05-11-2011, 04:08 PM | #136 |
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05-11-2011, 10:47 PM | #137 |
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There are many people out there who can just about use a computer, and feel that they have better things to do than spending time learning more about them (im thinking of people like my mother). And they will do exactly what they shouldn’t do with computers, but would none the less get pretty upset if they lost their photos.
To be honest I would not have expected calibre to be able to delete files that are not specifically related to it, and I guess many people would think the same. So how about having a standard calibre for ‘my mother’ which can use safely (without having to carefully read documentation), and then an addon which allows all the powerful functions of calibre? People would then have to install that before the program is capable of deleting their HD. This extra step should be enough prevent illiterate users making mistakes, and at the same time allow power users to do what then need. |
05-11-2011, 11:47 PM | #138 |
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Yes, but even power users still have that oops moment. I think in Windows 95 I deleted the Windows directory at least 5 times cause I meant to delete the files on the floppy disk but forgot to switch to the disk first. At least I finally learned to double check which directory I was in before I ran deltree.
As for the dialog, I was thinking of the PowerArchiver shareware( at least I think PowerArchiver). Have a 10 second timer and mix the order of the yes no buttons. |
05-12-2011, 08:50 AM | #139 |
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What is it with computers, anyway, that makes people not only unwilling to learn how to use their tools, but proud of doing so?
I've never heard anyone brag that telephones, dishwashers, wood chippers, or especially cars are "too hard" for them to use, nor that they intentionally don't bother to learn how to use them (though the way some people drive, I wonder sometimes). I set up and installed a new cuckoo clock yesterday and I'll tell you, it was more complicated than building a new computer! But I can't imagine someone acting other than ashamed that they couldn't figure out what to do with those parts, or how to unhook the shipping tie-downs or follow the instructions. Why is it with computers, and apparently computers alone, that people seem to expect admiration for not knowing how to use their tools? We now have computers that are far more powerful than the supercomputers of the Cray-1 era. But the average user can't tell. They're not doing more than computers did a decade or two ago, because all of that power goes to making their screens prettier, like Romper Room, and catering to the deliberately ignorant among their users. We have dumbed down computers so much that most of their potential is wasted. I've never thought I was outstandingly smart. People act as though I am, though, because I can identify things (birds, flowers, cars, etc.), because I have a wider vocabulary than comes from "Jersey Shore", and because I know how to use the tools I deal with on a regular basis -- including computers. This is sad. We should be smartening up people, not dumbing down the world they live in. Really, when we get to the "ideal" level where everyone is reading only picture books and using tools made like Busy Boxes ... then what? I haven't heard of any great scientific advances made by the ignorant, the complacent, nor kindergartners. Why should we want to turn ourselves into them -- and do so at the cost of the power and flexibility of the tools we use? Mind you, I'm not saying that tools should be made deliberately user-hostile. But their focus should be on doing what they do as well as possible, not on making it easy for people to use them without any mental activity whatsoever. Ignorance is not a virtue. Not even where computers are involved. And the sooner we remember that, instead of acting as though it is, the better the chance to save our entire society from the encroaching flood of voluntary stupidity. Go read the "The Amazon Kindle is a type of what?" thread if you want to be thoroughly scared. The Marching Morons are among us. |
05-12-2011, 08:59 AM | #140 | |
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Quote:
Calibre no longer permits the type of problem the OP faced here, because it prohibits creating a library if the folder (like the desktop) is not empty. I'm sure if you want to create a patch for a "simple mode" it will be considered, but I don't see the need. |
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05-12-2011, 02:51 PM | #141 | |
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Quote:
Okay! All done! |
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05-13-2011, 05:24 AM | #142 |
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A more radical solution
I would propose a much simpler way to avoid this kind of issue: remove the "Delete Library" command.
Apparently (I never tried the command; I did not even notice it existed) all it does is to wipe the folder and all sub-folders. On most systems, there is an OS command to do that.... |
05-13-2011, 10:04 AM | #143 |
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05-13-2011, 10:12 AM | #144 | |
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Quote:
This issue was addressed long ago by preventing users from creating libraries in folders that have content, so unless they manually add content to the library, there's no problem deleting libraries created since that change. |
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07-05-2011, 09:51 AM | #145 | |
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Quote:
BTW you are not the only person who has done something like this, There are lots out there that have done similar things. I understand your thinking that specifically book files and only book files should be deleted, but most programs just delete the entire directory its a more efficeint way of doing things. Good Luck.. regards jack |
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07-06-2011, 08:25 AM | #146 |
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Oh for crying out loud. Couldn't you have just let this contentious thread die?
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07-06-2011, 12:18 PM | #147 |
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ditto...
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