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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Against the system:/, media:/ and home:/ namespaces
From:       James Richard Tyrer <tyrerj () acm ! org>
Date:       2005-07-13 4:52:40
Message-ID: 42D49E18.8050208 () acm ! org
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Carl wrote:

> I don't think that a home:/ kioslave is necessary.

I agree.  All that is needed is a link.

> What I've chosen to do with my KDE box is to remove as many traces of
>  the / directory as I can for my users.  I can access anything I need
>  from the command line.  And perhaps some GUI apps can browse the 
> entire filesystem (KDevelop).  I mean, what do users need to know 
> about outside of their home directories?  If any mounts are needed, 
> the GUI should handle it for them.  May it be a camera, network 
> browsing, jump drive, or CD.  That way the system is completely 
> hidden from them and confusion over the filesystem is virtually 
> eliminated.  Don't forget that the Windows way of doing things is 
> confusing too.  So many users I work with on a daily basis have no 
> clue how find a file when starting from C:\  . Not to mention the 
> fact that D:\ doesn't make sense.  Our way of doing things is much 
> better.  When a CD is inserted, an identifiable icon appears in 
> various places for quick and easy access and is named a name that 
> makes sense, not D:\ .  If the GUI eliminates the unnecessary parts 
> of the file system and handles everything outside of their home 
> directory then the desktop system becomes usable for everyone.

Why stop at the HOME directory?  There is a lot of stuff there that user
don't need to ever visit except to do configuration and administration
tasks.  I separate out my data files into a directory that I currently
call "Files" (but the name isn't important) that is a subdirectory of
HOME.  This further separates that user from the messy details of the
system.  Yes, it is OK to have an icon for the HOME directory somewhere, 
but the normal directory to go to should not be HOME, but rather 
HOME/Files which is the root directory for all a user's personal data 
files.  I have my HOME/Files directory divided up into subdirectories 
and don't keep any files in it -- only in the subdirectories.

I have added this "Files" directory to "system:/" and to the Konqueror
sidebar (Navigation Panel) along with "system:/":

	http://home.earthlink.net/~tyrerj/kde/desktop3.png
	http://home.earthlink.net/~tyrerj/kde/desktop4.png

This "HOME/Files" folder is the folder set in the Control Center:

	System Administration -> Paths : Documents path

which is the default working directory for KDE apps (it should be the
default working directory for ALL apps started from the K-Menu or icons.

This method completely isolates the user from the messy details of the
file system unless then need to do configuration (which they should be
able to do with a GUI).

-- 
JRT
 
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