Re: [Nautilus-list] Re: GNOME user environment brainstorming

[John Sullivan <sullivan eazel com>]

on 5/24/01 3:33 PM, Havoc Pennington at hp redhat com wrote:

> 
> Tim Reilly <reilly zk3 dec com> writes:
>>> 
>>> - desktop is for:
>>> - user shortcuts to programs, etc.
>>> - showing removable devices
>>> - Trash, Home, Start Here icons
>> 
>> Hrm. I think the desktop is a terrible places to keep program icons,
>> given the panel. Why? Because windows cover my desktop! It's hard to get
>> to the desktop, which is the lowest level, when I've got a few windows
>> open.
> 
> I've heard that Windows users tend to maximize an app, work, iconify,
> pick a new app to maximize, work, etc. My experience is that this is
> true. So they would see the desktop in between apps.

I think this is extremely oversimplified. Naive Windows users probably tend
to use very few, perhaps one, application at a time. Expert Windows users
probably tend to use lots of applications at a time.

Requiring many icons to be only on the desktop sounds like a bad idea, for
the mentioned reason (windows often cover them). However, if the icons can
be put in any Nautilus window, then this is somewhat moot -- you can put
them on the desktop if your usage patterns are such that they are accessible
enough for you. Or you can put them in another Nautilus window, or in a
series of organized Nautilus windows, if you want to be able to access them
without clearing window clutter.

John