On Thu, 2010-09-23 at 12:19 -0500, Timothy Pearson wrote:
> > Timothy Pearson wrote:
> >>> Also on the Squeeze install all the icons on the desktop belong to root?
> >>> Including trash and my documents, a strange "konqueror web browser" icon
> >>> is on the desktop belonging to root and I can not put it in the trash or
> >>> delete it, this is definitely not a "point-n-click" system.
> >>>
> >>
> >> I was not sure if those icons should be included by default on Debian;
> they can be removed easily enough through the use of Configure
> >> Desktop->Behavior->Device Icons.  Simply deselect the icons you don't want
> >> to see and they will magically disappear.  This feature is similar to the
> >> old Microsoft system icons system; you cannot delete as you would other
> icons because they are part of the desktop itself.
> >>
> >
> >
> > On my laptops Lenny install I have icons, webcam, documents, home,
> system and trash, all those icons belong to "user: jimmy", "group:
> users", this has nothing to do with device icons, the Trinity Squeeze
> system says all the icons belong to root and that is the problem.
> >
> > Even your Trinity on Ubuntu says the icons on the desktop belong to me
> "user: jimmy, group: jimmy" I can add and remove what I want.
> 
> You can remove those icons from within the "Device Icons" page.  The
> reasoning behind making them root owned (and therefore impossible to
> delete from the desktop through "normal" means) is as follows:
> OLD WAY: User A decides to remove an icon from the desktop.  He or she
> deletes said icon through the delete key and empties the trash bin. User A
> later on decides that he or she wants the icon back.  Since it has been
> deleted, the only obvious way to get it back is to create a new profile
> from scratch (most people don't know about /etc/skel).  This is not
> exactly user-friendly!
> 
> OLD WAY: Developer A notices that one of the icons is broken on some
> systems, so he decides to change the .desktop file responsible for the
> icon.  However, there is no way to propagate the change to existing user
> profiles, as /etc/skel is only copied on first login.  Therefore, the
> developer has to instruct people to recreate their profiles, or copy a
> file from /etc/skel and change permissions on it.  This is not user or
> developer friendly, and acts to make Trinity less accessible to the
> average user.
> 
> NEW WAY: User B deactivates the icon through "Device Icons".  When User B
> wants the icon back, it is available in "Device Icons" and can be
> reenabled with a few mouse clicks.
> 
> Developer B propagates a .desktop file changes to the system directory
> where the icons are stored.  All users receive the updated icon .desktop
> file transparently.
> 
> What I can do is to change the default under Debian to not show the icons
> by default, however I would like some input from the other Debian users on
> this list as well.  Thoughts?
> 
> Tim
> 
> 
> 
I think the technology is sound but the user experience is probably
non-intuitive.  I thought about capturing the delete and turning it into
a disable but that would leave the user ignorant of how to restore it.
I wonder if there should be a context menu item for "Configure Desktop
Icons" which would point to Device Icons.  I also assume it is all
configurable via rc files in Kiosk mode.

Perhaps the menu item should be "Enable/Disable Desktop Icons" or we may
simply make it pertain to the specific icon and have a "Hide This Icon"
context menu item.  That would still leave users ignorant of how to
restore it but would probably be the most intuitive.  Just my two cents
- John