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"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica)
Ryan Paul covers
a week long GNOME hackfest. "The GNOME Task Pooper concept, which is intended to bring first-class task management to the desktop, has a content drop-zone that organizes itself temporally. It will automatically move expired content into an archive so that immediately relevant action items are easily accessible and not obscured by clutter. Beyond the initial 3.0 release, the document says that the Pooper could eventually be augmented so that users can drag entire windows and workspaces into it for later use."
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"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 0:39 UTC (Sat) by dilinger (subscriber, #2867) [Link]
...How old are we?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 0:51 UTC (Sat) by sharms (subscriber, #57357) [Link]
I find it completely acceptable for productive people to name projects
whatever they want.
Out of curiosity, where can we view your properly named successful
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 1:16 UTC (Sat) by dilinger (subscriber, #2867) [Link]
I'm happy that you find it acceptable. I hope they don't expect to be taken seriously, though.
One who chooses a name like that should also be prepared for reactions such as:
19:17 <aa> having gnome components named after bowel movements sounds appropriate to
As far as *my* contributions.. Again, how old are we? If you're honestly curious, feel free to
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 1:38 UTC (Sat) by sharms (subscriber, #57357) [Link]
Looking at your commits, it is clear you understand how free software
works, and are actively involved. With that said, people who volunteer their time are entitled to name their works of love, not paid labor, whatever they deem appropriate.
I would much rather see contributions, or even a patch changing any
Everyone hates 'x'. Not unique to just you, but the quality of comments
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 2:18 UTC (Sat) by dilinger (subscriber, #2867) [Link]
Of course you're free to name your projects as you please. I'm a happy gnome user (well,
gnome + xmonad), and I do hope the project we're discussing turns out to be the best thing since sliced bread.
However, I prefer the software that I rely on to be written by people w/ some amount of
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 3:35 UTC (Sat) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link] Chill; by the time any software is released I'm sure that the components will have more civilized names. Meanwhile, what do you think of the concept?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 7:02 UTC (Sat) by Felix.Braun (subscriber, #3032) [Link]
This software is in a concept phase. I understand if designers spend more time on thinking about the intendet usage than on coming up with a marketing approved name for the beast. I for one don't see much of a difference in quality between names like libpr0n and AwsomeBar TM
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 19:53 UTC (Mon) by butlerm (subscriber, #13312) [Link]
The problem is that such names actively offend and drive people away. Want
developers? Want testers? Want anyone to care about the feature at all? Most people won't even bother to read about what the feature actually does.
No doubt if there is an active constituency for this kind of thing, someone
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 8:17 UTC (Sat) by euske (subscriber, #9300) [Link]
Sometimes initial product ideas or concepts have stupid codenames, even within companies, don't they? I guess this is a case that those internal discussions get spilled out of the core developers, which is normally a good thing in the FOSS world.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 19:57 UTC (Mon) by butlerm (subscriber, #13312) [Link]
This name goes more than a little beyond "stupid".
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 10:22 UTC (Sat) by maro (subscriber, #34315) [Link]
I love when there's room for humor in software development, but I'll have to
agree that for me too, the name is too low to even be funny.
As for the content of the article, the theme mock-up looks a bit
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 14:09 UTC (Sat) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] I would much rather see contributions, or even a patch changing any references to said name if it ever actually exists to your suitable alternative name, then just pure negative comments. We have too much of that to the point where things get boring to read. There is an unfortunate tendency among some free software advocates to dismiss criticism in this way. ("It's free. If you don't like it, patch it / fork it / go away.") If free software is ever to become a truly viable development methodology, we need to behave professionally. And that means treating our users as customers. It means listening to the customers respectfully and not dismissing their criticisms because they haven't contributed to the software. A proprietary software vendor that doesn't listen to its customers will quickly go out of business (excepting Microsoft with its unnatural monopoly.) It should be no different for a free software project.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 0:45 UTC (Sun) by mikov (subscriber, #33179) [Link]
I think this is a major aspect of free software that lots of people miss:
Your users really are _not_ your customers unless they are paying you.
