[Usability] The "Desktop" dilemma

[elektro <elektro geekspot de>]

Hi there,
I'm new to this mailing list, so I don't know if this has already been
discussed or not.

What really disturbs me a lot (in almost all operating systems) is the
"Desktop dilemma". I think the desktop folder, or the Desktop button in
the places menu somehow just doesn't fit in. In Nautilus, in my home
folder, I have a "Desktop" folder. But in the sidebar, I have a place
called "personal folder", and a second place called "Desktop", although
"Desktop" is also a sub-directory of my "personal folder". This is
confusing, especially to new users.

I think the desktop should be _either_ a directory, _or_ a place, but
not both. My suggestion would be to have the desktop only show up as a
place, and the files on the desktop could be stored in a hidden
".desktop" directory within the user's home.

Another thing is the two Nautilus toolbar buttons "Personal folder" and
"Computer". The button in the toolbar says "Personal folder", while the
same button in the sidebar reads my username. I think both buttons
should be removed, instead, the "Computer" icon should also appear as a
button in the "places" sidebar.

I'd bring some new arrangement into the places sidebar, similar to the
one in the "Places" menu in the panel:

--------
Personal
Desktop
--------
Computer
File system
<list of internal harddisks mounted at /media>
<list of internal CD/DVD drives mounted at /media>
<list of any external USB/FW devices>
--------
Network servers
<list of mounted network drives>
--------

The problem with the current layout is that all drives are completely
mixed together, the "file system" place is also somewhere in between.

When you go the the "Computer" place, you see all attached/mounted
drives as icons. The problem is that it's hard to see if a drive is
actually mounted or not, for example my USB stick: It's hard to see from
the icon if it is mounted or not. What I also really miss is the ability
to unmount/eject an external drive be right-clicking the icon in the
sidebar or in the Places menu. Mac OS X is doing this right: An mounted
CD-ROM appars in a Finder sidebar, similar to Nautilus, but there's a
little "eject button" next to the icon, when you click this, the CD is
unmounted and ejected. Perhaps you could add such an eject button to the
places sidebar and the places panel menu.

Tom