Perhaps one day we can store stuff directly into a transactional database. I'd actually love to see an OS based on this principle.
MVS is pretty much that.
Computer Files Are Going Extinct
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Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#12One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected the iPad to my PC by cable, expecting to see a mass storage device. No luck. Likewise, no luck finding a file explorer on the iPad.
The iPad is strongly tied to the workflow that Apple suggests, and that's a workflow that removes files as a concept, abstracting them away. It's quite possibly a genius approach in terms of how accessible it is to non-tech people, even though it doesn't sit right with me.
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#13If this resonates with you, I'd invite you to follow my work on MooseDrive [0]. I'm calling it a "data ownership" company. The product is focused on storage for developers.
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#14Perhaps one day we can store stuff directly into a transactional database. I'd actually love to see an OS based on this principle.
Remember WinFS?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WinFS
The idea was that the OS used a relational DB-like file system to store things and recognise them for what they are and deal with them differently instead of everything being streams of bytes, e.g. pictures aren't the same as Word documents.
Didn't materialise but I remember at the time being dead excited by the concept.
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#15One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected t…
Yep - had the same experience because I got into Procreate with the pencil and all (which is amazing). Had the same exact experience. It's a great device but I feel like they're dumbing computing down too much =(
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#16One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected t…
I found it immediately limiting - either you put your stuff in one of the preordained categories like music, movies, photos, videos (and pretty much nothing else), or your stuff is siloed in whatever specific application you load it into.
That's not a tool you can use to create things with, unless it's music, movies, photos or videos. It lacked the freedom to permit innovation.
(I have never acquired an iPad beyond the first one I got, which was a gift.)
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#17> Files are skeuomorphic. That’s a fancy word that just means they’re a digital concept that mirrors a physical item.
So, the digital equivalent of https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomatopoeia
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#18One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected t…
I'm not sure if this is only an about accessibility to non-tech people.
Think about it: You can't get files on your device in a useable format anymore. This means piracy becomes exponentially harder to consume (i.e. you can't use your iPad [easily] as a reader for your pirated ebooks). Quite honestly, that's a stroke of genius and likely a secondary motivation for this workflow.
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#19> Years ago websites were made of files; now they are made of dependencies.
Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
#20If this resonates with you, I'd invite you to follow my work on MooseDrive [0]. I'm calling it a "data ownership" company. The product is focused on storage for developers. [0] https://moosedrive.io
To me the whole idea of data ownership and everything this article is talking about is antithetical to some company somewhere or cloud storage. I personally collect mp3s. I could easily pay for a Spotify subscription or even have it included as part of a mobile phone contract at a discounted rate, but I prefer to have the actual files on my computer, I own them and no one can change that fact. I religiously catalogue and sort all my files and back them up to multiple external media constantly. I am currently working on a couple of projects that are all to do with organising files locally via their metadata (mp3s, JPEGs, et al). I avoid anything cloud. I am slowly but surely migrating away from the cloud.