The Technology Vent and Rant Thread

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

If there were only a button: "Make the styling like Windows XP"...
You still can't get sharp corners on Windows unless you break the system transparency.

You can on Linux Mint with Mate Desktop. Also Only QT based programs go a little mad with hidpi.
But with QT you can do this

 /usr/bin/env QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 QT_SCALE_FACTOR=1.33 /opt/viber/Viber %u

My 2002 laptop was 133 dpi (1600 x 1200) and XP had more flexible DPI settings than W10, has for text, except VB6.0 or similar ONLY rescale text, not the graphic elements.
Also one use of DPI scaling is to make windows smaller so they fit on a 1024 x 600 or whatever less than 1920 x 1080 screen.

Nor do I want the GUI to automatically do the Apple Retina thing of 2x2 pixels per pixel just because it's a 4K mode (OR QHD on a smaller screen_. Depends on screen size, view distance, eyesight and application.

How many stupid TV / Media centre type apps have I seen on Windows since 2000 that assume you are 2m away from a 14" screen instead of using a 19" screen on your desk AND HAVE NO GUI settings to change this? OTOH Android TV seems designed by someone at a desk, not a living room, who never watches TV channels or selects a video input but ALWAYS want to run an App when the TV is turned on? Yet remote has dedicated buttons no use if TV never on WiFi/ethernet but no direct access to Aspect Ratio or Station Info?

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Renate

If there were only a button: "Make the styling like Windows XP"...
You still can't get sharp corners on Windows unless you break the system transparency.

And a new gripe. If you have an older app and try to display it on a laptop or something with greater than 96 DPI Windows will say, "Oh, that poor app won't understand 144 DPI (or whatever), I will scale the video so that it's all blurry!".

So when you run your old app and you say, "I thought that it looked sharper than that", that is what is happening. You can apparently set per-app compatibility, or regenerate the app with a manifest that says that it understands DPI or in code:

SetProcessDpiAwareness(2);

Styling is what Microsoft should have done with Windows 8 and after. Allow the Users to configure their computer to work the way that they want, including the ability to skin the desktop to look and act the way that they want. As an example, who came up with the bright idea to remove the "X" in the corner that allows you to close a window (something that has been around for decades and was understood by everyone)?

This is one of the things I like about MediaMonkey (MM), I can skin it look the way that I want. One of the things I strongly disliked about iTunes was that you had no options to change the look, and the look it has was very glaring to my eyes due to how bright it was. While reducing the screen brightness a bit helped, it wasn't a good way to go about things. With MM, I can make it look the way that I want, including the following looks: Zune, iTunes, and Windows Media Player. Plus, I've got a whole group of other skins to choose from (such as Songbird[Gonzo] that I'm using now). Sometimes out of curiosity I change the skin to see if I like another one better.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Sun Microsystems keyboards had Control key where it belongs, between Tab and Shift, until around the turn or the millennium. I just went looking for images and am shocked at how hard one was to find for that layout.
https://old.reddit.com/r/vintagecomp...ard/?rdt=51099

The keys on the the left of the Sun workstation kb were for commonly used actions: Cut/Copy/Paste/Undo etc. The function keys were above the 'numeric' row like they are today.

The problem with Control being between Shift and Tab was Sun put CapsLock under Shift where other keyboards had Control, if you also used Lisa, some X-terminals, PCs etc, you'd find yourself pressing Caps Lock/X etc.

If I had my way Caps Lock would be out of the way, like they had Help - Num Lock too.

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is a setting in Win 11 to move the start menu and icons to the left.

Jon, the chances of me watching a 10 minute video about the Win11 taskbar is vanishingly small. AFAIK there is no equivalent in Win 11 to Win10's Settings->Peronization->Taskbar-> Taskbar location on screen: Left/Right/ Bottom/Top

However Michael Maltsev has implemented an equivalent in WindHawk (re-engineered 7TT ++ for Win11) ==>> https://ramensoftware.com/windhawk-m...ows-11-taskbar

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Jon, the chances of me watching a 10 minute video about the Win11 taskbar is vanishingly small. AFAIK there is no equivalent in Win 11 to Win10's Settings->Peronization->Taskbar-> Taskbar location on screen: Left/Right/ Bottom/Top

However Michael Maltsev has implemented an equivalent in WindHawk (re-engineered 7TT ++ for Win11) ==>> https://ramensoftware.com/windhawk-m...ows-11-taskbar

BR

In Windows 11, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and select Taskbar Behaviors. Then you'll see Taskbar Alignment, Set it to Left.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I don't remember Caps Lock being on the bottom row instead of between Tab and Shift. I've used CAPS as the Compose Key for nearly 10 years on Linux now.

The Shift-Lock key/lever on old manual typewriters is below the left side Shift key. I don't recall where I first saw a computer keyboard which renamed it Caps Lock/CAPSLCK and moved it between left Shift and Tab but I do have vague memories of hating it after learning to type on a real typewriter.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

In Windows 11, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and select Taskbar Behaviors. Then you'll see Taskbar Alignment, Set it to Left.

AFAIK that is the equivalent of this:



For past 25+ years I've had this:



Initially via an addon, but since Vista via Windows itself. If when I get to Win11 I will have to use an addon… AGAIN!

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by ratinox

The Shift-Lock key/lever on old manual typewriters is below the left side Shift key. I don't recall where I first saw a computer keyboard which renamed it Caps Lock/CAPSLCK and moved it between left Shift and Tab but I do have vague memories of hating it after learning to type on a real typewriter.

Maybe this: 3270 terminal circa 1975

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

In Windows 11, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and select Taskbar Behaviors. Then you'll see Taskbar Alignment, Set it to Left.

But that only offers Center and Left on the bottom of the screen. No option to move the taskbar to a different edge of the display. Bottom only, no other edges need apply!

[Renate]

I'd like to disable the gray squiggle under the taskbar icons. Since I never pin anything there the squiggle is redundant.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Renate

I'd like to disable the gray squiggle under the taskbar icons. Since I never pin anything there the squiggle is redundant.

Ask Michael Maltsev at https://ramensoftware.com/

WindHawk for Win11, 7TT++ for Win10

You might even be able to do it yourself with these https://ramensoftware.com/uwpspy and https://windhawk.net/mods/windows-11-taskbar-styler

BR

[Comfy.n]

Been using 7tt since Win8

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

Been using 7tt since Win8

Early adopter Win 7 here My home system was XP, and my laptop (Tosh Portege R700) was Vista, which taut me I all I didn't need in a taskbar. I might still be on XP if I hadn't found 7TT.

[Comfy.n]

yeah, I thought..."if i say since windows 7, I have no idea if i'm being precise as I can't remember even what I had for lunch"

then also it would sound like "I found it first!"

[DNSB]

Hmmm.... my first computers ran programs loaded from punched tape. I later ran CP/M from dual 8" floppy disks. Fond memories of the joys of saving a couple of bytes so a program would fit into available memory.