Re: Browser Mode by Default [Was: Nautilus]

[Eric Larson <elarson novell com>]

Hi, 

> > The point here is choosing the right tool for the job is critical.
> > Spatial mode nautilus does not address the massive amounts of data that
> > computers can (and should) work with. Browser mode emulates a web
> > browser, which is a proven interface for handling huge amounts of data. 
> 
> No, please don't repeat the same mistake done in the '90s.
> 
> Users have become able to handle huge amounts of data even on the web
> because there is a new approach of handling data *now*.
> 
> The UI of the web have changed: think Google Mail, think Flickr, think
> del.icio.us; those UI have nothing to do with "a browser", but with a
> "stream" of data.  This works fine for applications, but file management
> has nothing to do with a browser.  You don't open Nautilus to check the
> position of a file each 15 minutes.  You don't open Nautilus to *see*
> where is a file located.  You don't open Nautilus to *change* a document
> - even it's position.  Unexperienced users, the ones that should
> "benefit of the browser mode" are really unaware of the meaning of the
> "file management" issue itself, let alone the meaning of a program.  The
> less they are exposed to it, the better, in my opinion, because theyb
> tend to create a mess.  Heck, it's a miracle if they even create a
> folder to hold their documents; I've been a sysadmin in a windows
> environment, and my users didn't even know what the "Explorer" (not
> "Internet Explorer") was: their concept of "file management" was to put
> documents and folders on the desktop, and rarely change their positions.

I obviously did not make myself clear. I did not mean that the browser
UI is what makes the difference. Your point about tools such as google,
flickr and del.icio.us making the difference is very true. What I meant
is that users are familiar with and understand how to navigate using a
browser. I am speaking specifically of small aspects such as a back
button and reloading the new folder contents when a directory is double
clicked. I realize this is not revolutionary, but the layout of browser
mode is instantly more clear to the vast amounts of users due to the
proliferation of the web. Considering web interfaces are often very poor
and inconsistent across sites, I would suggest that the basic model of
the browser does lend itself to working with large amounts of data.
Again, your points regarding helpful sites is entirely valid, but with
the exception of search engines, you are talking about new sites that
are on the cusp of web technologies.

> So, in a way I'm completely sold to the idea expressed in the thread, of
> default locations for Documents, Music, Pictures, Photos and whatever;
> also, I'm totally sold for tagging and searching - even the "persistent
> search" (vfolder or whatever) is a concept that becomes more and more
> important, and I'm thrilled at the idea of having both in Nautilus.
> 
> Browser mode, as spatial mode, is no "magic bullet"; also, browser mode
> has *nothing* to do with the "web browser thingy": you see documents, or
> collection of the same type of documents, with a web browser, and not
> files.

Again, I totally agree that neither modes are a "magic bullet". I do
believe that the web has set a general UI standard that is valid for
utilizing in other areas of the desktop. 

> > If we ignore our users for the glory of hip UI ideals, we have lost the
> > point of software. If a piece of code that solves the worlds problem is
> > never executed it is nothing more 1s and 0s.
> 
> It's not an ideal - it's something so *real* that has changed *my* usage
> of files and directories/documents and folders; and I've been exposed to
> every sort of "file management" paradigms as anyone using computers
> since the '80s.

I also enjoyed spatial when I started to use it. But, in contrast when I
returned to browser mode, the only real change I noticed was that I
spent less time moving windows around. My point here is that using
spatial ended up offering me no real gains or advantages. Sure, I might
have missed a key board shortcut or helpful functionality that could
have been very helpful. The thing is I never found them. At the very
least, browser mode reveals more functionality without losing advantages
of spatial such as utilizing drag and drop. Just my two cents...

Eric