Desktop usability: how to unmount devices?

[Jeff Waugh]

<quote who="Martin Pitt">

> 6. Add a small icon to the desktop if a device is mounted. Left-click could
>    bring up a Nautilus window with the content, right-click the usual context
>    menu with the unmount option. Same error box here if device is busy.
>    + safe and consistent
>    + MacOS X does this (and they probably know something about easy user
>      interfaces)
>    + GNOME standard
>    + this approach does not really require to immediately open a Nautilus
>      window (which might annoy people, including me :-) )
>    - Icons might be covered by windows
>    - Additional Desktop icons do not fit into the current Desktop policy

Given that there are no other clear winners, we should go back to the
existing model that upstream is using, because it makes sense. We don't have
time to *DESIGN* and implement anything else at this stage, at all. No more
guesswork.

The only reason we're not doing this at the moment is because the floppy
works differently - it doesn't automount, you have to go and find it through
the Computer icon). Thus, we're actively breaking the way things work by
optimising for this single, very minor inconsistency.

It's the way upstream do it, GNOME users are familiar with it, it's the way
Mac OS has always done it, it provides immediate access to mounted devices;
we're just stomping on subtlety by being different where it *doesn't* count.

- Jeff

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linux.conf.au 2005: Canberra, Australia                http://linux.conf.au/
 
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