Re: [Usability] tools on the desktop

[Jason Hoover <jasonhoover verizon net>]

> > The problem is that the software is caching data, actually. It's
> > buffering the write to disk, so the data might not actually be synced
> > yet when the user pulls the plug, since the writes are async. :)

Any distro worth it's weight in CD's has sync writes on by default for
removable/hot-plug volumes for that very reason.

> What I dont understand is how Microsoft thought it was a good idea to
> implement things the way they did.  I really dont want Gnome to prevent
> users from unplugging they device without first unmounting it throught
> their computer.  Warnings about having to hit onscreen buttons to safely
> remove USB devices are really annoying.  I should only be need warned if a
> transfer is actually happening and then and only then be told the transfer
> is incomplete and data will be lost if I dont reinsert the device so the
> transfer can be completed.

They have the same problem, you're supposed to unmount volumes the same
way for the same reasons, to make sure everything is synced, to make
sure no other programs try to write the disk (MS word auto-backup) and
the like. It just so happens that no one likes un-mounting floppies so
there's always been an exception there.

You should also have to un-mount cds for similar reasons (see how many
games like it when you just eject a cd-rom during a read operation).
Heck, in windows 9x, ejecting during a read got you a BSOD. But for the
same reasons, there's an exception.

> Windows really sucks rocks here as far as I'm concerned so my concern
> is to avoid something similarly awful and annoying being implmented for
> Gnome/Linux/whatever.

Hehcehehc hehehe. Yeah! Sucks rocks! Hchehehe hecheh.

> The Windows whining is particularly annoying.  I hope the MacOS version is
> good enough that you can interrupt a file transfer but safely resume it by
> reinserting the USB drive.

Nope. It just chastises you for removing it without dragging it to the
trash. No hope of fixing it. Same underlying reasons, same problems.

Can we at least come to some agreement about how the trash is a stupid
metaphor but we should allow people to use it anyway? All the reasons
I've seen usually come out to:

For:
*) Old habits die hard.
*) If something acts like A then it should work like A.
*) Correcting users instead of doing what they expect is insulting.
*) Kills copious quantities of spurious bug reports
*) What else can that action mean besides something destructive?
*) Something better would be nice, but why not allow anyway?
*) No point in pretending people don't do it.
*) It's unlikely subfs will be in FreeBSD or Solaris any time soon.
*) Simple, stupid problem - Simple, stupid solution

Against:
*Lame metaphors are bad.
*Macs suck
*We should come up with something better
*We should fix the OS, not gnome

Given the pros and cons here, I think it's fairly clear what the
solution is. I'm really sick of seeing this discussion come up every 1.5
months with the same arguments, and the same outcome (nothing).

1) Let casual users eject by trash.
2) Let the people who do a LOT of ejecting use the panel applet.
3) Keep the damn right click menu.

Unless someone can either:

*) Submit a patch for against every OS kernel known to humanity
*) Write a multi-platform VFS plugin
*) Write a solution that is simple/obvious/fast

No one's asking anyone to admit they were wrong, just that they do the
obvious thing here, even if it's against their moral beliefs. If there's
that much opposition about it, let's do a fairly worded poll, or even
better, ask slashdot.

Please, someone think of the children. 
Stop the violence. Start the love.

-Jason