Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Desktops, OS, Software
Finder - Rethunk
The solution? "Desk", a concept the post's author conceived that combines the paradigms of the desktop and the Finder, throwing in a few more tools for good measure, such as a static clipboard in the Finder window's sidebar that can hold multiple files and snippets. If your interest is piqued, check out the post for an in-depth explanation, as well as a Quicktime movie (3.1 MB) of the process in action. I for one would welcome a Finder facelift like this, as I've been bored and annoyed with the desktop for a while now. Viva la revolution!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
macsterdam said 9:31AM on 8-29-2005
Personally I'm very much looking forward to Pathfinder 4 which is to be released relatively shortly. A finder with tabs and bookmarks. Great screenshots here: [url=http://www.cocoatech.com/news/archives/2005/04/28/index.php]pathfinder screenshots[/url]
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bk said 9:41AM on 8-29-2005
That should be piqued. One's interest is piqued. Couldn't help myself.
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Rik Eberhardt said 10:11AM on 8-29-2005
OMG I think I'm going to cry! It's so... beautiful! Some one please hit Jobs on the head and show him this!
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Steve said 10:13AM on 8-29-2005
Well I piqued at the desktop, but did not find myself peaked. I could see how it would work for OS newbies, but I have worked with computers so long I have established my own organizational ploys.
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terevos said 10:24AM on 8-29-2005
Interesting idea, but personally, I like working with multiple windows. I don't want to have to put my files into a self and then navigate to the destination. Then place them there. Oops - I forgot one.. I have to navigate all the way back. I think this idea would be great for novice users, but for power users, it would be a bit hampering.
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brian said 11:16AM on 8-29-2005
The Finder really really really needs some work. This would be a good start.
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MahRain said 11:36AM on 8-29-2005
Actually, most of this has been in Windows for quite some time now!
The "sidebar" on the right resides on the left side, in Windows, and shows exactly this information, plus provides links to My documents, things like "burn this folder", video previews and all, Since Windows 98!
What's more, the folder with all current work, is a Microsoft experiment from Windows 95, there called "Briefcase", also sporting a briefcase icon. The folder has then been replaced by My Documents in more recent Windows versions.
Editing the finder like this kills interface consistency and provides users again with some 10 ways to do the same thing, one of Windows' most apparent problems.
It's nice for a suggestion, and borrowing from Redmond would be a funny change for Apple, but it isn't innovative!
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Wheels said 1:04PM on 8-29-2005
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.
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lookmark said 1:25PM on 8-29-2005
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.
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Arlo said 1:27PM on 8-29-2005
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...
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lookmark said 1:36PM on 8-29-2005
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.
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human after all said 3:14PM on 8-29-2005
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
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Sean said 6:11PM on 8-29-2005
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).
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darleen Michael-Baker said 8:36PM on 8-29-2005
my interest may not have been "peaked" but it WAS piqued.
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Gene said 1:20AM on 8-30-2005
It's unfortunate that, by posting this publicly, the designer of this has pretty much assured that Apple will never, ever adopt it.
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San_Ra said 3:27PM on 8-30-2005
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.
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brian said 10:04PM on 8-30-2005
"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.
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David Chartier said 3:15PM on 11-02-2005
I think what some might also be missing is that this isn't just an upgraded Finder window, it's an obliteration of the "desktop" as we know it. This would get rid of having only one folder open and in your face (desktop) and delve the user right into the file system with a lot more options and locations immediately at your disposal.
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David Chartier said 3:15PM on 11-02-2005
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.
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