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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: [KDE Usability] Users cannot find where to "safely remove" USB
From:       Dotan Cohen <dotancohen () gmail ! com>
Date:       2010-04-11 8:08:06
Message-ID: w2w880dece01004110108od13c5021k6e344ef20c0274e1 () mail ! gmail ! com
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> I think users should be able to remove devices without informing the Device
> Notifier first. The technology promises users can insert and remove devices
> and therefore should take special precautions when they do so, and not force
> the precautions on them. imho, operating systems have not completely
> incorporated removable device technology and left the hard parts for users to
> solve.
>

USB sticks can be pulled out at will, this is not a CDROM that needs a
physical eject mechanism. Transferring a multi-GB file will take time.
There is therefore a window of time in which it is unsafe to remove
media.


> It is no longer a human error for a user to remove a device while it is being
> accessed. It is a system error if it results in data loss, or worse, corrupts
> the device. or causes a lock-up.
>

That is naive and ideological. Some users do not understand what 4 GB
means, they cannot fathom that it takes more than a nanosecond to
transfer.


> A modern system therefore will merely notify the user that the stick was
> 'cleanly removed', or not, as the case may be. Dirty sticks may be cleaned by
> simply reinserting them in the proper computer. Sticks may be automatically
> mounted at designated places, so users need never do that either (although
> they can).
>

Tell me, in detail, how such a system would work behind the scenes. If
you are detailed enough, someone will code it.


> This, imho, is a flaw in current operating system design, not a usability
> issue. While everyone accepts it as a user issue, KDE will be pressurized
> into providing a usable solution. While KDE may provide a work-around, I hope
> they (and other desktop developers) will also engage system developers on
> this issue from a design standpoint.
>

Increase transfer speeds?


-- 
Dotan Cohen

http://bido.com
http://what-is-what.com

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