Linux Idiocy: Eject USB Drive Warning

By Xah Lee. Date:

Sometimes you hear people comparing Linux desktop with Microsoft Windows or Mac. What have they been smoking?

Witness Linux Showstopper Episode #28824:

USB drive is supposed to be hot-pluggable. That is, you just plug-in or unplug without worrying. But in practice, not really so. You are advertised to eject first. This is so on Microsoft Windows.

So, in Linux, i also wanted to play nice and eject first. But, when you eject, you get this message:

linux xfce eject USB drive screenshot 2013-06-01
Linux xfce warning when ejecting a USB drive.

This message is completely useless, because, the drive is ejected (dismounted) anyway. What am i supposed to do after seeing this message? Am i supposed to wait? Is it now safe to unplug my drive or not??

If you are reading my blog, you are probably a programer. My question is, whoever wrote this, what are they thinking??

See also: Is Linux Desktop Ready for Mom and Pop?