off with their heads


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Subject: off with their heads
Name: booly
Date: 2/28/2002 3:25:00 AM (GMT-7)
IP Address: 62.253.32.5
In Reply to: Short story posted by Castle50
Message:

most of these innovations would be fun for about 30 minutes, but would actually entail far more effort to navigate than the current GUI

People seem to forget the current GUI immitates the way filing systems have worked using paper for over a hundred years.

I think that you need a compartmentalised and heirarchical form of file organisation simply because its the quickest way. You can have a 3d interface for paper files too, but it is a desktop covered in bits of paper, & it generally looks a mess and is impossible to find anything. So now they want to bring this to the user interface ?!

What they need to persue, is a fast intuitive way of accessing the heirarchichal file tree and a way of individualising folder icons. I am not convinced that a 3d environment is going to be superior for this as it will do no better than "arrange by" options.

I think Scopeware may have potential to improve access to 'latest documents'. Which should be far more customiseable than it is in WinME. But it is not a replacement for a heirarchical file system.

Reliability and speed are more significant than superficial looks. And the heirarchy of knowledge is inescapable, while you can rebel against the external heirarchy of society, it is folly to carry that into the organisation of knowledge. Or if you must one can argue that because topics/files are compartmentalised does not mean they do not have equal status !!

What they need to do is carry on developing the theme of immitating the way we have learned to organise paper. Instead of blank folders we need boxes (with pictures on), and inside we find not only docs & folders but also anything needed for PROJECT ORIENTED management of information. eg a list of user defined application shortcuts which will fire up an app' or template ready to save to that particular project box. Also an access icon to the mail client with a project dedicated inbox which sorts mail into it. Perhaps a small graphical device like a progress bar for representing the calendar and approaching deadlines which is active when the box is open but also appears on the outside of the box and changes color when the deadline is close!

Also a task list within the project box with hyperlinks from the task descriptions to any documentation generated or received, for easy consultation.

(Outlook is so unweildy.)

etc

tell them somebody, or they can hire me and I'll tell them

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