Of course commercially developed free software is fully professional, but
Personally I like to complain a lot about free software (Ubuntu and KDE
In this specific case the poorly chosen name is exact proof that free
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 14:16 UTC (Sun) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] Your users really are _not_ your customers unless they are paying you. Professionalism is associated with services against compensation. I disagree. In the free software world, even if users are not your customers, successful free software projects treat users like customers. And in the free software world, professionalism is associated with pride in one's craft. In the free software world, your name and your code are out there for everyone to see. This is a strong motivation to produce quality, professional work. Your body of work is essentially your resume.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 14:58 UTC (Sun) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
Successful free software projects should treat users as developers. Otherwise either the project would stay underdeveloped/unfinished (because no one cares to polish/finish/complete it), or its developer would be treated by users as their personal "bitch". Of course, this applies only to hobbyist projects, i.e. ones which aren't corporate-backed.
That's my personal experience. If yours is different, I'd love to hear about it.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 15:42 UTC (Sun) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] That's my personal experience. If yours is different, I'd love to hear about it. I'm the sole developer on two GPL'd projects: Remind and rp-pppoe and for both of those projects, 99.9% of users are not developers. I'm the lead developer on MIMEDefang which is much more developer oriented, but even in that case, I'd estimate that fewer than 1% of MIMEDefang users have contributed code or patches back (whereas many, many more have contributed ideas, complaints, suggestions or criticisms.)
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 15:58 UTC (Sun) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
So, what about the experience - does it differ from what I've said?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 0:54 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] Yes. My experience differs in that I run three open-source projects which are production-quality software and yet I don't consider most of my users developers.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 1:05 UTC (Mon) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
From my initial post:
> the project would stay underdeveloped/unfinished (because no one cares to polish/finish/complete it), or its developer would be treated by users as their personal "bitch".
Note the "or".
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 3:59 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] Neither of your proposed alternatives happened to me or my projects.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 17:31 UTC (Sun) by boudewijn (subscriber, #14185) [Link]
1000 users for each project -- that's not exactly a lot.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 0:57 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] 1000 users for each project -- that's not exactly a lot. Umm.... where do you get those numbers from? There are about ten thousand MIMEDefang users at least. Furthermore, it's responsible for filtering a significant portion of all email in a European country, where it's used by both a large ISP and a commercial customer of ours. As for RP-PPPoE, it's the standard PPPoE client with Linux. If you're using PPPoE on Linux, you're almost certainly using RP-PPPoE, so that project most likely has more than a hundred thousand users. Remind, it is true, is niche. It probably has about a thousand users.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 2:59 UTC (Mon) by mikov (subscriber, #33179) [Link]
Laughing about a 1000 users is sure hitting below the belt. Some time ago I
was a part of a small software project, which had just a few users (less than 10), but that didn't diminish the pride and the effort that went in it.
Anyway, it sure sounds like your users are in fact developers or at the very
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 4:01 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] Anyway, it sure sounds like your users are in fact developers or at the very least sysadmins. Of MIMEDefang, yes. But definitely not of the other two projects.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 2:55 UTC (Mon) by mikov (subscriber, #33179) [Link]
Don't get me wrong, I am all for enthusiasm, taking pride in one's work,
doing a good job for its own sake, etc. I applaud free software projects which at least try to listen to all their users. If you do that in your projects, you have my professional respect.
