Re: Proposal for File-Selection Dialog

[famrom ran es (Guillermo S. Romero / unnamed / Familia Romero)]

>On Mon, 21 Dec 1998, Tom Vogt wrote:
>>  whoops? I always thought the "desktop" is the desperate try of single-user
>>  operation systems to have something that resembles the home directory
>>  system? I haven't yet noticed a "desktop" or a "my computer" or similiar
>>  useless items on any unix system (that is: aix, digital, solaris or Linux) I
>>  have used.
><flamebait> Maybe that is why every UNIX with the exception of Linux is 
>declining in market share: http://www.softwaremag.com/Sept98/sm098ed.htm
>
>If Gnome aims to bring an easy-to-use, intuitive graphical shell to 
>Linux, I don't think prior Unices are the model to follow.  Scott 
>McNealy, Lew Platt, Jim Clark, etc. aren't exactly the gurus when it 
>comes to ease-of-use.
></flamebait>

Sure? Maybe home user can not afford a SGI.

>I think the optimal approach would be to have the icon behavior be the 
>default, which could then be shut off by old Unix farts who loath icons 
>and the like.  That way, your grandma could still get that warm, fuzzy 
>feeling when she sees the cute little icon of the desktop...but you can 
>feel secure in seeing your /usr/people/harryunixuser.  The best of both 
>worlds, no?

"Hide", Ok, but configurable, old way or both ways (I suppose better both).

>Tilde is very non-intuitive if you don't come from a Unix background and 
>have no desire to learn the filesystem.  The Unix filesystem is very 
>consistent and (arguably) intuitive once you take the time to learn it, 
>but most people don't give a shit about such things.  Only geeks like you 
>and I would take the time to learn that ~ = homedir, /var/log = 
>logfiledir, /etc = configdir, /usr/X11R6/lib = x lib dir, etc...

Last time I speak with my sister about commands and dir, she remembered
things faster than with "intuitive" systems. Why? lib is an abreviature of
library, rm of remove, ls of list and so on. You read, your mind expands.

Or does world intelligence be a constant while population grows? ;]

>>  contrary to public fud, unix principles are far from hard to grasp. I've by
>>  now installed Linux systems for several people with zero unix knowledge and
>>  sometimes zero computer knowledge and none of them have any problems with
>>  concepts like home directories, and learning that ~ is an abbreviation for
>>  that is memorized instantly.
>I am highly skeptical that this is generally the case.

Works here too.
Maybe that guy and me are the only two. ;]

>>  make that configurable, PLEASE! I can see the points for the mac's way, but
>>  I know at least one person (me) that hates it when the machine does
>>  something on it's own without me having it told to.
>Let's make it configurable, so not everyone has to do it _your_ way.  
>That way, UNIX geeks and grandmothers can live in harmony!

Maybe new mental images, new icon shapes are needed. Unix system can be seen
as a tree, as a building. Monouser OS ways do not fit in Unix. I do not
think Unix is wrong, just that you are trying to put elephants inside small
cars.

GSR