Finder - Rethunk

"I work almost exclusively in Photoshop, usually with dozens of files open, and all the typical tools and pallette panes open- I find it highly distracting to have images and text behind the windows that I'm working with." Yeah, me too. If only the whole application were in one window... and you could click a button and the application would take over the screen, with nothing else showing... like Windows! :-) Seriously--I'm not trolling here. That's one of the things I've always liked about Windows more than Mac OS--the fact that a single app can dominate the whole screen. Visual clutter really bugs me, and a maximized window is like... silence. Plus, there's little bonuses: (boni?) double-click in Photoshop's blank space and you get an 'open file' dialog. (Maybe the Bridge now; I haven't got CS2 yet.) Not to mention the annoying way you can click just ouside a document window on a Mac and oops!--you're in another app now. With Windows, that doesn't happen. And it's even worse in OS X, with it's cool borderless windows. There is literally one pixel between the blue grabby part of the scroll bar and the app behind it. I don't like XP much, but if I'm gonna be in Photoshop (or any single app) for a couple hours, I'll often wheel around to that other machine.

It's unfortunate that, by posting this publicly, the designer of this has pretty much assured that Apple will never, ever adopt it.

This is terrible. There are many times I need multiple windows open. Besides the menu bar is supposed to be contextual for things that can be done to files. And not being able to see your desktop picture is not a problem. The desktop is for placing documents.

It is indeed an interesting idea, but then the paradigm of applications with windows and pallettes floating over the desktop would have to change. I work almost exclusively in Photoshop, usually with dozens of files open, and all the typical tools and pallette panes open- I find it highly distracting to have images and text behind the windows that I'm working with. In order for this to work, Applications would have to be as they are on the windows side, where the work windows reside within a main window that covers up all the BS on the desktop. On the other hand, I do like to set up a folder shortcut or two on the desktop that I can access when I need to, and for this, I prefer the way OSX is currently set up (you don't have to "minimize" or scoot your application aside to get to your desktop).

From Cian's post: "Yes it's one of those single window Finder concepts." Also note the lack of any window-sizing controls for Desk. Even as someone who uses column view quite a bit and doesn't have a HD icon on the desktop, I find that the desktop is still a very useful concept, and "a big open place" is far, far less claustrophobic than a giant fixed Finder window that takes up the whole screen. Ugh. This idea sounds great for a "Simple Finder," but that's about it.

Sorry to dissent, but this mockup, while very well done technically, is a nightmare of usability. The main problem with the current Finder is focus; this thing has none. It has more little widgets and functions and doo-dads and big, garish colors than the current Finder. And this thing taking over the entire desktop? How is the user meant to organize their filesystem? The Finder should be simple, slim and fast. It shouldn't torture us with fat graphics and bad color schemes. Sorry...

No one says you can't open more than one window with this system. Open 4 million if you'd like. This is a bit more about making the desktop itself functional, instead of this big fat open place where all you can do is dump icons.

I like the basic concept behind the idea - melding the desktop into a base finder. All the desktop is for me now is a place for a picture, my hard drives, and maybe a download or two - I HATE folders on my desktop. But, in reading the description, I would not want it if it was going to be my only finder window. I like the spring loaded windows we have now because they offer a "quick and dirty" way of navigation/moving/copying. Getting rid of that and the multiple window concept for a "shelf" would be a step backwards, IMO. The function bar I agree is too "Windows-like," and all it really does is mimic the contextual menu. And the "Projects" briefcase would be useless to me; I know how to put things that are pertinent to a project into one folder. But, all-in-all, you have to give Clan, the creator, an A+ plus for effort. Apple should take notice.

i dont like it at all. firstly it is way too complex, i like my desktop and having finder as a seperate app. in my opinion all finder needs is a method of maybe splitting colum view horizontally to allow for easier file movements, and be able to hold a folder open. and the spotlight orgonisation stuff on the right

It's a bold proposal, and an interesting idea for novice users, but it's much too reductive. Experienced users have multiple windows open all the time, to compare/contrast, or transfer, items for and between various projects. Exp./professional users would be aghast using "Desk" on a daily basis.