chrispoole.com

Many are asking for a file system view, and copy and paste, etc.

All these things are just one way of solving the problem of getting things done with your computer. They’ve been used for some years now, so are fairly well set in stone.

When Jef Raskin wrote his book, The Humane Interface, he outlined his ideas for a new type of computer interface. One where you decide you want to do something, and then just start doing it, without having to think of a filename. When finished, it’ll automatically save. You just start working. To get back to a document you were working on previously, you just start searching (trivially, Spotlight inherits some of these ideas), and then once you’ve found your document, amend it and leave. You never save anything, you never create folders to store everything in (if search is good enough, you won’t have to), and the utility of the computer is greatly increased.

Instead of thinking “Oh, I want to write a letter so I’ll open Word,” you just start working. Tools you need will be available here, but the idea of separate applications disappears.

This is what Apple should be doing with the iPhone interface. They have a chance to create something totally new, without all the old ideas cluttering things up.

If these are some of their thoughts, and I think they will be, then don’t hold out for a file system, or any other nostalgic interface features.