The case for Nushell, https://www.jntrnr.com/case-for-nushell/.

Relevant article about shells, and how Nushell pushes the boundaries further. I highly recommend reading it.

#shell #nushell

The case for Nushell

Sophia June Turner

@hywan @Keltounet Question: "can the state of shells be improved enough to overcome the inertia of sticking to what you know?"

This is the wrong question. It presupposes zero cost of transition, while the cognitive workload of learning a new shell rises exponentially with age (hint: I'm nearly 60, shells are harder to adapt to than a new GUI). Stability and continuity are essential prerequisites to productivity!

@cstross @hywan we could say the same for languages, both in real life and computing. I'm 56 and enjoying learning both Rust and Japanese 😅

And looking into nutshell too.

@Keltounet @hywan Computing is not my job. It hasn't been my job for over two decades. Time spent learning a new shell or thinking about computers is time *wasted* from the non-compsci point of view.

Thing is, the question about the utility of switching to a new shell has embedded ideological assumptions that implicitly privilege computing over applications. To 99% of the world applications of computing are the priority; the machines and software are just an annoying drag on getting stuff done.

@cstross @hywan I see your point 😁 I'm a lower level kind of guy anyway
@Keltounet @hywan There's a deeper point: the past 70 years of computing have focussed on a spurious vision of progress that forgets to consider the utility of a stable platform. Operating systems in particular are driven by commercial goals (sell more software! Get more Linux desktops out there!) that are actively inimical to the needs of their users. Forcing users to learn a new way of working every year—even if they don't need to—is crazy. And it renders computers inaccessible to the elderly.
@Keltounet @hywan I watched my mother progressively (and completely) lose the ability to use her iMac during her final decade because Apple kept f*cking around with the Mac OS X user interface, the way Mail worked, the colour of the window maximize/minimize buttons, and stuff that probably looked trivial to a 30-something UI designer but was deeply disruptive to an 80 something with impaired memory. And by losing that access, she lost touch with friends (via email).
@cstross
I would agree many UI changes in all manner of tools seem to be change for its own sake (where improvements are not clear, or worse, where the UX feels worse), as if the decision makers need to feel productive
@Keltounet @hywan

@tshepang @cstross @Keltounet @hywan Sorry for the swearing but *fucking* Google Maps.

An app that is used in conjunction with a task you need to fully concentrate on (driving) and they keep changing things that make the UI harder to interact with.

Counterpoint: Netflix - what do their UX people do all day?

@tanepiper @tshepang @Keltounet @hywan I can't engage with that (I've never used or seen netflix—don't watch TV/movies).

@cstross @tanepiper @tshepang @Keltounet @hywan A lot of the video on demand services have the same problem.

HERE ARE OUR FIVE NEW THINGS.

But I want to watch what I was watching yesterday or to search for something else?

HERE ARE OUR FIVE NEW THINGS.

I heard rumors that forcing the user to search for what they actually want to see increases “engagement” metrics.

From what I know of other areas of IT, that doesn’t sound too unbelievable to me. @sepdroid @cstross @tanepiper @tshepang @Keltounet @hywan

@Landa @cstross @tanepiper @tshepang @Keltounet @hywan They need to send us remote controls with keyboards. Let's go find a computer because searching by typing in one letter at a time on a remote control is a poor user experience.
Well, that would help some people, but it’s not even the worst UI failure. @sepdroid @cstross @tanepiper @tshepang @Keltounet @hywan