In general I'm a fan of lightroom, and I've been using it extensively since the first beta. One of my biggest frustrations is the general experience while moving through previews in the library module and the embedded jpegs in the import module (latest skylake PC with 32GB RAM and fast SSDs on 2560x1600 monitors). It is often slow, even with 1:1 previews generated, with lags and when you hold the forward key down on a PC when you lift the key the forward movement through images does not stop like most apps but keeps going and going. I'm thinking to myself, why can't a company like adobe do better?
Well, it is easy to blindly cry out about performance when you don't have any experience to back it up. So, last November I decided to see what is so difficult about something pretty simple - rapidly and smoothly viewing previews and embedded JPEGS. First I had to learn c++. Then I discovered the Qt framework, so I had to learn about it. I then tackled Raw and Jpeg file formats, figuring out where and how to read the embedded JPEGs and key metadata. Phew. Then I started to pull it all together in an image viewer that would build thumbnails and full size previews from the embedded JPEGs. Three months from a cold start I now have an app that will read the embedded JPEGs in D810 NEF files from a hard drive and cache ahead faster than you can flip through the images. In many cases it is as fast or faster than Photo Mechanic (but not as stable). Even when reading a card through a USB3 I can almost keep up, and no problem getting way ahead if you stop to check out an image.
Here is a screen shot of what I came up with - it works on PC/Mac/Linux. It is a proof of concept. I'll never have the energy or time to support the software. I can really appreciate the effort that takes, and just how good the stability of adobe products are - it is the performance I'm disappointed in.
I know Photo Mechanic and Lightroom are doing more, and I doubt I could equal Photo Mechanic when I factor that extra stuff in, but I can now say with confidence that Lightroom performance is pathetic. With Adobe's resources and excellent engineers I simply cannot understand why they cannot speed up these two basic processes - where are their priorities? OTOH, the performance in the develop module is pretty good IMO.
Okay, I feel better. End of rant.