Nope, it’s not a national holiday. It’s the week that every geek wastes trying new DEs and, usually, it happens every year.
I don’t know if you are aware of this behaviour, but Linux users certainly do.
On regular basis, upgrades are made to all the Desktop Environments like KDE, Gnome, LXDE and so on and so forth. Linux users tend to hang out different social environments such as IRC, Mailing Lists and forums. In these places, there are lots of discussions like “what is the best DE?” and, usually, Gnome and KDE fanboys are the most involved. Users won’t notice this at the beginning of the discussion but, latently, something starts growing into their minds: the lusting after an alternative DE.
And here comes the worst.
Gnome users are typical the ones that brag about the cleanness and ease of use of their desktop. They are very likely to be self-convinced minimalists and they love GTK because they are clean and have thin borders and small buttons.
KDE users are the one exhibiting the most pastel-rounded smoothly-animated desktop ever. They claim that KDE is so gorgeous because of the integration of every single bit and every single app. They love Qt: these library are the most comprehensive and powerful library in the world and they should be used by everyone. Typically this kind of desktop has lots of hiccups because of the huge amount of enabled effects that are shipped with the default installation.
LXDE users are the ones that finally are celebrating the right-click implementation on their desktops.
Of course there are also the ones that do not use a DE at all. I think they are blessed.
When two different DE-users meet each other, the flames of hatred burn and there is some sort of vendor-buyer approach in which the two sides defend their position and aims to “convert” the opponent like priests do with people.
And here the seeds of a new change got planted in each other brains.
Typically, the KDE user, is the one that can hardly be convinced to switch because his creed relies upon getting more effects and more candy stuff. Unfortunately, there is nothing more bloated than KDE.
On the other hand, Gnome users are the one looking for more minimalism and less buttons, effects but more shortcuts and accelerators. Luckily for them, the world has plenty of alternatives.
When the alternatives begin being considered, the DE week starts.
During this week, the user installs thousands of apps, libraries that pull billions of dependencies with the sole scope of devastating the system. Notice that the productivity drops to nearly zero. The user gots distracted by new buttons, different applications promoting different semantics in their usage. The user starts tuning up the system, blaming against developers for missing features and, obviously, bugs.
The week has almost passed and the user has only to fix the so called “just two things” when, suddenly, realises that he quickly needs to do the typical thing that he always did with that specific program that he loves so much but doesn’t fit into the new environment.
Oh my sweet good Lord, tragedy.
Googling, aptituding, emerging, pacmanning and you name it. Nothing does feel the same as before, nothing seems to be so awesome as before. There’s nothing left to do if not rolling back to the previous habitat in which everything was just fine. At this point the exhaust user, whose productivity is back at maximum level, will exclaim “Aw, fuck off stupid douchebags. My system r0x and there’s nothing better than it. I will never ever never do that again. I just wasted up one week of my life”.
You know, though, that in one year you will be back at square one.
I want to conclude saying that I truly and sincerely give my deepest sympathy to all Gnome users. I know that Gnome 3 sucks for most of you and I hope you will eventually find your way. Once again.
