Re: [Usability] nautilus, panel, and metacity not acting as if the desktop was a single entity

[Dennis Heuer <dh onclick org>]

Aehhm, as the author of the email I am very happy that it was actually
read :)

Rob, as a german, I can tell you that the english idea of grammar is
just a glimpse of what a german knows about it. It's always funny to
read about how some native english speaker feels intimidated when what
he calls a language is used wrong. I agree that I am often in the
situation that I just don't know what is wrong or right in this
language, if this can be discussed seriously...

However, everybody feels disturbed if something he uses daily to
communicate is used a way he can't understand. Others should respect
this, and so do I. Nevertheless, a better way to tell me this is to send
me the corrected version (with explanation) so that I can learn from it.

P.s.: Did you ever try to learn a second language (possibly german)?
Sorry, but I can only smile when a native english speaker complains
about the misuse of his language. How doing it a different way?

Regards,
Dennis

Liam, thanks for your help and that you take the content for serious. I
actually meant viewports but used the default term workspace because
this is how the technique is called in X. Think of nautilus windows
(views). The workspace should be nothing else than a nautilus view in
fullscreen mode. There is a technical problem with this because the
panel and the applications can not be displayed within a nautilus view.
However, it is enough if the desktop is faked a way that the user has
the feeling that the overall behaviour is uniform and never changes.
And, gdm should be the (implicit) root of the nautilus document
hierarchy. After login, there shouldn't be THE desktop (which is a
strange metaphor) but a selection of views on a root viewport. This
could be arranged like if gdm is only the entry into a nautilus session.

Phil, what you write sound like you are using the desktop as a big
garbage bin. Possibly, you prefer the metaphor 'misc folder'. The
desktop should not clutter. You wrote about little helpers, and that is
how you actually should do it. If you need a system entry from all
viewports, you can keep the 'computer' icon on all viewports. Also, you
can always create links from one viewport to the other (or where ever
you want to) becauses they are only folders in your userspace. And,
think of this little button on the panel that allows hiding all apps and
bringing the icons to front. There yould be such an icon that pops up a
helper that lists all the views, or that just shows all the icons from
all the root viewports.

Dennis