Re: I want to be able to type in the filename...

[Toralf Lund <toralf procaptura com>]

Gábor Farkas wrote:

> Toralf Lund wrote:
>
> > Sean Middleditch wrote:
> >
> > > On Sat, 2004-12-11 at 19:25 +0100, Heinrich Rebehn wrote:
> > >  
> > >
> > > > Toralf Lund wrote:
> > > >  
> > > >
> > > > > Can I change the GNOME fileselector behaviour so that I can type 
> > > > > in the filename?
> > > > >
> > > > > This is a lot faster and (ahem) *user friendlier* if you know in 
> > > > > advance what you are looking for...
> > > > >     
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I have to second that. Also, how can i access files that are on an 
> > > > automounted (nonbrowsable) directory?
> > > >   
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > We don't want to display path names.  Having to understand the magic /
> > > character (I know at least 6 people that call that "backslash") sucks.
> > >  
> > I think it could be done in a way that means you don't *have to* 
> > understand it.
> >
> > Making life harder for the people who understand what it means 
> > because some don't is what sucks, IMO. And I mean that as a general 
> > remark.
> >
> > Remember that "user friendly" doesn't (or shouldn't) mean only "easy 
> > to learn" or "usable for the casual user." It  also means "allowing 
> > experienced users to operate efficiently".
> hmmm..somehow for me it seems gnome becomes less and less the ideal 
> environment for developers... i wonder why..
>
> it seems that now it's more important to gain new users than to keep 
> old ones .. or things like that..
>
> with all this focusing-on-the-not-advanced (read: one who understand 
> what filesystem means) users, gnome is getting harder (slower, more 
> cumbersome,inefficient) to use for experienced users (like programmers).

Exactly. I'm not only talking about programmers, by the way, but also 
people like the "regular users" I come across at work. They are people 
who usually don't have a technical education, or a special interest in 
computers, but they do use them every day, and certainly know the basics 
of how a filesystem works, among other things.

> don't get me wrong.
>
> i love for example all the simplification attempts...

Quite. I actually believe in keeping things simple, and simplifications 
can definitely make the UI more efficient for experienced people, too.

> but imho things should be improved in a way that does not make more 
> experienced users slower. for example: why do i have to use the 
> file-selector more inefficiently, just because i know what is a 
> filesystem?

I concur.

- Toralf