The upper pane lists all hard drives, your .Mac iDisk, optical media such as CDs and DVDs, network servers, and removable volumes such iPods and USB drives.  Whenever you connect an mountable item such an external device or insert a disc, the upper pane updates to show the item.

Apple provides you with a pre-configured lower pane with shortcuts to the the items:

• Desktop
• Home Folder
• Applications
• Documents
• Movies
• Music
• Pictures

The lower pane can be customized to suit a user’s needs and preferences.  You can place just about anything in lower pane.

Ideal candidates to place in the lower pane could be things you want to access with a single click such as:

• Frequently used applications
• Popular documents
• A link to your favorite website