Re: (clug-talk) Should the unix fs be hidden from desktop users?

[Richi Plana]

Jesse Kline wrote:

>One of the first things I noticed when I first tried MacOS X was that you would
>never know that it was a Unix system unless you opened a terminal and hit cd /;ls
>I think that Apple has achieved a good balance between keeping the layout easy
>to understand for users of their classic system, while still retaining the
>traditional Unix infrastructure of the system.
>I just finnished reading a paper at
>http://evolvedoo.sourceforge.net/abstract/index.html which argues that the same
>thing should be done with the Linux desktop. I understand that the Linux file
>hierarchy can be confusing to users of MacOS classic and Windows, but I think
>that if it is explained correctly it is not too hard to understand at least the
>basics (ie. your files go in you $HOME dir, removable media can be accessed
>under /mnt, etc.). I was wondering what people on the list think. Do we need to
>hide the basics of the OS in order to make it more user friendly?


The thing with the Unix $HOME dir is that it's a catch-all entity for
storing user files and directories. In graphical shells like Nautilus, there is the concept of a Desktop which is supposed to contain working files like documents, music and video files. Obviously, the $HOME dir may contain things that a "Desktop" normally wouldn't, but it is safe to say that a Desktop directory is a "subset" of the $HOME dir. It's seems only naturally, then, to use $HOME/Desktop/ (or another name) as the user's Desktop directory, and have other directories in $HOME for things outside the use of the Desktop.

It really isn't a matter of hiding non-Desktop entities but bringing the
most likely candidates to the fore. This means that a fileselector
dialog for a Music program should have shortcuts to possibly
$HOME/Desktop/Music/ as well as ${datadir}/music/ or
/opt/MusicPro/samples/. It shouldn't be too difficult for desktop
systems to have a registry of directories where installed programs can
add their directories of files for a given data type (ie. MIDI, AVI,
etc.). That way, a file is MOST LIKELY a click or two away, but if the
user wants something in an unusual directory, it'll still be possible.

With a well-designed desktop environment, a first-time user using it for
a few weeks won't even be aware that there is such as a thing as a $HOME
dir.

My Can$0.02
--

*Richard Plana, B.Sc., CCNA*
Secretary
Calgary Linux Users' Group