Age of Interactive Systems (Tech Literature)
I had an assignment for Literature class to imitate the techniques that Percy Bysshe Shelly used in a speech (original text here: http://wam.umd.edu/~djb/shelley/charlotte1880.html).
The task was to write the opening, and I thought I'd post it here for the heck of it. (In case you're wondering how this relates to the Mac, this thread should help: http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=61953)
Here goes.
Of course, this is a reference to current filesystems (FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, ext3... whatever) and a vision of a folderless OS, which I think is possible (iTunes, iPhoto and Mail already do this, and Spotlight looks like a step in the right direction).
Respond
Add: This is just a draft .
The task was to write the opening, and I thought I'd post it here for the heck of it. (In case you're wondering how this relates to the Mac, this thread should help: http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=61953)
Here goes.
Quote:
Age of Interactive Systems.
I. THE age of folders is over. There will be no more directories, hierarchies or paths. Information buried in absolute locations somewhere in a hideous filesystem will be a thing of the past, and will fade away once again into just a concept. The world will soon awaken to a truly interactive system, where information exists wherever thoughts place it and location is multi-dimensional.
II. How many times has a user of computers, whosoever he may be, been compelled to work to the system's liking? How many times has the occasional user been forced to memorize where his every file lies? The machine demands that anyone who use it, organize the information that they consume through their own deliberate actions. It commands that wise humans should spend countless hours sweeping digital dirt, re-shelving information into correct chambers, labeling the many hallways of an painfully massive manor, all the while it blatantly advertises the 'convenience' of allowing such tasks to be undertaken. A user 'interface' has so far remained but a myth, with every so-called development contributing only to the enslavement of minds to machines. Yet none respond--- none react to this technological tyranny.
Age of Interactive Systems.
I. THE age of folders is over. There will be no more directories, hierarchies or paths. Information buried in absolute locations somewhere in a hideous filesystem will be a thing of the past, and will fade away once again into just a concept. The world will soon awaken to a truly interactive system, where information exists wherever thoughts place it and location is multi-dimensional.
II. How many times has a user of computers, whosoever he may be, been compelled to work to the system's liking? How many times has the occasional user been forced to memorize where his every file lies? The machine demands that anyone who use it, organize the information that they consume through their own deliberate actions. It commands that wise humans should spend countless hours sweeping digital dirt, re-shelving information into correct chambers, labeling the many hallways of an painfully massive manor, all the while it blatantly advertises the 'convenience' of allowing such tasks to be undertaken. A user 'interface' has so far remained but a myth, with every so-called development contributing only to the enslavement of minds to machines. Yet none respond--- none react to this technological tyranny.
Of course, this is a reference to current filesystems (FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, ext3... whatever) and a vision of a folderless OS, which I think is possible (iTunes, iPhoto and Mail already do this, and Spotlight looks like a step in the right direction).
Respond
Add: This is just a draft .
Comments
Now, the question is... what do you replace it with?
Not to replace the filesystem or Finder yet - it's too early for that - but a proof of concept (I've been hearing that phrase everything it seems, so oh well) environment where you can add files, forget about what or where they are, retrieve it instantly by the thoughts you have of it.
Just throw in some PDFs, emails, photos, music, documents... anything, then use Spotlight SDK (and metatags) to allow them to be retrieved. With dynamic lists (conditional, just like iTunes smart playlists). (This should help: http://developer.apple.com/macosx/spotlight.html)
Then there would be a problem of "What if I know nothing of the file?". Of course, it doesn't neccessirily have to be a file - it can just be a piece of information. A random thought, thrown into the db.
It could be represented by a chaos of a a huge 3D environment with all information floating around. Of course, you'd need a *really* beefy GPU, but there can be ways around that.
As envisioned in the previous post, use Spotlight technology. As a few letters are typed, thousands of icons and images fade away, leaving just the relevant ones there.
There could be a seperate "Photos" pool, "Music" pool, "Documents" pool, "Movies" pool - just the stuff that Finder already has on the sidebar, so those things already reflect what's added to the main DB.
Again, so uncommon files don't get lost, an "Everything Else" pool. A user can, of course, create new and better pools, but for a lot of people, filtering within these pools will be enough.
It wouldn't be ready for use anytime soon, but it's a great concept for a folderless system. (And one that a lot of us here are familiar to, too).
Thing is, I can't program.
I kinda quit talking about it because I was always met by furious 1980s users that insist that hierarchical systems are the only way to go.
I hope Leopard will make these users change their tune.
I really want to do something about making the "interactive system" a reality.