However I suspect that you may not fully appreciate what it means to treat
In other words, no free software project can afford to treat non-paying
Now, I agree with what ikm posted - it makes much more sense to treat your
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 3:38 UTC (Mon) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
one of the worst things that a company can do is to take the approach that they will do anything that the paying customer wants them to.
just like in an opensource project, you have lots of people who want you to do lots of different things. It's up to you to decide which of those things that they want make sense to do.
besides, in an opensource project your users are your customers, they just don't usually pay in cash, they usually pay in bug reports, advertising, providing support for other users, new ideas, etc. Some also pay in patches, documentation, and other development work.
limiting your definition of customer to only those who pay in cash or patches and ignoring (or worse, being abusive to) all the others is a wonderful way to keep your project small and avoid getting other developers to help you. Just about every developer starts off as a user, then finds something they want to modify.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 4:58 UTC (Mon) by mikov (subscriber, #33179) [Link]
Of course it would be suicide to ignore your free users. However a paying
customer sits at a different level of responsibility. If they have a critical bug, then you usually _must_ fix it. Usually you are also obligated to give them support, even if they are complete idiots.
With your free users, it is a best effort game, and it is natural to
Back to my initial point, free users shouldn't get angry if they don't get
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 4:08 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] However I suspect that you may not fully appreciate what it means to treat end users as if they really were your paying customers. It takes an awful lot of time and patience; time which a developer does not have (not if they want to have time to develop, that is). Also, it is extremely boring and annoying work, because statistically end users are very very dumb. For the last 11 years, I've been self-employed, and for the last 8 years, I've run a software development company that has hundreds of paying customers. And at least two days a week, I help out with tech support. So I know a lot about customers. For my free software projects as with my proprietary software products, I treat users as customers. I listen to them respectfully and I try not to laugh or belittle them, even if they say really dumb things. (By the same token, I don't automatically agree to implement every little feature they want; even paying customers realize that developers need to prioritize development tasks.) All I'm saying is that picking a crude project name will turn a lot of people off needlessly. It shows a juvenile mindset that doesn't understand about treating users with respect.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 5:02 UTC (Mon) by mikov (subscriber, #33179) [Link]
Well, lets agree to disagree for now. However if you have a way to the Bay
Area, I would be happy to try to persuade you over a couple of beers :-)
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 2, 2010 4:11 UTC (Tue) by sharms (subscriber, #57357) [Link]
This is a muddy area, but I enjoyed reading your comments dskoll. Thank you
for your hard work, especially with RP-PPPoE, I know it has been huge for myself and many others.
I agree about the beer also, if you or Mikov ever stop near Cincinnati send
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 9, 2010 16:43 UTC (Tue) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]
> All I'm saying is that picking a crude project name will turn a lot of people off needlessly. It shows a juvenile mindset that doesn't understand about treating users with respect.
I'm not entirely certain that I agree with the second assertion you make, but the first one is certainly true.
The issue is whether the developer in question is *required* to care, and I think we can all probably agree that unless he's getting paid by someone to care, that "requirement" is too strong a word for this situation.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 9, 2010 16:03 UTC (Tue) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]
> In the free software world, even if users are not your customers, successful free software projects treat users like customers.
Certainly.
Like CDRecord.
*How long* did Schily get away with being an intemperate asshole before his code was *finally* forked?
I don't think that assertion is entirely accurate.
And I don't think it ought to be. On the small scale, at least, projects live or die on one or two coders. They're doing it, as we are often told, to scratch their own itch, so they can eat their own dogfood, or whatever metaphor you, er, like. :-)
If this project was *assigned* to this coder by some larger project like Gnome, then that's one thing. But if the guy just cooked it up on his own, anyone who doesn't like the name is perfectly welcome to fork it.
And on the "We Must Behave Professionally" front... C'mon. <sputter>
You haven't read _Just For Fun_, then?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 20:42 UTC (Sun) by stephenjudd (subscriber, #3227) [Link]
"If free software is ever to become a truly viable development methodology, we need to behave professionally."
This is begging the question, perhaps two-fold.
I thought that free software was __already__ a truly viable development methodology.
And I can tell you, as a long time developer for money, which I guess makes me professional, that stupid names come up in the early stages of projects all the time.
"A proprietary software vendor that doesn't listen to its customers will quickly go out of business (excepting Microsoft with its unnatural monopoly.) It should be no different for a free software project."
