[AccessD] Ramblings of a nutcase

John W Colby jwcolby at gmail.com
Fri Feb 28 00:56:27 CST 2014


Jim,

 >The truth of the matter is that OS FEs are history. Anyone with a little bit of effort can make 
own front end via the browser;

Yes, except in MY job, and My day, I open the remote desktop client to get to a server running in 
New York (from NC), in that remote desktop I:

Open SSMS and copy an entire database template to a new name. Then I build a new copy of a table 
structure and copy a subset of data from one database / table to my new database / table.  Do that 
again for a second table.  Build a set of queries to perform counts on the data contained.  Open 
Excel, paste the counts from SSMS into the spreadsheet and save as to a file in a directory named to 
match the order I am working on.  Then I open Thunderbird to write an email, attaching the 
spreadsheet I just created and send it off.  Head off to do something similar  again.

Open  an email containing an attached spreadsheet of zips.  Save the excel sheet off to a directory 
named to match the order.  Open SSMS and import that list of zips into a database.  Run a query to 
get a list of counts.  Save in the same directory as the excel sheet I just received from the 
client.  Open Thunderbird, attach the spreadsheet I just created.

Receive an order spreadsheet.  Copy an order template to a new database.   Open that new order 
database.  Modify a set of already defined views in SSMS to pull a set of data.  Run a canned set of 
stored procedures to populate existing data tables with specific records.  Open a C# custom program 
and tell it to start outputting the data just pulled (pointing this program to my new order 
database)  into 500K record CSV files and shoveling those files off to a set of Virtual Machines 
running Accuzip, a third party address validation software.  My custom written program chunks for 
several hours, exporting a few million records, and reimporting the results back into SQL Server.

Switch back to my desktop, and I open several more remote desktops into these virtual machines and 
window them such that I can actually watch progress windows of Accuzip, to monitor the progress of 
all these VMS doing their jobs.   When Accuzip finishes (on all the VMS) I turn back to SSMS on the 
RD talking to NY and run another set of stored procedures to winnow through the data.  I then open 
another custom written C# program to export a few million records out to CSV files into that same 
custom directory mentioned earlier.  I zip them up using Winrar, dragging various and sundry files 
into ZIP archives.  Whereupon I turn to CuteFTP to upload the new Zip files to an FTP address 
dictated by the client.

Having done that I open thunderbird to send an email to my client and his client, with Excel 
attachments and PDF documents telling them that the order has shipped.

And THAT is why Windows 8 SUCKS so badly.  I use Windows, ALL DAY every day.  This is not something 
that is a cash register with a fixed set of screens.  This is a dynamic, back and forth, opening 
various and sundry third party applications from Microsoft (office / SQL Server Management Studio) 
CuteFTP, My own hand written C# stuff, WinRar, Thunderbird mail client, the Windows explorer client, 
Chrome browser.  I am constantly switching between open apps, most of the time windowed so that I 
can see the pieces and parts, drag files back and forth, drop files into directories on network 
shares and so forth.

You can say all you want that "everyone does simple shit" but that simply isn't true.  Many many 
MANY people have real, pretty complex jobs which require us to do a wide variety of tasks in many 
different third party apps, and even custom written apps, ALL DAY LONG, every day.

So for ME the OS FE HOSTS all these things, these applications that I need to use.  It needs to do 
it's job and NOT GET IN THE WAY, EVER.  It needs to window my third party apps.  It needs to allow 
me to drag and drop and cut and paste between open apps quickly and efficiently.  It needs to allow 
me to instantly SEE what I have open in my taskbar, and get at each instance of each application.  I 
have ZERO USE for pretty tiles with weather changing and flashing crap at me, or switching me back 
to some new age "modern" user interface because Steve Balmer thinks that is what I should be doing now.

I sell my time, whether it is doing this or writing programs.  If windows refuses to co-operate that 
costs me money.  If Windows decides that I really should be looking at Chrome full screen that costs 
me money.  I KNOW WHAT I NEED, I know how things need to be arranged, WINDOWS DOES NOT.

The OS needs to GET OUT OF MY FACE and let me do my job.

Windows 7 does exactly that.  I never figured out how to get Windows 8 out of my face.

And GOD FORBID if you come at me with a browser to manage my job. I will hunt you down and shoot you!!!

John W. Colby

Reality is what refuses to go away
when you do not believe in it

On 2/28/2014 12:34 AM, Jim Lawrence wrote:
> Hi All:
>
> The truth of the matter is that OS FEs are history. Anyone with a little bit of effort can make own front end via the browser; HTML, CSS, JavaScripts, libraries and so on. If you are so inclined the browser interface could be made to look like a Windows8.x or any other interface...It is all limited by your imagination.
>
> Companies like Save-On-Foods, Rona and Walmart just run a browser front end to their invoicing applications (cashiers work stations). They could be setup for any type of application, whether it is just a single station, a network or a full or partial internet set of apps. It is great when the systems support guy can broadcast an application to any station on the network and can change the UI depending on any policy deemed appropriate per group or per individual.
>
> This concept can be made to over-ride the standard licensing of per station or per of user and that is why there is so much blow-back to this type of implementation. Also there is no limits on the type of applications and what OS that can be run...as long as there is an full-link whether UNC or HTML...the applications and data can be stored locally, anywhere on the network, anywhere on the internet or in the Cloud (local or remote) (...and of course whether your station is physically capable of performing the task).
>
> All a station needs is to have is the ability to connect via a variety of standard protocols.
>
> In summary, our new powerful browsers are in the process of making our desktops irrelevant, IMHO.
>
> Aside: Some ambitious soul could build a Windows8.x interface and fix it. ;-)
>
> Jim
>
>


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