openSUSE supports the automatic detection of mobile storage devices over FireWire (IEEE 1394) or USB. The term mobile storage device applies to any kind of FireWire or USB hard disk, USB flash drive, or digital camera. These devices are automatically detected and configured as soon as they are connected with the system over the corresponding interface. The file managers of both GNOME and KDE offer flexible handling of mobile hardware items. To unmount any of these media safely, use the (KDE) or (GNOME) feature of either file manager. The handling of removable media by your desktop is described in more detail in GNOME User Guide (↑GNOME User Guide) and KDE User Guide (↑KDE User Guide).
As soon as an external hard disk is correctly recognized by the
system, its icon appears in the file manager. Clicking the icon
displays the contents of the drive. It is possible to create folders
and files here and edit or delete them. To rename a hard disk from the
name it had been given by the system, select the corresponding menu
item from the menu that opens when the icon is right-clicked. This
name change is limited to display in the file manager. The descriptor
by which the device is mounted in /media remains
unaffected by this.
These devices are handled by the system just like external hard disks. It is similarly possible to rename the entries in the file manager.
Digital cameras recognized by the system also appear as external drives in the overview of the file manager. KDE allows reading and accessing the pictures at the URL camera:/ . The images can then be processed using digiKam or f-spot. For advanced photo processing, use GIMP. For a short introduction to digiKam, f-spot and GIMP, see Chapter Managing Your Digital Image Collection with DigiKam (↑Application Guide), Chapter Managing Your Digital Image Collection with F-Spot (↑Application Guide) and Chapter Manipulating Graphics with GIMP (↑Application Guide).