Again, question begging. This assumes that free software has to be like proprietary software. In particular, the concepts of "business" and "customer" need not be applicable in the same ways. How am I a customer if I don't pay anything? If I allow people to copy my source code, what is the nature of my business?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 1:01 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] I thought that free software was __already__ a truly viable development methodology. It is, thanks to the majority of free software developers who behave professionally. :-) It's not IMO a viable business strategy except for a very few companies (Red Hat, maybe Novell, maybe a handful of others.) How am I a customer if I don't pay anything? If I allow people to copy my source code, what is the nature of my business? I perhaps should have worded it as "should treat their users as if they were customers". And the nature of the business of a free software project is to ensure continued development and survival of the free software project. Treating users with respect and listening to them goes a long way to helping a project survive.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 5:21 UTC (Mon) by njs (guest, #40338) [Link]
> If free software is ever to become a truly viable development methodology, we need to behave professionally. And that means treating our users as customers
Well, I have to quibble, though I totally agree with the basic thrust of your comment :-).
We shouldn't listen to criticism respectfully because that's what professionals do; not all of us are, after all, professionals, nor is there any particular reason that we should slavishly ape whatever it is that businesses do.
We should listen to criticism respectfully *for the same reason* that professionals do, i.e., because *criticism is really useful*, and because being respectful to people tends to make the world a better place.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 11:12 UTC (Sat) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link]
I also find it understandable for end users of software to be put off by
stupid names.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 12:18 UTC (Sat) by Trelane (subscriber, #56877) [Link]
Yes, but if the "task pooper" name for the concept makes it to the end-users in a real, shipping product, someone hasn't done their job.
Of course, there is the "GIMP," but that's kind of more grandfathered in. But I could always be wrong.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 22:28 UTC (Mon) by xorbe (guest, #3165) [Link]
> I find it completely acceptable for productive
> people to name projects whatever they want.
It is obviously counter-productive to their goal
Explain to your boss next year about having to
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 10:44 UTC (Sat) by linusw (subscriber, #40300) [Link]
Childish indeed, are we not all children at heart? If you think about the bad taste in your mouth after some years of the often false façade that vendor-backed software tout by using overly serious project names with too many superlatives (and the resulting hollowing of all these superlatives), you could empathically understand why someone for purely dialectic reasons will eventually name a thing like this. Maybe just to keep a good head and still find fun in doing software, if even for the lowest of jokes. I wouldn't do that myself though.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 14:46 UTC (Sat) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] Childish indeed, are we not all children at heart? There are silly program names like cat, biff, grep, yacc and bison. These all indicate a charming sense of humour. pooper simply indicates stupidity and a small vocabulary. It's the difference between high and low humour.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 18:16 UTC (Sat) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
Could you enlighten me where's the humor in the grep word? I don't get it.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 19:13 UTC (Sat) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
grep -> grope, maybe? (groping files?)
(I'm not sure how groping is humourous either, though, so maybe I'm
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 21:07 UTC (Sat) by eupator (guest, #44581) [Link] Grep takes its name from the ed command it reimplements. The following two commands are equivalent: $ echo g/regular-expression/p | ed -s file $ grep regular-expression file
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 22:00 UTC (Sat) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
Oh, yes, I know about that, but it's plain that 'grep' wouldn't have been
chosen as a name if it weren't euphonious as well. Other meaningful Unix names, e.g. awk, have names that have punning secondary meanings: this could, too, potentially (although I don't think so).
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 16:02 UTC (Mon) by nye (guest, #51576) [Link]
'pooper simply indicates stupidity and a small vocabulary'
I've never understood why people frequently make the claim that the use of a particular word indicates a small vocabulary. It just seems to be a catastrophic failure in logic - and ironic since those people have a tendency to artificially limit their own vocabulary by blacklisting the words they're talking about.
Not that there's anything *wrong* with choosing not to use certain words or phrases; it's just incongruous.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 18:37 UTC (Mon) by foom (subscriber, #14868) [Link]
Consider, perhaps, the word "thing".
