I completely agree with his observations about the iLife suite. Both iTunes and iPhoto abstract away the location of their actual files from the user. Recent switchers to the Mac have a really hard time with this concept – “But where are my files?!” they cry!

The files are there; if you really must see them they are easily findable. The uncomfortable leap of faith comes with letting go; not caring where they are physically located. The files are an implementation detail – what you as a user care about is can you find the photo or song in order to use it. In both cases, an app specifically designed to manage that kind of media makes for a much better experience than a general purpose hierarchical directory browser. If you then need a copy of that file for whatever reason – just drag it out of the app on to the desktop then you can use and abuse it at your leisure – safe in the knowledge that the appropriate iApp is keeping the originals safe.

I remember going through the transition myself and it is an odd feeling for someone accustomed to managing their own data. But, once you let go it’s very liberating!

Anyway, without further ado, over to Daring Fireball: Untitled Document Syndrome