kdesktop's new device links

[Cristian Tibirna]

Hello

I consider the latest changes inflicted on kdesktop related to device links as 
an important step back.

The new links:
-  have names like "/dev/fd0 (not mounted)".
- can't be removed
- get tossed to the left upper corner at each action on any other icon on the 
desktop
- aren't correctly functioning:
	- my ZIP drive appears like "/dev/hdd4 (not mounted)", with a question-mark 
		icon - i.e. the icon that was associated with it wasn't find, still, if I go
		to the properties dialog of this link, it shows a blue folder icon as the
		associated icon; trying to change that icon does nothing.
	- clicking on it while a ZIP disk is in the drive, fails to mount the disk 
		and returns an error saying that the drive isn't mounted.

The problems with these new icons are many:
1) they are cryptic (I'm a stupid old man who never used a computer before and 
I don't want to learn what a /dev/fd0 is or what "mounted" means (other than 
artificially inseminating a cow).
2) "(not mounted)" is useless, redundant, confusing ("why isn't this mounted? 
is there an error?) and scary to a new user
3) being forced, against my will, to have those icons on my desktop without 
being able to remove them is too much in the class of "I'm the computer, I 
know better" class of situations, more characteristic to shameless IT 
monopolies.

Thanks

-- 
Cristian Tibirna .. tibirna at sympatico.ca
PhD student .. ctibirna at giref.ulaval.ca .. www.giref.ulaval.ca/~ctibirna
KDE developer .. tibirna at kde.org .. www.kde.org