>I see the HD on the Desktop but not in the Desktop FOLDER which is >confusing. Why is there a folder for this at all then?
There has always been a "Desktop Folder", it has just always been hidden (ok, not always, I don't think there was one in the days of MFS formatting when you couldn't put anything on the desktop... but you get the idea). So the existance of a folder is not new. And, in dealing with the desktop folder as it has always existed, the behaviour is the same as it always has been. The desktop folder contains the FILES on the desktop, but NOT the drives nor the trash (nor the menu bar, control strip, or popup folders, and they are on the desktop as well). The desktop folder for each drive does nothing more than hold the FILES that should be displayed on the desktop when that drive is mounted. The behaviour in OS X is exactly the same as it was in OS 9 and all the way back. There is also a Trash folder that contains the items in the trash, and that trash folder is independant of the desktop folder... ie: despite the fact that the trash is on the desktop, the trash folder is NOT in the desktop folder. (Why aren't you asking why THAT isn't there? Humm... HUMMM!!!) As for the appearance of the desktop folder under OS X as it no longer being a hidden folder... that is not new either. It is done that way because OS X is a true multiuser OS. So each user has their own desktop folder. The reason it isn't hidden is because some other user might want to get to somethign on your desktop. That is the same reason it isn't hidden on a remotly mounted network drive... in case you need to access something in it. Also, feel free to charge up OS 9's Multiple Users feature. Guess what... a USERS folder appears... and inside that... low and behold... DESKTOP FOLDERS!!! WooHOO!!. And check it out... no drives in those folders either (nor in the desktop folders of remote network drives... why didn't you ask why drives are shown in those?!?) That's right, OS 9 has the EXACT SAME functionality as OS X in this regards. Again, nothing new, and all very deliberate, and very GOOD for a multi user environment. I will however give you your gripe about why can't you turn off multiuser. I agree that would be nice. They should offer a way to decide that the Mac will be a single user only system, and thus the users folder, home folder, desktop folder, and everything else user specific vanishes and you are left with only one common set of locations. I don't know what technical problems with may cause with a *nix OS, so it may not be possible... but I suspect it is, it just hasn't come about yet (and may never, as people may just simply get used to the multiuser interface and no care by the time they get far enough to do away with it.) -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
