Some guy presumably named Bynk has written a bellyaching article complaining about haxies.
Sounds like he’s in IT support, and has has tons of fun trying to fix pointy-haired bosses’ computers after they’ve installed a haxie or two. A haxie is (IMO) an application that futzes with the underlying operating system. In a sense, it’s not an app but a meta-app.
In the same way that an OS enables applications, a haxie enables user interface enhancements. (Or just UI eye candy.) Some give you easier ways to access applications. Some change the way that you manage files. And some just sing a little song, replace the desktop with blinking lights, and turn your mouse into a Christmas tree.
I have to say I’m pretty much totally in agreement with the Bynkster.
After a couple of nasty experiences with OS upgrades, crashes, and general nastiness, I swore off haxies a couple of years ago. It’s just not worth the hassle.
There’s no way an operating system manufacturer, whether it’s Apple or Microsoft, can possibly take all actual and potential OS hacks into consideration when updating or patching. There’s just too much.
And so, if your haxie does break anything when you update your OS – as you will, from time to time – guess what: your haxie itself will break. And then you have to update it, reinstall it, upgrade it.
Thanks, but no thanks.
I have a computer to enable, not disable me. It’s to help me to do stuff that otherwise I can’t do. It’s not an end in itself. And therefore I require it to just work.
Which is why I run MacOS X. And why I don’t use haxies.