Trinity', and "4" is aimed at one billion Windows users, but I'm still not sure if I understood it correctly?
BTW Apple is also doing a nice job of mimicking Windows, as the first iPod I ever (accidentally) touched at AMS/Airport got stuck every time I tried to click with my finger, and went back to the start screen. Maybe it didn't like my finger prints, I'm not sure exactly how these gadgets work.
Quoting:So eventually, we don't even need XP desktop environment anymore on Linux, because we have a native version of Windows called KDE!
I think for those running Windows and wanting to try Linux, it's great. Potentially, that number is larger than the current number of people running Linux, so if it's the largest target audience, I understand why KDE is aiming at that larger audience, and less at their 'smaller-number' legacy-users.
As far as the "target audience(s)" for KDE, also see the related back-and-forth comments at LXer thread 'Well said Carla....why, why, will not the KDE4 team listen ?' found at http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/31457/
@Hkwint.......dear heavens, I absolutely, definitely, completely, conclusively, indubitably, certainly, postively did NOT think of anything in the way you are describing. :-) Not even the slightest idea of a Windows comparison entered my mind.....promise !!!
All I considered was that KDE3.5 was simple, easy to use, relatively quick, intuitive and an all-round delight as a desktop manager and environment. I never use the KDE4 "pretty effects", I find them useless. I strongly prefer a simple text launch menu......and I insist on using a file manager that behaves like KDE3.5 Konqueror......so I fixed the cushions on the KDE4 lounge suite the way *I* like them arranged. I've never seriously used WinXP, so I have absolutely NO idea on what people did to make it work like Win98SE.....and curiously, I really did love Win98SE........of all the Microsoft releases, that version still seems like a winner to me. Fast, simple and dead easy to use.
But I do think your comparison of KDE4 with Windows is not as far fetched as some might think......"Complexity thy name is Windows"......and in my opinion, KDE4 is making a darn good try at taking over the winning spot.
All I considered was that KDE3.5 was simple, easy to use, relatively quick, intuitive and an all-round delight as a desktop manager and environment. I never use the KDE4 "pretty effects", I find them useless. I strongly prefer a simple text launch menu......and I insist on using a file manager that behaves like KDE3.5 Konqueror......so I fixed the cushions on the KDE4 lounge suite the way *I* like them arranged. I've never seriously used WinXP, so I have absolutely NO idea on what people did to make it work like Win98SE.....and curiously, I really did love Win98SE........of all the Microsoft releases, that version still seems like a winner to me. Fast, simple and dead easy to use.
But I do think your comparison of KDE4 with Windows is not as far fetched as some might think......"Complexity thy name is Windows"......and in my opinion, KDE4 is making a darn good try at taking over the winning spot.
Well, recently I had to refurnish a new Windows XP desktop to make it usable for me, and it reminded me of what you wrote about your 'adventures' with molding KDE4 back into something which resembles 3.
I have to admit, in XP I used the text-launch menu too, to launch cmd.exe, probably one time the registry editor and I use it to start calc.exe, the Windows calculator. I don't like all the clicking. And when I needed to have some work done which Excel obviously couldn't handle (reading 600 non-opened files consecutively), I resided to a DOS batch script with 'findstr' (the Windows-grep wannabe) and gawk.exe/sed.exe, which I couldn't live without. Tried some VB, but my VB-fu was simply not up to the task, so I handled the problem by using streaming text processing techniques probably invented in the 80's. Even if much moderner techniques such as Power Shell and VBA were available. Thing is, you tend to solve problems with the techniques / methods you've probably always used, even while better more efficient solutions might be around the corner.
Nonetheless, believe it or not, most '98 users like me after a few years became accustomed to XP and then they didn't want to switch back anymore, even while in the beginning days of XP they longed for '98. The same must have been true for the KDE2 -> KDE3 switch, though I was not using Linux back then.
I have to admit, in XP I used the text-launch menu too, to launch cmd.exe, probably one time the registry editor and I use it to start calc.exe, the Windows calculator. I don't like all the clicking. And when I needed to have some work done which Excel obviously couldn't handle (reading 600 non-opened files consecutively), I resided to a DOS batch script with 'findstr' (the Windows-grep wannabe) and gawk.exe/sed.exe, which I couldn't live without. Tried some VB, but my VB-fu was simply not up to the task, so I handled the problem by using streaming text processing techniques probably invented in the 80's. Even if much moderner techniques such as Power Shell and VBA were available. Thing is, you tend to solve problems with the techniques / methods you've probably always used, even while better more efficient solutions might be around the corner.
Nonetheless, believe it or not, most '98 users like me after a few years became accustomed to XP and then they didn't want to switch back anymore, even while in the beginning days of XP they longed for '98. The same must have been true for the KDE2 -> KDE3 switch, though I was not using Linux back then.
Quoting:I don't like all the clicking.Interesting, now that I think about it... because that's what typing is. Mouse-clicking is like typing with just your left thumb (or your right thumb, if you're a south-paw). Aim, press, aim, press, woops, undo that press, aim, press. Every action is sequential, rather than one digit pressing while two other digits are already aiming for their keys to press, the way most typists type.
I wonder if the CMU CHI group has anything to say about that?
@gus3 -
Physiologically, it isn't. Much more damaging, much more likely to lead to repetitive stress syndrome than typing properly.
Physiologically, it isn't. Much more damaging, much more likely to lead to repetitive stress syndrome than typing properly.
Quoting:Mouse-clicking is like typing with just your left thumb (or your right thumb, if you're a south-paw).That sounds like a really awkward way to mouse-click. I prefer to use my index and middle fingers to left- and right-click. ;)
Since none of my pointing devices have middle buttons, my middle finger tends to get used for other methods of input to the computer. Sadly, such input has always been rejected so far.
@gus3 --
Sounds like a job for Kinect hackers.
Sounds like a job for Kinect hackers.
Bringing a new meaning to the term "flip off the system".
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There's one more thing I'd like to add which really annoyed me when I saw it and realised what the KDE4 team had done and I didn't give full vent to this annoyance in the text. It's not surprising that it took me so long to get the tree display down the left hand side. When you are selecting which panel you want to display, the names are Places, Information, Folders and Terminal. If you select "Folders" you get the tree display ~ but why in heaven's name would you select "Folders" when the main display of Dolphin already has by default, a display of folders ? This is a real error in terminology and the option should have been labelled "Tree".....or similar.
And indeed I agree with the comments: One should NOT have to fight to get Dolphin into a mode where it is able to be used efficiently, it should be there by default. I showed the process to my Linux friend 40km up the road a couple of days ago and his instant remarks are pretty apt. He suggested that he could see only one reason for what the KDE4 team has done with the default view of Dolphin: "Make it so that it seems to be very new, swinging and dancing and therefore does not resemble Konqueror". Sure, from now on, getting Dolphin into a useful mode will be a matter of a minute or two in a new installation ~ the point I make to any KDE4 listening in to this thread is: I shouldn't have to do that, it should be the default display. Moreover, in its default format, I find Dolphin almost useless for my purposes, but in the "Konqueror format", Dolphin works very nicely.