Re: Should Desktop = Home?



On Sun, 2004-10-03 at 13:14 +0100, Ed Mack wrote:
> 1) Terminal users are 99% likely to know and understand the workings of
> a $HOME directory, and will have no problems telling what are
> configuration files. Desktop users often have very little knowledge of
> such things (think corporate roll-outs ect..)

Funny, can you point out non-broken configuration files/folders
accessible with nautilus drawing $HOME as Desktop ?

Other than broken apps like old evolution, netscape, and only a few
others (oh, and some nautilus dirs like ~/Templates, sheesh) come to
mind, and that way to do things is broken.

Oh, and minimally competent corporate roll-outs are very unlikely to use
setups that would depend on things the users have technical permission
to break.

> 2) In the terminal, you are very likely to cd somewhere else, the
> desktop is static in this respect

Double click Computer, Double click Filesystem, etc...

So, no difference.

> 3) The terminal doesn't show you every single file in $PWD 24hrs a day,
> as the desktop does

Of course. GUIs have that WYSIWYG thing, a way to reduce the need of
abstraction from the user so he can instead focus on the task at hand.

Still no significal difference.

> 4) The desktop is meant to be purely the user's 'play area'. Its where
> they can see things, manipulate them and feel safe. If you were told 'DO
> NOT DELETE x, y ,z' you would no longer feel as confident working on the
> computer.

Not applyable to non-broken apps, by default, so I completely miss your
point. What difference is there?

Ok, it's pointless to present sound argument here so I'll just shut up.

Rui

-- 
+ No matter how much you do, you never do enough -- unknown
+ Whatever you do will be insignificant,
| but it is very important that you do it -- Gandhi
+ So let's do it...?

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