Look out, The Evil Twin’s About!

You know, I’ve rather pleased I had my shifts swapped, today.

Instead of doing 12-5, I’m now doing 5 - 10.

Which means I got to see Episode 13 of Series 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, currently being repeated in the UK, on Virgin One.

Otherwise known as as Datalore, just in case you didn’t know …

Now, it’s not one o the best episodes; after all, this was still the first series of The Next Generation, and cast, crew and writers were still bedding down.

But, from where I’m sitting, it is rather fun.

After all, it does give Brent Spiner* a chance to ham it up as both his regular character, Data, and as Data’s evil twin brother, Lore.

Weeeeellll …

At least it mean’s he isn’t singing!!

No, don’t bother; it can’t be any worse than some of William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy’s efforts … !

•••••

But while we’re on the subjects of twins, I do know that — by tinkering with the preferences in the Dapper Drake version of Xubuntu I put on the iMac, yesterday — I’ve managed to find the ‘Agua’ windows options, so that they look vaguely OS X-like.

The only major difference is that the Xubuntu version of the ‘Minimise’, ‘Maximise’ and ‘Close’ buttons are on the right hand side of a given window; the Mac OS X equivalent — ‘Close’, ‘Minimise’ and ‘Resize’ — are on the left.

When you think about it, I actually have to give a nod, there, to Apple; I think that’s them making a nod to most people on the planet, as — and I may be wrong — most right-hander’s will find it easier to get to them. (Mac OS X, and Mac OS, before it, put the drives down the right hand side of the screen; easier for me, and other lefties to get to, I’m thinking.)

Most Windoze — as, it seems, does most Ubuntu — variants seem to me to put the window button’s on the left hand side of the window; easier for lefties to get to, if my experience is anything to go by. And programme, folders, and files on the left-hand side of the desktop; again, easier for right-handers.

Saying that, while I’ll happily hail Apple for general ease of use, and the various Ubuntu distros I’ve used for customisability, there’s one thing I have noticed in pretty much all the operating systems I’ve used over the years, there is one thing I’ve noticed.

It’s mice, again …

Now I’ve written about mice, and left-handedness, before now, but here’s my follow up thought.

How hard is it to to a little re-coding, so that, when we alter a mouse from right to left hand use — or the other way round — the button’s on a window, and icons on a desktop, are swopped over?

I can’t be the only person who find’s it easier to move a mouse from outside to inside, no matter which hand I’m using.

Comment’s anybody?

* Who’s a Southpaw, I should add …