Not so sure we should optimize for showing the desktop or using the desktop to store anything at all.  What specifically do you need to access the desktop for?  File management?

I would discourage adding a button in the UI for this.

I think this is ultimately a terminology problem.  Rather than envisioning the blank surface under windows as a desktop, we should think of it just as another surface much like we think of the overlay.  A button that exposes this surface is not necessarily useful yet, but if we move to something like desktop widgets we will need a mechanism to bring those forward, or expose them in some way.

In this case, we need to discuss where to put the widgets. I'd prefer adding another layer à la Apple's Deashboard rather than putting them on the traditional desktop, but the aim of this "surface" is not clear anyway, apart from a place where to save all files you don't know where to put...

Generally I'm happy to see that also others acknowledge my idea :)



(In reply to comment #1)
> Not so sure we should optimize for showing the desktop or using the desktop to
> store anything at all.  What specifically do you need to access the desktop
> for?  File management?
> 
> I would discourage adding a button in the UI for this.
> 

Sure, I you have a lot applications open and download files to the Desktop how would you propose to work with them (gnome-terminal, minimize all application windows). I know gnome shell is the future but I think a Desktop is still necessary (Wallpapers ftw! :P)

Cheers

There should at the least be a "widget" to add to the menubar if the user so chooses that he wants to be able to show the desktop.
But is there an infrastructure for so called widgets in the gnome shell as in KDE or Gnome toolbar?

how about showing desktop as a window when user presses alt-tab. I know, it will be painful when he has too many windows opened.

(bugzilla spam: populating the new "extensions" component with bugs discussing features that are not part of the core spec, but could be implemented externally once the extension system is done.)

Desktop is useful to temporary store files and folder that you don`t know yet were to put it or to use it as a "desktop" i.e. a surface where you put things while you are working on some project, ones you have finished that task you could empty the desktop to make room for new files and folder. 

At least this is how I work (may be I strongly take the desktop metaphor)

adding a hot corner to the screen`s botton left is IMHO a better option than a button

*** Bug 611595 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

The current plan is to not have anything on the background behind the windows so this probably won't be very useful.  So, going to mark this won't fix.  If necessary I suppose someone could implement it as an extension.