I was looking at Document-Centric-Gnome slides, and it triggered me a new idea to manage files in a Computer. Though it doesn't suit for everybody's needs, I wanted to post it here so that it doesn't get lost. BTW, I do not have much GNOME development skills so I am not in anyway promising anything for you; interested developers can take it further :-) The Problem Currently all desktops (including Mac OS X) impose a _structure_ on the way users store their files. This structure is unnatural and is called folders or directories. I would say many users who use computers don't know _why_ that structure is _necessary_. This tree like folder structure is developed not to solve users' problem but to solve file systems' problem. Its like an efficient data structure. Currently users have to _understand_ it before they can effectively store any files on the computer. This is very unfortunate; users shouldn't understand the underpinnings of a system to use it effectively. What the system should provide to users is, a very _natural_ way to locate their file. I was thinking in these lines and came up with this thought. The Idea What is _natural_ for most of the users? Imagine you are a guy who doesn't use computer at all, how do you manage your stuff? How do you listen to music? How do you watch movies? How do you read books? How do you write your dairy? These are the kind of things that people used to do before computers exists, and how they did it is what i consider as _natural_. All the elements there, like music, movies, pictures, notes, etc. now became computer files. So, if the system can somehow provide similar environment for them then, I guess, users would feel right at home (No Proofs Yet). So what should the system provide for this? System should provide an _additional_ living-room for their users where they can store their files. This will be most natural for the users (Guess Work.) When users open their home icon it should provide a nice living-room picture (or quake-like room with proper textures) instead of window with folders like movies, music, etc. This living room should contain regular devices that you see in our houses, like TV, Music system, Bookshelf, etc. and each of them should be kind-of where users can keep their files. As everyone lives in a house these are natural stuff they work with in their non-computers life. Each of these items should selectable and when users selects a TV, the TV should get closer and view should move on to top-side of TV surface, where thumbnails of all the files (usually movies) that are scattered by that user. When user wants to save/open a file the same living-room should be displayed with almost same semantics as the home window. We expect the users to save their movies near their TV, music near their Music System, etc. There could be a place like desk where all unorganized files go. Fun Stuff The way we present the living room could matter a lot. We could have complete living-room like experience by providing quake-like moving behavior within the window. We can have multiple rooms with doors where user can walk inside like in quake again. We can have separate tool to layout the items in the room as the user sees it fit. We could have a safe in the living-room, when the user selects, it should ask for password, etc. User could save his porn under the TV or some hidden places like that ;-) and a lot more are possible :-) -- bvk-chaitanya _______________________________________________ gnome-list mailing list gnome-list@xxxxxxxxx http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-list
