Can the Cloud replace the Finder?

Agreed. On all points. But, there's also a rumor floating around that MobileMe is about to become free as soon as certain facilities go operational."

Assuming the rumor is true and the new facilities will help alleviate the problems, it sounds like Steve is just trying to get out in front of some very big Apple announcements in a way that make him seem prescient.

Which is exactly what I would be trying to do if I was in his position.

That's still long way off from killing the finder, but I think there's more to this than you give him credit for.

Sorry, but I just don't see the day I trust my data solely to someone else's servers. Backing up or sharing data is one thing, but trusting everything to the cloud just isn't happening in my world. I WANT local control of my data, and for me that won't change.

As to Finder, I wouldn't miss it if I no longer needed it, but as things stand now, I use it dozens of times a day.

Over the years I've learned I never get the solution I want, so I'm not holding my breath... but...

What I'd like is a service that syncs everything I have on my home network with a copy on the cloud, both for backup and for cloud access. I basically want time machine and drop box rolled into one with an operating system that made moving between local and cloud totally seenless. Of course none of this would be necessary if my broadband at home/office was symetrical, but being 20/2 Mbps it becomes painful to try to access a file over my VPN when I'm remote.


The key, for me is that any computer that is on and commected to the computer should instant sync. For Any computer that is turned off or disconnected, other computers should see and access the cloud copy on demand. Like time machine the user should never have to explicitly sync, upload or publish the file to the cloud, it should just happen.

To make this all super fast you need a file system that only writes changes, not whole files, like databases, and independentty of the actual file type. As I understand it some files systems are already moving that direction.

Here. Here. Living 24:7 in the Cloud is a pipe dream. By the time the web is fast enough to support streaming our HD clips and RAW image files to us for editing in real time, we'll probably have evolved into half-cyborg mutants who surf the internet in our mind's eye. With no pinky toes.

I don't see the Finder going away. In fact, I see the opposite happening... the Finder swallowing everything. You know how Outlook is the place for your email, calendar, and contacts? The Finder will have all of those things and more. You won't have to open iCal, Mail, Address Book, Word, Excel, Preview.

Your basic applications will no longer be needed. AND all of your information will be available across the three or four computers (home desktop, personal laptop, work computer, and your smartphone) a la Dropbox.

If Apple shifts their resources from the iPad back to their Mac OS (with the aforementioned feature), they will take off and leave Google and Microsoft in the dust.

I find it interesting that so many pundits and industry leaders tell us out of one side of their mouth how it'll all be in the cloud very soon, then, out of the other side of their mouth, tell us (repeatedly) how we need to one day expect metered bit counts -- and that doesn't even consider net-neutrality issues ("Hey... Comcast here. You're going to have to purchase the $129 "Cloud Tier Package" if you want to access your iDisk").

The only thing one can safely predict is that people "in the know" will make stupid predictions. Like this one.

REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT

ABORT ABORT ABORT

I am NOT arguing for cloud computing, only storage!!! Please at least read my original post before jumping to conclusions

http://sachin.posterous.com/the-finder-is-dead-soon-a-pc-wont-have-files

I think that future cloud computing is inevitable. Technology will advance as it always does, and the issues we now face, like file security, speed, and reliability will soon be fixed. As it does so, cloud computing will make more and more sense to a lot of people. For right now, it's in preliminary stages for both industry IT and personal uses. The cloud, with help from Apples power and influence over the general public, will soon change the way computing is done.

Just because Mobile Me and iDisk is a disaster doesn't mean the cloud can't be your master repository for files.

Look at Dropbox.com. They have basically nailed cloud storage for consumers. I know people who keep their entire photo and music libraries on Dropbox, which allows they to access everything from any of their computers and on the web.

Online storage space *will* increase. Having 500GB online will not be an issue in a couple years. We will *not* be streaming, we will be syncing.

The post author says he loves the experience of his iPod and his iPad, yet he can't see how a similar move for the desktop would result in a much better experience as well.


I just saw this post now. So much to respond to :)

"I don't see them replacing the need to email someone a file, have them make changes, and email it back any time soon." - Actually, you will just collaborate on the file online. Emailing back and forth sucks. There is no version control. What if two people make changes at the same time? Online editing by multiple people in Google Docs is great.

"It's easy to get new information into email or out of email" I have no idea what this even means. It's just data, whether it's email, photos, or video

"That sounds great, assuming that you've never tried to launch iPhoto and had it fail to show you any pictures, or tried to launch the camera on the iPhone and have it immediately shut down again" - Again, no clue what this means. These sound like bugs that need to be fixed, not issues that would prohibit a move to cloud storage

"The lack of a usable filesystem in iPad is already a big issue" Really? I haven't found it to be. Apple will create a way to move "data" between apps, but it won't be about dragging files in a Finder.

"The Desktop/Folders concept may be old, and it may even be outdated, but I think it will be with us at least for several more years" - Not sure how this post author went from trying to dispute my post, to basically agreeing with me. I never said this would happen overnight. But it will happen

"I don't think cloud computing will take off the way some people think it will" - I'm not arguing for cloud computing, just cloud storage and sync

"I'm not going to edit a 30 GB video file over the internet" - Not saying you should. Everything should be local on your machine. Changes should sync up to the cloud and down to other machines, but you're always manipulating local files.


Guys, i'm a huge Apple fanboy today. But lets not think Mobile Me is the front runner in cloud storage and cloud computing. That service is quite poor and will not lead the way to a better future.

But we've all seen how the iPod, iPhone, and iPad have changed how we work with data. Even apps like iTunes and iPhoto prove my point: your files are hidden in a library file, and you only interact with them within the app.

and thus guy thinks Gmail is a better option over mobile me, Now I know why he was thrown out of Apple ..... or may be he never worked there lol....... Lier