Sunday, February 5, 2017
,Build 15007's Windows Update was broken
I went through Event logs and learned quite a bit. I tried quite a few workarounds and failed. I eventually found a link to the ISOs. You don't have to burn them, just mount them. It took me several weeks before I hit upon this solution and Microsoft was on build 15025 at the time I located the page on Microsoft's site that contains the link to them. Microsoft is terrible at making information accessible to people.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
UUP
I am kind of hopeful for UUP https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/11/03/introducing-unified-update-platform-uup/#fF2jpRtCUfZBShlV.97 but it seems like it is still too little. There is no reason Microsoft can't create a parallel install of Windows while you are using your current install and then just rename the two sets of directories. Windows to Windows.OLD Windows.NEW to Windows.
Monday, November 28, 2016
The 'Feedback' tab in Feedback hub isn't working right
The 'Feedback' tab in Feedback hub takes forever to load the first time and it has to load to submit feedback. While it is loading, no indication is given that anything is happening.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Monday, April 25, 2016
File Explorer Main Report
Well you can start by realizing there are people like me who treat File Explorer as a hub to all their files. Go through the databases the media players like to generate? Nope, do it through File Explorer. Calibre imports text documents and only text documents into its own file and directory structure with metadata files? Nope, I need text files next to files containing other data types There's no longer plain text files with the extension txt under "New..." but it isn't that big of an inconvenience to look up how to fix it, but imagine how much better it could be if it was trivial to add file types and templates to "New..."
The history of File Explorer windows, and hopefully sometime soon tabs, should be preserved across reboots and crashes. When there's been an abnormal shutdown, File Manager should display like Firefox, a list of all the windows and tabs before displaying anything further, in case one of the open views caused the crash or the user wants to use the situation to thin the amount of tabs they have open.
When I navigate away from a directory and then delete it and then venture back it should display in the pane files are usually displayed in something about directory not found instead of a dialog box that prevents further navigation of the history.
WinMerge 2011 allows you to start the process of comparing files and directories within File Explorer, by shell extensions on the context-sensitive menu? A good start. TortoiseGit/SVN also? Good. The processes that drive me to use both of them could seriously use a ribbon panel in File Explorer. And quit switching me to a different ribbon panel every time I enter a compressed folder. Copy and paste work perfectly fine, and I am constantly having to switch back to that panel. Clarify what is meant by folders are run in a separate process. From each other, or just the start menu, taskbar and whatever other things explorer.exe handles? It just doesn't seem like there is enough explorer.exe processes to account for all the folder views I have open.
"We will list files as you start to use them" is not a good go to event while preparing to show files. I haven't seen the message turn up for quite awhile, so it may have been fixed, but I felt like I had to point this out... again.
To parody Tim Minchin's "Not Perfect":
This is my File Explorer, and I live in it
It's where I spend the vast majority of my time
It's not perfect
Checkboxes
When checkboxes are turned on and single click behavior is turned on and a file is clicked on in File Explorer and there is more than one file checked, nothing should happen.
This is because I keep aiming for the checkbox and somehow missing, undoing all the checkboxes I selected.
I checked two files with different extensions and clicking on one I found that the other file became unchecked and the file clicked on was passed to the program that handles it. One alternate expectation is that both files get passed to their programs. The current action removes one of the reasons the user might check more than one file.
Checkboxes should be enlarged comparable to the font sizes set at Control Panel: Display
I also find it necessary to have to use "Agent Ransack" instead of the search functionality that File Explorer provides.
Windows 98 used to allow the user to style a directory, it would be nice if that functionality was brought back. Also, floating toolbars.
There's a lot to be said about adding database-like/ish or something features to the file experience, and also make it so that people can learn about normal forms in connection with it and also not "have to" learn it.
Oh and make compression deterministic. I move a file with compression turned on from one drive to another and all of a sudden Windows reports that the file now takes up less space.
The history of File Explorer windows, and hopefully sometime soon tabs, should be preserved across reboots and crashes. When there's been an abnormal shutdown, File Manager should display like Firefox, a list of all the windows and tabs before displaying anything further, in case one of the open views caused the crash or the user wants to use the situation to thin the amount of tabs they have open.
When I navigate away from a directory and then delete it and then venture back it should display in the pane files are usually displayed in something about directory not found instead of a dialog box that prevents further navigation of the history.
WinMerge 2011 allows you to start the process of comparing files and directories within File Explorer, by shell extensions on the context-sensitive menu? A good start. TortoiseGit/SVN also? Good. The processes that drive me to use both of them could seriously use a ribbon panel in File Explorer. And quit switching me to a different ribbon panel every time I enter a compressed folder. Copy and paste work perfectly fine, and I am constantly having to switch back to that panel. Clarify what is meant by folders are run in a separate process. From each other, or just the start menu, taskbar and whatever other things explorer.exe handles? It just doesn't seem like there is enough explorer.exe processes to account for all the folder views I have open.