Do you not find it indicative of a small vocabulary for one to use "thing" to describe an object, when
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 2, 2010 12:41 UTC (Tue) by nye (guest, #51576) [Link]
Hmm. You mean the use of a completely generic word when a more specific one might have been more useful. In this context that analogy does seem to work, so fair enough I suppose.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 9, 2010 16:45 UTC (Tue) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]
Well, I dunno: did the developer at least put in the effort to prop up a charming retronym underneath it?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 0:49 UTC (Sun) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
I don't know, but in some cultures toilet humor is quite uncommon. It's
might be not even considered as humor at all.
(on the other hand, names like GIMP don't have negative connotations in
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 15:52 UTC (Sun) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
GIMP isn't even nasty in all versions of English. It's not a word I've
ever heard outside the free software world. (It appears to be an Americanism for a congenitally lame person...)
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 1:37 UTC (Mon) by jordanb (guest, #45668) [Link]
There seems to be just a few Americans who complain about the GIMP name very loudly.
As an American, I have trouble understanding it as it as the word doesn't have a particularly negative connotation to me. My only guess is that there is a particular region and/or age group in the US for whom "Gimp" is an offensive word.
Or people are just trying to start shit.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 3:18 UTC (Mon) by viro (subscriber, #7872) [Link]
> Or people are just trying to start shit.
No, no - "People are just trying to contribute in the ways they are capable of" is the proper form; always look for positive-sounding equivalents.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 11:00 UTC (Sat) by elanthis (guest, #6227) [Link]
I'm 26, and I still find the word "poop" to be funny. I'll try REALLY HARD
not to snicker and/or giggle when some other low-brow degenerate wretch utters such profanity... and sometimes I'll even succeed.
One may have to blame Family Guy. Far too many memorable quotes involving
In all seriousness, it's just a stupid name Seth pulled out of his rear (...
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 16:40 UTC (Sat) by dmk (subscriber, #50141) [Link]
i prefer "task pooper" a thousand times over when a "Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist" talks about "The ACT Compatibility Evaluators" or whatever hollow and boring word-shells in the it marketing currently float around and through "the cloud".
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 17:47 UTC (Sat) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] Surely we can have a choice between the two extremes? Or must we be saddled with pompous and asinine on the one hand and childish potty-humour on the other?
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 8:34 UTC (Mon) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link] Who here thinks that 'task pooper' will be called 'task pooper' for ever and ever and ever?!FFS people. Let them have their fun. They are working on a _DESKTOP_ENVIRONMENT_... Its not the most exciting thing in the world and they are in a very fortunate position that they can work on a major software project without being wage slaves that have to give a shit about what their bosses have to think about every little thing... and that is a serious advantage that they have in this sort of thing. It allows you to get things done any sense of enjoyment will only improve their effectiveness. The corporate mentality is poison for a flexible mind. And believe it or not the "Rose by any other name smells as sweet" is the enlightened approach here. The name is just-for-fun, but the value is in the concept.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 12:05 UTC (Mon) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link] The thing is, profanity fires off certain connections in our brains that evoke strong feelings. I suspect a lot more people would be put off if it had been called task-fucker, and almost everyone would be outraged by kike-killer or something equally offensive. For me, task-pooper crosses the line into bad taste. But for almost everyone, there is a line that can be crossed.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 1, 2010 19:43 UTC (Mon) by butlerm (subscriber, #13312) [Link]
<em>Let them have their fun</em>
If they have fun designing software that no one wants to use, more power to
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 21:22 UTC (Sat) by abadidea (guest, #62082) [Link]
Based on what's happened to Microsoft in the past, if a name like this makes it into a stable release, entire governments will ban/protest the use of GNOME. http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2003/08/25/5470...
