has been 25 years since the launch of the Apple Macintosh, the first computer with a graphical interface based on the paradigm of "desktop" or how well we know a virtual desktop where they can store their "documents" in "folders" and 'Use the mouse to select and work on documents or other objects.
The consolidation of that solution was complete and for many years there are virtually no alternative: either we are talking about Mac OS X and Linux and Windows desktop is always talking, of course there are differences but the paradigm is the same and substantially appreciated by users.
In reality there are problems: as discussed in this interesting article the metaphor of "folders" has some clear limits: eg the structure is strictly hierarchical - a document may belong to a single folder, in addition the hierarchy is determined by the user which implies flexibility, but also the right difficulty setting up the hierarchy, and then often comes to the chaos on your hard disk.
Just the main strength of the desktop paradigm is its largest limit: for ape (virtualize) the desk with its files and folders you are in fact brought in the virtual environment is also the typical limits of the physical world.
Or Document-like objects "unique" that can not belong to more than one folder, and also "closed" or not characterized by any information structure is available to the operating system.
The other aspect of the desktop that mirrors the physical world too is its "liabilities", for example if I download a desktop image from a digital camera operating system does nothing, just as if I had backed up a desk a print of a photo.
's up to me to decide whether and where to store it, and if I wanted add some information (eg name of the person portrayed or) I'd have some more problems in the digital world in which the physical (where I could write on the back of the picture, for example, using the print feature of also being "paper" and then "Document").
who got to use the latest operating system Windows 7 or Mac OS X will have something to say. In fact things are already changing.
These systems have already implemented a logic "active" on the desktop, and if I upload a picture, the system recognizes it as such and asked me to store it in the folder "pictures".
It 's a first small step (In Windows 7, Mac OS X because it goes beyond enhanced by specific applications such as iPhoto) to something new.
a hypothetical user interface should be developed based on information which is submitted to and organize them in appropriate ways, such as assuming the photo:
should extract from the picture all the information available as of the date and time shooting (they are available in the file itself), resolution camera features and the step itself.
should then ask the user a picture of other features, such as location, description, pictures and any person or entity any information that would allow correct classification in the picture itself (such as "Holiday," "sea" "dive", ...).
course, this approach applies to all information that the information system is to manage, not just photos or text documents.
Indeed I consider that the classic concept of "document" (word doc, excel spreadsheets, powerpoint, just to stay on Microsoft Office) is exceeded, or rather abused.
INTED say that too often misused one of these applications (now very powerful but also complessissime) to handle a few simple information plus so uncomfortable and unstructured, but it deserves another post!
Returning to our interface of the future, they should be able to "see" and interact with all the information which is submitted to, not only locally but also on the Web (increasingly blurred distinction but still very strong).
For example, the e-mail: If I want a date information contained in a message received via email, perhaps through an online service like gmail, the system should be able to search in that environment (maybe using the appropriate API) without my explicit action as it happens today.
So the interface or rather the system of the future is more similar to the digital version an excellent butler (I did not say assistant for good reasons !) rather than at a desk, plus a content management, with elements of an expert system that the file system.
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