To remove the Computer, Home and Trash icons from your desktop:
start gconf-editor and modify:
/apps/nautilus/desktop/computer_icon_visible
/apps/nautilus/desktop/home_icon_visible
/apps/nautilus/desktop/trash_icon_visible
If you don’t like the new “spatial” Nautilus and you just want the old “browse” as a default, fire up gconf-editor and modify:
/apps/nautilus/preferences/always_use_browser