"We will list files as you start to use them" is not a good go to event while preparing to show files. I haven't seen the message turn up for quite awhile, so it may have been fixed, but I felt like I had to point this out... again.
To parody Tim Minchin's "Not Perfect":
This is my File Explorer, and I live in it
It's where I spend the vast majority of my time
It's not perfect
Checkboxes
When checkboxes are turned on and single click behavior is turned on and a file is clicked on in File Explorer and there is more than one file checked, nothing should happen.
This is because I keep aiming for the checkbox and somehow missing, undoing all the checkboxes I selected.
I checked two files with different extensions and clicking on one I found that the other file became unchecked and the file clicked on was passed to the program that handles it. One alternate expectation is that both files get passed to their programs. The current action removes one of the reasons the user might check more than one file.
Checkboxes should be enlarged comparable to the font sizes set at Control Panel: Display
I also find it necessary to have to use "Agent Ransack" instead of the search functionality that File Explorer provides.
Windows 98 used to allow the user to style a directory, it would be nice if that functionality was brought back. Also, floating toolbars.
There's a lot to be said about adding database-like/ish or something features to the file experience, and also make it so that people can learn about normal forms in connection with it and also not "have to" learn it.
Oh and make compression deterministic. I move a file with compression turned on from one drive to another and all of a sudden Windows reports that the file now takes up less space.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
The problem with File Explorer alternatives
There are a rash of people pointing out that when File Explorer copies/moves/deletes files, for some reason the dialog box can be found under windows instead of on top of them.
This has brought me to search anew for a replacement for File Explorer. I've realized that the main reason I stick with File Explorer is because of its plugin-type system for its context sensitive menus.
I came upon the article, QMMander – Cool Open Source Alternative to Windows Explorer, by Karl L. Gechlik. I find myself unsettled by these words:
"A person’s Explorer tells a lot about them. If you are using the built in Windows Explorer it shows that you do not like to tweak but if you are using something like this – it shows you think outside the box. That’s not just because I am a geek right?"
No, and for that paragraph you should turn in your "geek card", and perhaps any number of other cards you have lying around. If you are using the built in Windows Explorer, it most definitely does not show that you do not like to tweak, and failure to understand the power of File Explorer's context-sensitive menu plug-in system further undermines your credibility. I would have posted a message on that article's comment system, but as of this writing, it claims to have 17 comments that it simply refuses to show and lacks any indication of how to make a comment.
Just now I've looked around for a File Explorer alternative and I found sites where such alternatives are hosted rather barebones, and while some of them have their own plug-in systems, I haven't seen any that say they can use File Explorer's.
This has brought me to search anew for a replacement for File Explorer. I've realized that the main reason I stick with File Explorer is because of its plugin-type system for its context sensitive menus.
I came upon the article, QMMander – Cool Open Source Alternative to Windows Explorer, by Karl L. Gechlik. I find myself unsettled by these words:
"A person’s Explorer tells a lot about them. If you are using the built in Windows Explorer it shows that you do not like to tweak but if you are using something like this – it shows you think outside the box. That’s not just because I am a geek right?"
No, and for that paragraph you should turn in your "geek card", and perhaps any number of other cards you have lying around. If you are using the built in Windows Explorer, it most definitely does not show that you do not like to tweak, and failure to understand the power of File Explorer's context-sensitive menu plug-in system further undermines your credibility. I would have posted a message on that article's comment system, but as of this writing, it claims to have 17 comments that it simply refuses to show and lacks any indication of how to make a comment.
Just now I've looked around for a File Explorer alternative and I found sites where such alternatives are hosted rather barebones, and while some of them have their own plug-in systems, I haven't seen any that say they can use File Explorer's.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Microsoft passing the buck
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start/taskbar-does-not-display-tab-previews-for-non/ce4b8405-4d4e-4e93-9719-9ecf48685f25
Check out how Arun B J, a Microsoft Support Engineer, totally attempts to pass the buck as to how W10 breaks toolbar tab previews for non-Microsoft tab using programs which worked fine in 8 and 8.1. Latest example of "DOS isn't done until Lotus won't run" mentality?...Which I first heard as "Windows isn't done until Lotus won't run" at which point Microsoft had a spreadsheet to challenge Lotus, which might be the reason that the DOS version of the quote didn't ring true to people who developed the DOS version of Lotus 1-2-3.
Check out how Arun B J, a Microsoft Support Engineer, totally attempts to pass the buck as to how W10 breaks toolbar tab previews for non-Microsoft tab using programs which worked fine in 8 and 8.1. Latest example of "DOS isn't done until Lotus won't run" mentality?...Which I first heard as "Windows isn't done until Lotus won't run" at which point Microsoft had a spreadsheet to challenge Lotus, which might be the reason that the DOS version of the quote didn't ring true to people who developed the DOS version of Lotus 1-2-3.
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