Mac OS X 10.0: Message That "There are no view options for the desktop" Appears

Though View Options exist for the desktop, you may find a message that leads you to believe otherwise.
Symptom

When you try to customize the desktop, you may:

Then you see this message in the Window pane:


The Finder Preferences window contains all the settings you would expect to find in View Options:

Additionally, Finder Preferences allows you to select the Desktop Picture.

Apple may address the "no view options" message in a future software update.
Published Date: Feb 17, 2012