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

["Tom Georgoulias (rn0621)" <tom georgoulias motorola com>]

> > Tim Reilly <reilly zk3 dec com> writes:

> >> 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.

John Sullivan wrote:
> Requiring many icons to be only on the desktop sounds like a bad idea, for
> the mentioned reason (windows often cover them).

I think it's worth noting here that Windows XP has done a lot to
_remove_ the shortcuts and icons from the desktop with the idea of
reducing clutter (and confusion).  I'm sure this was the result of
usability testing on their part (no hard facts to back that up, but with
the amount of money and time they've put into this I'm sure it was a
major factor).   Little, if any, icons are on the desktops.  Same goes
for OSX, in which the finder has buttons for "my computer" type stuff,
the menu panel has the hard coded pull down menus, and the dock keeps
whatever user stuff they want to put there, but only 2 or 3 things are
linked to the desktop.  If the user wants shortcuts all over and a
clutter desktop, fine.  However, let's not start out that way by
default.

In my experience with family and friends, their desktops tend to get
very cluttered with multiple shortcuts and those are often to different
functions of the same applications.  I've always drawn the conclusion
that this means the applications were too complex and bloated, and the
user was simply trying to break it into pieces that were more easily
manageable.  Let's not go the complex route if we don't have
to--computers are here to help us do our stuff, not for us to do stuff
for them.  A good way to step forward is to make things easier to find
and use.

I recommend that all program icons and launchers be placed on the panel
or in Nautilus, where they can be easily reached, seen, and executed. 
But not on the desktop.  Of course the option should exist if the users
want to create shortcuts, but lets not have them set up that way in the
beginning.  If you look at the new desktops from Apple and Microsoft,
they've substantially reduced the on-screen clutter by keeping
everything simple and out of the way.  I found Havoc's mock up desktop
image with a "start here" location quite acceptable and certainly in the
direction that we ought to be moving.

Just my two cents.
Tom