Comments on: iLife and the Untitled Document Syndrome http://usabilityfriction.com/2009/02/21/ilife-and-the-untitled-document-syndrome/ Usability shouldn't be a drag Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:55:50 +0000 hourly 1 By: Ashley Towers http://usabilityfriction.com/2009/02/21/ilife-and-the-untitled-document-syndrome/comment-page-1/#comment-142 Ashley Towers Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:15:53 +0000 http://usabilityfriction.com/?p=350#comment-142 The iApps can be configured to some degree - probably not as much as it sounds that you want to. But the whole point is that you are worrying about manually managing a file structure - it's not much better than having files in a filing cabinet! With the iApp approach - the files (if you care to look, and I don't very often!) are logically organised e.g. photos are in a hierarchy for by year/month/date then the image files themselves are what ever you want to call them. Any albums are just symbolic links to the same files. I can't think of how I'd do it better manually! I bet I could find an arbitrary picture using iPhoto (an app designed from the ground up to manage photos) quicker than you could using your file explorer - however good your hierarchy! The location of the file is irrelevant to me - I just have better things to do with my time than to manually keep my filing structure in order - my computer is much better at doing mundane tasks. What counts is how quick I can find the file to print/edit/whatever. As long as I'm safe in the knowledge that if I ever wanted to switch OS or whatever, my files are in a sensible (and easily importable) structure. The iApps can be configured to some degree – probably not as much as it sounds that you want to. But the whole point is that you are worrying about manually managing a file structure – it’s not much better than having files in a filing cabinet!

With the iApp approach – the files (if you care to look, and I don’t very often!) are logically organised e.g. photos are in a hierarchy for by year/month/date then the image files themselves are what ever you want to call them. Any albums are just symbolic links to the same files. I can’t think of how I’d do it better manually!

I bet I could find an arbitrary picture using iPhoto (an app designed from the ground up to manage photos) quicker than you could using your file explorer – however good your hierarchy!

The location of the file is irrelevant to me – I just have better things to do with my time than to manually keep my filing structure in order – my computer is much better at doing mundane tasks. What counts is how quick I can find the file to print/edit/whatever. As long as I’m safe in the knowledge that if I ever wanted to switch OS or whatever, my files are in a sensible (and easily importable) structure.

]]> By: Richard http://usabilityfriction.com/2009/02/21/ilife-and-the-untitled-document-syndrome/comment-page-1/#comment-141 Richard Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:31:38 +0000 http://usabilityfriction.com/?p=350#comment-141 Yeah but can you change that default behaviour? What if you have your own scheme for file storage? A particular naming scheme, and locations to put those files. Where to keep the latest and where to store the archives. Can I customise my Mac to accommodate my schema? You suggest I should let go and conform to Mr. Job's ideal but did he ever consider that his ideal is not suited to me and the way _I_ work? i.e. the way that works for me. I can understand why having a one size fits all solution would be an advantage to a beginner but to a person with thousands of files gathered over the years it can only be a bottleneck. I want to know where my files are because: - I don't want them locked into a particular OS's schema. - I want to be able to blitz and re-install a different OS without my files being tied into my old OS's architecture. - I want to move them from one filesystem type to another to utilise advances in technology. - Maybe my filing system makes more sense to me than Mr. Jobs. Yeah but can you change that default behaviour? What if you have your own scheme for file storage? A particular naming scheme, and locations to put those files. Where to keep the latest and where to store the archives. Can I customise my Mac to accommodate my schema?

You suggest I should let go and conform to Mr. Job’s ideal but did he ever consider that his ideal is not suited to me and the way _I_ work? i.e. the way that works for me. I can understand why having a one size fits all solution would be an advantage to a beginner but to a person with thousands of files gathered over the years it can only be a bottleneck.

I want to know where my files are because:
- I don’t want them locked into a particular OS’s schema.
- I want to be able to blitz and re-install a different OS without my files being tied into my old OS’s architecture.
- I want to move them from one filesystem type to another to utilise advances in technology.
- Maybe my filing system makes more sense to me than Mr. Jobs.

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