This is the last installment of this column, and as such, I wanted to cover one of the most important features on the Mac: the Finder. This file manager, browser, and user interface layer is the tool that people use to launch applications, work with and manage files and folders, and control pretty much everything their computer does.
The early Mac was revolutionary, bringing the desktop metaphor to everyday computers. It wasn’t the first computer to use this type of interface, but it was the first one that was widely adopted. Instead of controlling a computer by typing lines of text commands, it used the WIMP interface: windows, icons, menus, and pointer. (And even before text commands, computers were controlled by punch cards, tapes, and other ways of inputting commands and data.)
One thing the desktop metaphor does is allow us to organize files any way we want. Unlike tags, where you set keywords for your files–that you may or may not recall later–folders let you sort items in the way that best fits your style of organizing items. They’re flexible and extensible, through sub-folders, and sub-sub-folders. You could dump all your files in a single folder and use Spotlight to find the ones you want, but you’d quickly find that it’s more time consuming to use this type of interface than to keep your files sorted.
While the desktop metaphor is practical and useful, maybe it’s time to move on.
Read the rest of the article on Macworld.
As the article says above, this is the last installment of my Hey Apple, Fix This column. I’m looking for freelance writing work, notably about iTunes, but also about Apple hardware and software, third-party apps, and more.