Galeon, A History

I prefer usability to complexity. I rather use nano or gedit, I loathe emacs and vim (for example; this is not an attack on either one of those editors). I am not against simplicity at all, and I think intuitivity could be improved even more. I get very weary of over-packed menu's, stupidly arranged, without any overview. So that part of the 'cleanup' I like, as I said before.

More than a zillion geeky features, I am refering to those features that enable me to integrate programs and chain them in a unix way, for example by having dynamic menu's (generated by commands), or recursively download webpages with wget from my graphical browser, etc. The kind of features that allow unix to remain unix and to combine pieces into something that gets the job done. What could is usability when it can't do what the user (and not the programmer) wants it to do?

My problem (or rather, worry) is the dumbing down and loss of unix flexibility, i.e. 'becoming windows'. I don't mind so much the shake-out of a zillion useless-for-all-but-one features, as the fear of overall braindeadness that I feel lurks behind some cleanup-ideas. Maybe I can say it best like this: I want to be able to do something clever.

Usability is good, but complexity is good, too, even necessary, when I need it. I understand some people just want to click pretty pictures, but some of us really need to get work done and prefer to do as much as possible in automated ways. Whenever I think to myself: damn, I have to do open this window again, type this, pipe it, copy it, sed it, etc, the software failed to make my life easier and automate the daunting tasks. To automate things is exactly the point of computers and software. I shouldn't be forced to go backwards and open a zillion windows to repeat the same actions over and over, when I can write one wickedly cool command and tie that to a button. I don't want to waste time and be limited by a braindead interface. And that is what I mean with flexibility and power-features; to allow me to be smart and automate my tasks.

As you see, this doesn't necessary have to be the complete opposite of your vision.