Re: MIME types, again ("Nautilus" ain't the answer)

on Mon, Feb 07, 2005 at 11:07:26PM -0500, Adam Hooper ([email protected]) wrote:
> On Mon, 2005-02-07 at 17:17 -0700, ben wrote:
> > Can anyone please tell me how to change my file associations in Galeon
> > 1.3.19 (latest Debian unstable)?  I know that, were I running
> > Nautilus, I could right-click on an icon and use "Open with..." etc,
> > which sometimes works.  But I'm using the KDE filemanager for no other
> > reason than that KDE panel actually works correctly with Autohide
> > turned on (yes, even when running Sawfish).
> 
> You can run Nautilus from within KDE, can't you? (Not ideal, I know, but
> it's easy and it'll work.) If it refuses to open, maybe try with the
> --no-desktop option.

I run WindowMaker, and find when running Nautilus:

  - I get a desktop filled with icons, etc.
  - My keybindings are trashed.
  - Other random breakage, depending on the level of cerebral-fecal
    impaction of the GNOME team this week.

Nautilus is *not* a simple file manager.  It's a poorly-scoped project
which incorporates features of both a file manager *and* a desktop
manager.  It's a classic example of design fuckwittedness within the
GNOME team, as this design scoping means one *cannot* use Nautilus
outside a GNOME-only environment.  By contrast, other FMs (Konqueror,
gentoo (the FM, not the distro), GNUStep's file manager, etc., _can_ be
effectively run outside their "native" environments.  While some people
will gripe over the library requirements of some of these, at least a
user doesn't find their desktop invaded by aliens for just trying a
fscking application.

For all of that, Nautilus remains:

  - Slow.
  - Underfeatured -- MC does more, absent "oh, you need a wind-up,
    candy-striped, squirrel-driven steamroller for _that_ functionality"
    add-ons.

Etc.

I'm with OP:  if Galeon *insists* on using GNOME misfeatures for storage
of configuration data, provide UI access to same from within Galeon.

If this can't be done, I'd strongly suggest reconsidering widget sets
and pulling from elsewhere where possible.

> > I thought I'd come to terms with the fact that Galeon/Gnome don't use
> > mime.types etc, but once again, if you know how things _should_ work
> > and are trying to run applications from Gnome, KDE, _and_ real Unix,
> > it's just unbelievably frustrating to find that in order to change a
> > file association you have to configure 3 different systems.
> 
> Freedesktop has a page set up for a unified system:
> http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Standards_2fmime_2dactions_2dspec
> 
> Out of curiosity, what's the "real" Unix way of handling file
> associations?

/etc/mime.types
 
> > Wouldn't it be possible for Galeon to have a menu item that let you
> > go straight to Gnome's "mime.types" system?  It would even be
> > possible to only display this menu item if it were determined that
> > KDE was running.
> 
> Yes, it would be possible. But who's going to write it? As far as I
> know, all Galeon developers use GNOME.

Pity, that.


Peace.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <[email protected]>        http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
 What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?
  Information is not power after all: Old-fashioned power is power. If you
  aren't big industry or government, you have very little power. Once they've
  hacked the electronic voting system, you'll have no power at all.
  - Robert X. Cringely

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