Re: Global Desktop Items: A proposal

[Alexander Larsson <alexl redhat com>]

On Wed, 2007-04-18 at 02:14 +0530, Sayamindu Dasgupta wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I am working on enhancing some of the "deployment friendly" stuff in
> GNOME as a part of my Google SoC, and one of the things I am working
> on is support for predefined global items on the desktop. To make my
> current goal clearer, here's a sample use case (stolen shamelessly
> from a doc by my mentor, Federico Mena Quintero).

I'm very busy this week, so I don't have much time for mail. However,
I'd just like to point out that we have historically avoided adding
these sorts of things, because that sort of changes the usecase of the
desktop. The idea of the gnome desktop is more like the mac desktop than
the windows desktop. Its a work area for the users files, where files
are stored as they are being worked on, and then filed away or deleted
as needed. 

The desktop is an important user folder, and should be 100% controlled
by the user. It is not just a place for launchers of applications, those
are generally put on the panel.

Another thing I worry about is if we start letting applications install
things on users desktop we'll soon turn into the crap that is a standard
windows desktop where its full of logos for various vendors. Windows
even had to implement some form of checker that pops up a dialog and
asks you if you want to delete unused launchers from the desktop.

In your usecase, why can't the launchers be put on the panel instead? I
didn't see any rationale fo that. And the URIs could also be put in the
browser bookmarks.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Alexander Larsson                                            Red Hat, Inc 
                   alexl redhat com    alla lysator liu se 
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