Quote:
Originally Posted by zippy
I think the future of computers - at least for the average user - is a future without file system access/management. And I don't think that's a bad thing.
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Exactly, but getting people to understand this will probably be a lengthy battle. Ask any user
why they think they need a hierarchical, user-managed filesystem and almost invariably what you'll get is a description of
accessing files in a manner that doesn't really necessitate a visible filesystem hierarchy.
I actually had exactly this discussion yesterday with a coworker who was upset about iPad's lack of visible filesystem. When pressed to answer why, he gave examples like "I want to save all the different files for a project in the same folder" and "I want to put things I've worked on today in the same folder". When you look at those requirements and
don't assume a visible filesystem, though, the problem can easily and much more intuitively be solved using something like smart folders, creation/access metadata, and arbitrary tagging. You can almost get exactly that
today in the current Finder.
We really take for granted that we've all taught ourselves how to manually wrestle folders and files, but that's a skill that really isn't necessary when you look at the real problems that manual file management is trying to solve. I think it'll take some really revolutionary products and devices to break the micromanaging mindset. Apple's making a good start at that with iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPhoto, and probably a few others I'm forgetting, but there's still a long way to go.