Re: spatial finder

[Björn Giesler]

Hi,

for an discussion about what's good about a spatial file manager and 
what's bad about a non-spatial one, see John Siracusa's excellent 
article at http://arstechnica.com/paedia/f/finder/finder-1.html.

Am 16.06.2004 um 11:58 schrieb Nicolas Roard:
> Something that works great with few files and shallow directories, and 
> badly with plenty of files and deep directories. Eg, it's not that 
> good for today computer's use.
>
> You just need to see the users response to the now by-default nautilus 
> spatial mode.

Most people using Nautilus (or Linux, for that matter) are geeks and 
proto-geeks. This class of people has notoriously little knowledge of 
good UI design. (The user's response to the GNUstep look, i.e. the 
complaints that it's bland and the clamoring for "themes", is another 
example.)

I agree that the spatial layout is badly suited for today's Unix file 
system hierarchy. However, today's unix file system hierarchy is very 
badly suited for users or user interfaces. Non-geeks don't understand 
stuff like /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xdm/System.xsession; they do understand 
/Configuration/Startup Items. GNUstep (with bundles etc.) can help on 
the path towards a user-friendly or (better) user-created hierarchy. 
And to manage that, a spatial file manager helps tremendously.

My suggestion would be: Bow to the reality that the current Unix 
hierarchy is horrible and won't change soon, and that the GNUstep crowd 
consists largely of geeks who are more interested in maximizing control 
over their system than maximizing ease of use. Leave the spatial thing 
for now, since it's not quite easy to implement. But keep it in mind 
for later; it's certainly more than worth to be implemented eventually.

Regards,
Björn