I often think of Jef Raskin's disdain for files and folders(galjot.si)
galjot.si
I often think of Jef Raskin's disdain for files and folders
https://galjot.si/death-to-files-and-folders
7 comments
Hey! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I don't think it's that much of a magic with modern multimodal embedding models that are available out there.
As you mentioned: > /…/ The same with photos: you organize them once in the input stage or periodically, and then you can search for them easily later on. /…/
As a hobby photographer, I take lots of photos. For example, I know I've taken photos of my cats, tractors, bridges, forests, etc., but I never bother manually tagging them beyond basic editing (contrast, white balance, etc.).
A system should be able to recognize what's in these photos and allow me to search for them not only by their content but by vibe as well. And once I find a photo I like, I'd really like to see similar photos (this in particular is very helpful for photographers curating their exhibitions). This is possible to achieve these days.
Also, I fully understand your point of view on `find`, `fd`, `grep`, `cat`, etc., but in reality it's only us nerds who ever open a terminal.
As you mentioned: > /…/ The same with photos: you organize them once in the input stage or periodically, and then you can search for them easily later on. /…/
As a hobby photographer, I take lots of photos. For example, I know I've taken photos of my cats, tractors, bridges, forests, etc., but I never bother manually tagging them beyond basic editing (contrast, white balance, etc.).
A system should be able to recognize what's in these photos and allow me to search for them not only by their content but by vibe as well. And once I find a photo I like, I'd really like to see similar photos (this in particular is very helpful for photographers curating their exhibitions). This is possible to achieve these days.
Also, I fully understand your point of view on `find`, `fd`, `grep`, `cat`, etc., but in reality it's only us nerds who ever open a terminal.
Please, a locally run FOSS means of characterizing my thousands of photos known only as DSCN_somethingorother from some date.
Apple image search is dumb as a brick. It can't tell a tractor from a brick, and "cloud or Claude" hosts will do so and flood my email and government dossier with sales spam, indistinguishable from phishing, or sell tidbits that will get me investigated every time there's a crime involving a brick or tractor, real crime or thought crime.
I prefer not to have a parallel exploitable existence online. Rant withheld. For now.
Apple image search is dumb as a brick. It can't tell a tractor from a brick, and "cloud or Claude" hosts will do so and flood my email and government dossier with sales spam, indistinguishable from phishing, or sell tidbits that will get me investigated every time there's a crime involving a brick or tractor, real crime or thought crime.
I prefer not to have a parallel exploitable existence online. Rant withheld. For now.
:D – This, 100%!
On one hand I agree that the content of a file should guide a search. Copilot has improved lately to help me find something (standard Windows or SharePoint makes even searching for file names painful).
On the other hand, folders are still a good (and necessary) way to convey structure and meaning. Which files did I attach to that tax filing? Where can I share files related to this project?
On the other hand, folders are still a good (and necessary) way to convey structure and meaning. Which files did I attach to that tax filing? Where can I share files related to this project?
Yea, it's hard to disagree!
… and I don't think it's plausible to completely move away from folders (thinking about all those GitHub repos I've cloned or `git init`ed).
Otoh, there are some abstractions that I would favor or at least like to explore for some (categories of) tasks.
Think of Miro or Prezi, for example… they combine a zoomable UI, allowing you to navigate through your content that's meaningfully grouped. If I compare that to Google Drive, which is a combination of files and folders, plus files shared with me by numerous people who all have their own preferences for naming conventions, etc., it feels disorganized by default and requires the mundane work of organizing, which could be abstracted by novel technologies that "understand" the meaning of files.
Otoh, there are some abstractions that I would favor or at least like to explore for some (categories of) tasks.
Think of Miro or Prezi, for example… they combine a zoomable UI, allowing you to navigate through your content that's meaningfully grouped. If I compare that to Google Drive, which is a combination of files and folders, plus files shared with me by numerous people who all have their own preferences for naming conventions, etc., it feels disorganized by default and requires the mundane work of organizing, which could be abstracted by novel technologies that "understand" the meaning of files.
Agree. The Miro and Prezi analogy could lead to some very helpful new ways.
And re naming conventions: I really would like to have a linter that gives me all files in my convention (could be a local view for me rather than forcing for everyone).
And re naming conventions: I really would like to have a linter that gives me all files in my convention (could be a local view for me rather than forcing for everyone).
You want to find your "tax" related things. Each time you create something, you put it in the "tax" directory. The same with photos: you organize them once in the input stage or periodically, and then you can search for them easily later on.
For text, if the content of the file is what is relevant, grep/ripgrep are your friends.
File type/name, find/fd are your friends.
Date of creation? A combination of ls and find.
For image, video and sound it is more difficult (impossible?) to search by content.
File names and directories are simple, and it works as well as you make it work; it does not matter the type or content of the file.