Re: Major change in desktop handling

[Manuel Clos <llanero eresmas net>]

Sean Middleditch wrote:
> On Fri, 2003-05-16 at 06:59, Manuel Clos wrote:
> > Two buttons when we can go with just one (using $HOME as desktop)??? 
> > This doesn't help to make a simpler, cleaner, gnome desktop.
> The thing is, they are separate. One is where my files go.  One is my
> workspace.  I don't want all my old stuff cluttered on my workspace. 
> (Desktop)

Umh... consider creating a "Depot" folder in your $HOME directory ;)

> > Find files faster? I can't imagine a faster way to find my files than 
> > having them in front of me. I can't also understand why people insist in 
> > having two different locations for something unique, which force two 
> > buttons on file selectors. In the old gnome1 days, my $HOME was a crap. 
> > Now, with desktop = $HOME, everything is cleaned up. It forces you to 
> > clean up things.
>
>
> I believed that too.  Except, I can't clean up a lot of stuff.  I can't
> get rid of ~/public_html.  I can't get rid of ~/RealOne.  I can't get
> rid of ~/evolution.  I have several directories I use only for coding,

evolution -> app bug
RealOne -> I don't know what it saves there
public_html -> don't you want to access this files to change them? Make 
the icon smaller if you use it less.

> and never ever have any reason to access using GNOME (I code in a
> terminal w/ ViM), but they have to be on my desktop somewhere.  (As I'm
> still using $HOME.)  And like I said in a previous mail, a lot of
> systems have ~/tmp or ~/mnt (both of which I've had and needed) or even
> ~/bin and so on.
>
> With ~/Desktop, only what I want on the desktop is on the desktop.  In
> $HOME, all the UNIX noise is there too.

Yeah, I don't want to force everyone to use $HOME as desktop, just make 
it the default. Take into account that I'm using $HOME as desktop even 
when it is not the default. I just want to argue that it is a better 
default:

-> simpler, just one filesel button, just one "Work" place
-> no I10n issues!!! This is very important and I have seen no one to 
argue about this when using "~/Escritorio", nice eh!?
-> you show the user his/her files!! Isn't *direct manipulation* in HIG???
-> forces you to clean up things
-> ...

> > If we are going to let users crap the $HOME dir, and have a tidy 
> > desktop, then PLEASE, remove the $HOME button from everywhere. It does 
> > not make any sense.
>
>
> Except that you have to be able to get to it...
>
> As a point that all $HOME dirs will be crap, I think this is more the
> person.  You say that using $HOME as desktop made it clean; actually, it
> just forced you to have good habits.  The folders on your desktop
> probably weren't much better off.  Compare that to my system where it's
> always been fairly clean - all I did when I moved to $HOME as desktop is
> rename the folders to have a leading capital, to look prettier.  Because
> I organize everything from the start.  ~,^  (Probably why I like the
> NeXTStep file heirarchy so much more than unix.... ;-)

I see your point, it is just that I put ALL my work under $HOME, I don't 
separate coding from the desktop or any other work.

Just one last think: if the maintainer is picking ~/Desktop as default, 
please, solve the I10n issues firts.

Thanks!

--
Manuel Clos
llanero eresmas net

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