> 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. Yes. > 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 The best way to handle this might be to trap the delete, and pop up a message box with a quick description of how to restore the icon. However, I'm not sure that such a change can be made for 3.5.12 due to the freeze. Thoughts on this method? Tim