Not everyone is as liberal and easy-going as hackers, guys. Heck, the name makes me want to tear my eyes out, because I do NOT want to see crude terminology when I read my technology news.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 27, 2010 22:04 UTC (Sat) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
It's a quite remarkably bad name. I just hope it gets replaced fast.
Humour and puns are one thing, and while they may not be originated by large organizations are generally tolerated by them in products they use for other reasons: poo jokes are quite another.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Feb 28, 2010 15:32 UTC (Sun) by aigarius (subscriber, #7329) [Link]
Some people might not like the name, but it is very simple, memorable and very descriptive of the process which is essential at the design stage when the actual code does not exist yet. You push tasks into the 'pooper' and it 'pops' (or 'poop' if you like) these tasks out again after the pre-determined time.
"Task Pooper" could revolutionize GNOME desktop (ars technica) Posted Mar 9, 2010 16:47 UTC (Tue) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]
Oh. So it's actually Task Anal Beads. Got it.
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 5:29 UTC (Mon) by kevinbsmith (guest, #4778) [Link]
I read the linked article, and the blog post linked within it. And I ended up with absolutely no clue what this pooper is, what it does, how I might use it, or why I might want it on my desktop.
A web search found a PDF which seems to describe it. To save others the bother of the search, my understanding is that it is kind of like suspend/resume at any level of granularity. From a simple string of text up to a desktop with many windows open. Drag it to the pooper and it goes into hibernation, with a thumbnail representation. Bring it back to life at any time, work on it more, and throw it back into the icebox when you want.
Pretty cool, but I think pooping is entirely the wrong metaphor/analogy. It implies a one-way, one-time, destructive transformation. Any of these would be better, but I'm sure there are many even-better choices:
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 8:53 UTC (Mon) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link] Its a task organizer.It allows you to group "objects" together... windows, windows metadata, file objects, etc etc. by dropping them into a task management window. Then you can schedule the task to appear later on. Like have it "shit out the task" on a timer. By being able to schedule things like this and prepare your desktop environment ahead of time should allow you to give yourself more fully into your current task. You don't have to think about what your going to do next and you do not have to worry about forgetting to do something. Instead of having to keep your self reminded on what you need to do in 2-3 hours or what you need to do before you go home from work.. you just plan things out ahead of time. All in all it should make you more productive by giving yourself enough time to accomplish everything you need to do and should be a big booster to your level of concentration. I don't know what specific book or concept they are going off of, but I understand the general concepts. Its like when you go to the store you should make a shopping list for yourself. If you don't then you'll get distracted, especially if your hungry, and you'll end up buying stuff you don't need and forgetting things you do need. Think in terms of "mind mapping" programs or outlines like you were taught in school for organizing tasks (usually you were told to make outlines for writing reports, but they can be applied to lots of different things).
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 15:23 UTC (Mon) by pboddie (subscriber, #50784) [Link] Its a task organizer. Score one for everyone who believes in descriptive names for software projects. It allows you to group "objects" together... windows, windows metadata, file objects, etc etc. by dropping them into a task management window. Then you can schedule the task to appear later on. Like have it "shit out the task" on a timer. I think someone already mentioned that the choice of project name could suggest a lack of vocabulary on the part of the developers, but if people can only frame the function of an application in terms of bodily functions, then it may also be perceived as a lack of emotional maturity. However, I now expect the developers to complain that people aren't taking them seriously, prompting a multi-page essay on "open source marketing" where much agonising is on display, yet few conclusions are actually reached. I'm still not sure whether this choice of name is a step up or a step down from the usual memes, "I am an individual" blanket banner campaigns, or witch-hunts that the more visible (or rather self-promotional) members of the GNOME community indulge in, but I suppose the production of code is worthy of note. Although now that I've read the article, I'm not convinced that this is anything more than a mock-up.
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 22:59 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
... and if you're been trying to figure out the underlying metaphor of the
task pooper, you won't be hungry for long. (So, as you say, it poops tasks out, and then when you put them back in it again you're eating your own I don't want to think about this at all).
