What is the purpose of YOUR desktop?

[Compintuit]

Hello Linux Forums! I've been thinking about my computer for a while, and I have a question: What purpose do you feel your desktop serves? Note that I'm not talking about the entire package, like GNOME or KDE, but rather just the desktop part.

At one time I had all my apps on my desktop, but it just kept growing and growing, until I could not find anything in it. I have since started to use a circular docking program which lets me put folders in it. This allows me to have access to all my apps, while still having room. I really don't want to go back to that... Methinks a desktop is seldom a place for apps.

Anyway, here's what I think the two purposes of a desktop should be: First, it should be a minimal information aggregator, as in a clock, news stream, weather, etc. It should also be a place to get started with things. If you are working one three different projects, then you should have all the links to start with each project, and have them well separated. This would allow you to know what you need to do, and provide the links to get started, providing direct access to you work, so that you would not be distracted.

Now, I understand not everyone has my views, so I'm asking for what you all think the purpose of a desktop is? I'll try to photoshop a picture of what my ideal desktop would be like later, as I fear I didn't communicate well what I want on mine. And, after all, a picture is worth 1000 words!

[eerok]

I don't like a messy desktop. I like a nice background image, a taskbar, and that's it. No icons or anything else. I could even live without a taskbar except that I really need some kind of clock in front of me somewhere, and I like to see feedback from a couple things: music player and IM.

I generally have a one-click system to get to what I want. On KDE right now I have three launchers on the taskbar: Konsole, Dolphin, and Firefox. I have Dolphin organized so that all my writing projects, notes, and journals are represented in "Places." The other stuff I use often are in in the Kicker in "Favorites." In short, I tend to jump around a lot, and I'm set up to get to whatever I want quickly.

In Openbox I just have a well-organized right-click app menu (and I use Pypanel for a taskbar). The simplicity of this works well for me.

So I could say that the role of the desktop for me is mainly to look pretty.

[darkrose0510]

Yeah I'm the same, I don't like anything on my desktop... mostly because I find icons/links/launchers/etc useless as they're usually covered by a window anyway.

A taskbar/clock/quick launch bar is all I like to see when I don't have anything open, keep the desktop clean and put a picture on it.

[elija]

As well as looking good, I use mine as a temporary storage area before things are filed away. I wish I could keep my physical desktop as clean

[Dapper Dan]

As an IceWM user, the "Desktop" is just another directory where things are downloaded so that's what I use it for. It is not part of IceWM in the same way as it is in Gnome and KDE. To me, the desktop is like a blackboard, to use as a work space. The apps I use the most go on the taskbar. The rest go into the menu.

[Roxoff]

lol, for me the 'Desktop' is the bit of the screen that gets obliterated by apps. What's the point of having lots of things on it when the first time you open an app you cant see it. I dont even have pictures on it - I normally just use a simple image or flat colour, and keep my app links on the menu or for very frequently used stuff, on the links next to the gnome menu.

[techieMoe]

I don't like a messy desktop. I like a nice background image, a taskbar, and that's it. No icons or anything else. I could even live without a taskbar except that I really need some kind of clock in front of me somewhere, and I like to see feedback from a couple things: music player and IM.

I'm in a similar boat, but I do occasionally use my desktop as the go-between for temporary files. For instance I'll download a tarball and extract/make/install it on the desktop then delete all the files when I'm done. Or I'll download a new wallpaper and move it to my Pictures folder. It's a scratch space, essentially.

When I'm not using it to shuffle files here and there it stays immaculate. No icons, not even a trash bin (I prefer the Gnome trashbin on the bottom taskbar) and a pleasant desktop wallpaper.

[Jonathan183]

For kdemod3 ... shortcuts to firefox, kmail, juk, user data area, openoffice, scribus. Other things that end up on desktop - downloads (before I use them/move them somewhere else). Background picture - default, other icons default (trash/home/system) only ever use trash. I set all users up with similar arrangements (ex Windows users - have icons for the stuff they use day to day & use the menu for anything else).

For fluxbox ... no icons, background set same as kdemod3 default picture. Select everything from the right click menu (usermenu with firefox, openoffice, kmail, virtualbox, thunar, juk). Anything else I find myself using regularly I add to the usermenu.

I almost always maximize windows with applications running so I only really see the wallpaper at startup, and only use the icons to start firefox, kmail and juk (in kde). A desktop select and clock would do for me ... or application select and clock for a single desktop

Ed: I tend not to put things on the desktop and other system users don't either ... I have a separate user data partition so the home area doesn't get backed up very much (only thing I have copied from one distro to another is the kmail information) ... so I don't fill backup media with config files that I don't really care about

[jayd512]

I have go with Dapper Dan here. As another IceWM user, everything goes to either the menu or the taskbar. Don't need anything else but a nice background.

[rokytnji]

No icons on Gnome. I like Jay, Dapper Dan, and darkrose just use it for downloads and md5sum checking and extracting tarballs. If I need to file something I put it in Home.

Puppy I leave default Desktop just because I am still learning it. I just follow the default rules in Puppy.

Nimble X Kde I run Nimble as a live Distro inside of Windows. It's a fresh boot up every time with no saved changes.

XFCE I run with no icons like Gnome and use it just like gnome.

AntiX icewm I leave alone like Puppy. Also still learning.