A usable plasma desktop

[Steven]

I'm sorry. I wasn't clear. The file structure I'm proposing would be
completely abstract, and not really based on folders. Aaron's kind and
concise suggestion that nepomuk is a better candidate seems like a better
idea.

However, there still is the problem that many applications put downloads in
the Desktop folder by default. Aaron's and my own focus on the file system
part has distracted from the main purpose, which is to solve compatibility
issues with other DE's and other software. Somehow, plasma needs to prevent
programs from dropping downloads there, as plasma doesn't use it for that,
so people end up losing their downloads. Until other programs stop doing
this, I think perhaps that somehow automatically moving them to the
downloads folder, which could then optionally be shown on the destop as a
folder view might solve this. I'm not sure how it would be implemented.

The other compatibility problem that I see is that, currently, the only way
for Plasma to display what is on, for example, a Nautilus desktop is to have
a folder view showing this. And a nautilus desktop can't show the files or
launchers on a plasma desktop because plasma rightly replaces the desktop
folder metaphor with one allowing the management of not only files, but
contacts, RSS feeds, time, devices, and anything else you can think of, as
relevant to you're current activity. These two concepts are completely
different, but they overlap in parts, and its in this overlap that I think
there needs to be more compatibility in order to aid migration. Aaron
obviously scoffs at my suggestion.

It is from these two ideas that the rest grew. I should have put more
emphasis on them, because all this flaming about a possible way of using the
Desktop folder with plasma without compromising plasma itself could have
been avoided.

As for a shortcuts plasmoid, this is exactly what I don't want, because its
no better than the desktop-as-a-folder metaphor. I thought that maybe the
folder view could be extended to show files grouped more abstractly than by
folder, being as they already do this within a folder with filtering.
Setting up filters is a real pain, and I was simply suggesting a way to
avoid it altogether. If you think it would be better as its own plasmoid,
then maybe it should be. That is why I haven't gone into the trunk, changed
everything as I saw fit, and then tried to commit it :P This might be better
handled with a nepomuk plasmoid. I'm not sure how it would work in this
case, but nepomuk does seem to offer the features needed to create this.
This is not the point of what I'm saying, though.

And saying this list isn't for users is like saying cars aren't for drivers.
This list is for people wanting to contribute to plasma. In open source
software, the developers are the users, and the users can be the developers.
You have to start somewhere. The first step is to join the discussion.
First, to join the user forums, but it you really want to contribute, you
have to get in on the dev list. The whole development model is that a driver
can walk into the room for engineering cars and, first make some
suggestions, and then maybe start building and modifying parts themselves.
That's what it means to be a community project. People tend to forget that.

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 12:13 AM, Chani <chanika at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> >
> > For example, its hard to organize the files on the desktop. You have to
> > make the appropriate folders, make the appropriate folder views, then
> move
> > the files into these folders (or onto the folder views) and then, if you
> > want to also leave the file in the its original location so you can find
> it
> > if you forget its on your desktop, one or the other has to be a link,
> > meaning that you don't have full access to the file management tasks in
> one
> > place or the other. If folder views could reduce their reliance on the
> file
> > system, then setting this up could become a lot easier.
>
> sounds like what you really want is a shortcuts-view plasmoid that lets you
> drag a bunch of random files into it and displays icons for them as if they
> were in a folder. now go write one!
>
> either that, or you want nepomuk.
>
> you talk about reliance on the filesystem, but then you propose a solution
> that is itself reliant on the filesystem... think outside the box! ;)
>
> --
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