Just a Thought...: Operating Systems are Rude

Operating Systems are Rude

Berin Loritsch — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:55:00 +0000

Have you ever started typing in a password for one of the many resources that require one and right in the middle, the focus is snatched away by another program? It’s particularly troublesome while the operating system is starting up. Talk about a security risk. What if the thing that stole focus from my email password prompt was going to broadcast my keystrokes somewhere else? It should be illegal to steal focus while the user is typing into any text box. It’s just sheer rudeness, and I’m tired of it. Here I am trying to get something productive done and the operating system that is supposed to be helping me do my job is interrupting me with stuff I don’t care about.

I can answer the prompt telling me that my monitor is past due for a recalibration after I type in my email password. Why steal my focus from what I’m typing in right now while a new window is popping up in the background? Shouldn’t that stay in the background? I’ll start a few things at once knowing they’ll take some time to finish up, but that doesn’t mean I want them to jump in front of me when they are ready. I’m a grown a** man, I can decide for myself what and when I want to do things on my own computer. Tell my why it’s so important to grab my attention while I’m typing in a URL?

Listen Microsoft, Apple, Linux, and any other wannabe contenders out there: I want a polite operating system. Get out of my way and let me do my job the way I want to do it. If an application doesn’t need my attention at the moment, don’t grab it. If an application does need me to do something, let me finish what I’m doing in the application right now. Make it illegal to steal focus if I’m typing in a text box—especially if it is a password box. How hard can it be? Heck, I don’t mind you flashing the application button on the task bar until I address the need, but don’t allow any application to usurp control whenever it wants to. Only allow applications to request control.

Lastly, make sure that your scheduling system will make sure there are enough resources for me to continue typing in what I’m typing in without background processes interrupting me. Why should an application ignore keystrokes just because another application is loading in a butt-load of libraries? Why should I have to restart typing in my passwords because the operating system can’t keep up with me and simply ignores the keys I’m typing in? It’s the 21st century for crying out loud. These annoyances should be a thing of the past.

Sure it’s cheap for me to complain, and it’s cheap for you to say “build it yourself if you don’t like the way we do things”. But there is a free market economy. We specialize in different things. I do application work, but if you want to pay me to do operating system work I’ll be happy to take on the challenge. If Apple OS X is a polite operating system let me know, when I upgrade my machines I’ll switch. But to date, I haven’t run across one single operating system that can behave properly in this regard.

"Operating Systems are Rude" by Berin Loritsch

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:13:47 +0000

Remember, wannabe came after the big three (which Linux is included, and by default KDE).

The problem I have with Linux is in the integration front. When I want to use networked tools at work like printers and such, Windows is more usable than Linux.

Even if you get past the setup issues, there is the issue that sticks in my craw even more: I can’t use iTunes on Linux. Yes, I use an iPod, and yes I have bought several legal downloads from iTunes. Add to that fact that none of the major distributions include MP3 support anymore.

Give me better laptop support, iTunes, and easier integration with Windows networked appliances, or give me a Mac. I may have to go with the Mac.

"Operating Systems are Rude" by Doug

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:10:07 +0000

Not only is it rude to steal the focus while you’re typing, it’s dangerous.

Over the years I’ve had a number of incidents where dialog boxes popped up while I was typing and thought that I was talking to them. Especially when I hit the Enter key, which the dialog often takes as being assent to whatever nonsense it has just thrown up at me. Why yes of course I wanted to reboot my system while I’m in the middle of writing a large document.

Actually, in most cases I simply have no idea what the dialog was. The dialog popped up and went away before I could read it. What the heck did I just tell it to do? I haven’t a clue.

One specific thing that I’ve learned: I have my AOL Instant Messenger set to not transmit on the Enter key. One good way to embarrass yourself is to be typing along when someone sends you an IM, the AIM dialog pops up and your typing goes in there followed by the Enter key that sends it to whoever IM’ed you.

"Operating Systems are Rude" by Jim

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:32:34 +0000

Ditto to niq. Before calling something “wannabe”, you might want to check that it doesn’t actually do what you want it to. Under KDE, just go to Settings | Desktop | Window Behaviour | Advanced, and check out the focus stealing options.

"Operating Systems are Rude" by niq

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:29:19 +0000

Behold the virtue of choice. I find amongst mainstream desktops, KDE offers me the choice of configuring something I’m comfortable with, including avoidance of this and other rudeness.

"Operating Systems are Rude" by noodl

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:21:19 +0000

Agreed, mostly. On the rare occasion I have to use a Windows machine this is a major irritation, and even more so on Vista after start/wake when it’s not just text boxes but the mouse jumps around and menus close randomly. Both Vista and XP jump the focus around so much during software updates that they become unusable.

However, on the Mac I very rarely see this happen. About the only examples I can think of are Dantz Retrospect that pops up every now and then to tell me I’ve missed a backup, and occasionally on web forms which use javascript onload to move the focus (although that’s clearly cross platform). Everything else just bounces away in the Dock and lets me carry on typing.

It been a while since I used Linux on the desktop but I don’t remember it being too much of an issue there, but then the general inconsistency between input dialogs takes over in the irritation stakes.

Colour me an Apple fanboy, but at least in this respect the Mac wins imho.