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 13:55 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
'Portable black hole' *definitely* has the implication that whatever you throw in you can never get out, and indeed can't even see what you threw in (a portable black hole has no hair).
'Freezer' or even 'knot-in-hanky' would be reasonably decent names (though the latter may be too British to be understood, and the former gives you a convenient visual metaphor: dump stuff in the freezer and it goes blue and icy, as if frozen).
Of course, frozen things take time to defrost and are unusable until that's happened... 'task fridge' perhaps? :)
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 18:49 UTC (Mon) by sfeam (subscriber, #2841) [Link] Pretty cool, but I think pooping is entirely the wrong metaphor/analogy. It implies a one-way, one-time, destructive transformation. Any of these would be better - Freezer - Suspended animation - Hibernate A light dawns. Is it possible that 'poop' was not chosen for its scatological meaning, but rather because 'pooped' can mean 'tired/exhausted/sleepy'? Then a "task pooper" would be a mechanism for causing a task to be tired and go to sleep - that is, a trigger for hibernation. Still an unfortunate choice of names, but at least one with some logic.
But what IS it? Posted Mar 1, 2010 23:06 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
Yes, I suppose so. Again, very much an Americanism (I know of the
word 'pooped' from US TV shows but would never use it). "Snoozer" would probably be the Commonwealth-compatible version.
But what IS it? Posted Mar 6, 2010 0:21 UTC (Sat) by ccurtis (guest, #49713) [Link] Interesting (and amusing) thought; but I'd suggest that "tuckered" would be a better synonym and lend itself to a better product name - the task tucker, which tucks your tasks in for the night. And if they really do get woken up with an alarm, well then ...
"Task Pooper" FTW Posted Mar 1, 2010 11:05 UTC (Mon) by hadess (guest, #24252) [Link]
If the only comment people can make about a piece of software that doesn't exist is about its
name, then I'm sure they all like the design behind it.
It could have been called the Task Frobnicator and we'd have complaints about a technical
Liking the design? Posted Mar 1, 2010 17:48 UTC (Mon) by pboddie (subscriber, #50784) [Link] Where to begin with the design and rationale? There's the usual belated response to something people probably told the developers hundreds of times, only to be met with condescension: In the design document, there is a reference to research conducted at PARC which found that many people use their e-mail inbox as an ad-hoc to-do list. I remember a lecturer at university (in the mid-1990s) telling everyone that this was his primary means of task management. The research is likely to go back in time significantly further than that. Then we have the nudging forward of the "state of the art" through the "usability fetish du jour", which is gestures and multitouch: Their solution is to use mouse "velocity" to determine when the panel is wanted. The panel will pop up when you throw the cursor at the screen edge with a little bit of momentum, but it won't appear when you merely have your cursor positioned on the edge. This is possibly great stuff for people who are well practised with the mouse/touchpad, but will just alienate and frustrate everyone else. Expect the usability police to insist that they know best and that everyone else is "not qualified" to comment.
"Task Pooper" FTW Posted Mar 1, 2010 21:38 UTC (Mon) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
Usually technical complaints only come once a piece of software is released. At this stage, it's mostly about the name.
LWN comments, now more useless Posted Mar 2, 2010 0:42 UTC (Tue) by kragil (subscriber, #34373) [Link]
Wow, so much petty bitching about a concept name. Disappointing.(Same on
Ars)
I am glad there are still a few places on the internet where people talk
LWN comments, now more useless Posted Mar 2, 2010 11:51 UTC (Tue) by pboddie (subscriber, #50784) [Link] I am glad there are still a few places on the internet where people [do] not indulge themselves in pointless bickering [...] And a link to OSNews, no less! Last time I looked, OSNews had apparently become a vehicle for potty-mouthed people to conduct smear campaigns against various higher-profile people in the Free Software community. Before then, it appeared to be a vehicle for NeXT and Be nostalgia. In that comment thread, I'm surprised that they can keep to the tangential discussion about Qt and Gtk+.
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