Richard Das put together this Flash demo of his impression of how the rumored feature 'Piles' would work.
A description of the rumored feature can be found here
A description of the rumored feature can be found here
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Flash 'Piles' Demo
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
thats very cool, though im sure apple's version will be much different.
best start saving my pennies i guess!
best start saving my pennies i guess!
I like the demo. It looks like another good way manage files. I think the folks who like to keep everything on teh desktop will love it. I would expect the highlighted file to zoom out like the dock.
Although it is a cool demo - I certainly hope there is more to it than that. It has a nice 'cool' factor, but as a practical file organization tool I wouldn't really use it.
Sort of like the 3D finder demos....
D
Sort of like the 3D finder demos....
D
I could definitely see the uses in this-- having a pile for each active project, or for bigger projects having a folder with files piled however you like... i would kill for this at work... damn wintel, it'll be 5 years before they get this, and it'll be ugly.
i like the aesthetics of the demo... very Apple, but still has that 'fun' aspect to it-- being able to switch between disheveled and neat... i'll definitely put this to good use if/when it comes out...
pnw
i like the aesthetics of the demo... very Apple, but still has that 'fun' aspect to it-- being able to switch between disheveled and neat... i'll definitely put this to good use if/when it comes out...
pnw
did it's job i thought, and that's explaining the way it 'may' work. certainly helped me visualise it better.
GOOD JOB Richard Das!!
Don't be a jerk NavyIntel007...
It's pure speculation at this point on something that may not even exist in this form. I definately see the potential on a much grander scale though.
Time to distinguish ourselves from Micrapsoft even further and change the old 2-dimensional finder views in order to make computer use more intuitive...Apple Style!!
Don't be a jerk NavyIntel007...
It's pure speculation at this point on something that may not even exist in this form. I definately see the potential on a much grander scale though.
Time to distinguish ourselves from Micrapsoft even further and change the old 2-dimensional finder views in order to make computer use more intuitive...Apple Style!!
To those who find it hard imagine how this would be useful:
I think most computer savey folks have a very organized method of filing their stuff. They know their way around the hard drive and they may not see why piles (as demoed-I don't know any more about this) would help them out. However, I know many people who turn on their Mac and work off the desktop for everything. My Father for instance. He has me install software and all he want to know is what button to hit to start it. As for his files, they're all over the desktop where he can see them. I work at a University around a lot of medical doctors. Many are not that computer savy. They know how to start MS word etc. I've seen desktops that give me the chills. I commented to one recently (he had about 50 items scattered on his desktop) on his "mess." He said thats how he remembers the things he needs to work on. Just like the "piles" of paper on his desk. I can very easily imagine that piles technology as I understand it would fit perfectly with this method of visual/location on desktop filing. Its just the "desktop" metaphore taken further.
Good night all, MOM
I think most computer savey folks have a very organized method of filing their stuff. They know their way around the hard drive and they may not see why piles (as demoed-I don't know any more about this) would help them out. However, I know many people who turn on their Mac and work off the desktop for everything. My Father for instance. He has me install software and all he want to know is what button to hit to start it. As for his files, they're all over the desktop where he can see them. I work at a University around a lot of medical doctors. Many are not that computer savy. They know how to start MS word etc. I've seen desktops that give me the chills. I commented to one recently (he had about 50 items scattered on his desktop) on his "mess." He said thats how he remembers the things he needs to work on. Just like the "piles" of paper on his desk. I can very easily imagine that piles technology as I understand it would fit perfectly with this method of visual/location on desktop filing. Its just the "desktop" metaphore taken further.
Good night all, MOM
If you are MOM, does that make your father GRANDPA?
The piles demo was a good way to illustrate one way to view a collection of files. I can imagine a variation that would be fun to see: Suppose you open a folder that is in icon view. When you move the cursor over each icon while holding down, say, the Control key, the icon under the cursor enlarges (like magnification in the dock) and shows you file info and a file preview right there. It's like a magnifying glass you can drag over any item.
that's how i imagine it too - great job richard das.
i like the idea of it... not sure if i'd use it, though i probably would, but i think os X will be really improved by having lots of different visual metaphors for storage, because different people work in different ways.
i like the idea of it... not sure if i'd use it, though i probably would, but i think os X will be really improved by having lots of different visual metaphors for storage, because different people work in different ways.
... yeah. I imagine the previews would show the actual document contents. Would the name of the pile be the only clue to the relevence of the document grouping do you think? Would each doc open if you double-clicked the pile?
Stu
Stu
Author Here
Hey guys, thanks for all the kind comments.
As for the usefullness of Piles: have you ever gone on a desktop-picture hunt and downloaded 10 from the internet only to have them land on your desktop and clutter everything up? I assume you'd be able to just take pictures and drag-n-drop them on each other (kind of like when you drag-n-drop a doc on an app to open it) and have them stack. They'd still all be sitting nicely on your desktop (ie. easy access), but they wouldn't be taking up so much screen real-estate.
As for comments from people who said the "previews" should be more elaborate:
I think that the preview mechanism will be as elaborate as is practical. That is, that preview area could hold just about anything - quicktime movies could have a mini-video, just like in Finder list-views. However, in order for the pile to be useful, these would have to instantly load (you don't want each file to "stick" as a preview loads), or perhaps the preview only loads after a second or two (if you hover). In this demo, it's just toggling through flat images (so, switching is instant)...
Thanks again for all the comments. I personally can't wait for 10.3 - sounds like it's going to be well worth the price. After all, so much work goes into these things - 10.2 is a work of art.
Hey guys, thanks for all the kind comments.
As for the usefullness of Piles: have you ever gone on a desktop-picture hunt and downloaded 10 from the internet only to have them land on your desktop and clutter everything up? I assume you'd be able to just take pictures and drag-n-drop them on each other (kind of like when you drag-n-drop a doc on an app to open it) and have them stack. They'd still all be sitting nicely on your desktop (ie. easy access), but they wouldn't be taking up so much screen real-estate.
As for comments from people who said the "previews" should be more elaborate:
I think that the preview mechanism will be as elaborate as is practical. That is, that preview area could hold just about anything - quicktime movies could have a mini-video, just like in Finder list-views. However, in order for the pile to be useful, these would have to instantly load (you don't want each file to "stick" as a preview loads), or perhaps the preview only loads after a second or two (if you hover). In this demo, it's just toggling through flat images (so, switching is instant)...
Thanks again for all the comments. I personally can't wait for 10.3 - sounds like it's going to be well worth the price. After all, so much work goes into these things - 10.2 is a work of art.
Burly Brawl is the name of the big action scene where all of the Agent Smiths attack Neo in Matrix Reloaded. The codename for the script of Matrix Reloaded was "The Burly Man" because of it. . . Keymaker is also a reference to Matrix Reloaded, I think he's the guy you've seen on the back of Trinity's motorcycle in the chase scenes. And I'm sure we all know what movie "mnemonic" refers to, I personally love bad movies and that was one that was horribly wonderful. . .
Actually, mnemonic was a reference to my band, "Mnemonic" http://www.mnemonicgroove.com <- shameless plug!
But, you're right cause the band's named after the Gibson short story.
(I guess people are more psyched about the Matrix Reloaded than they are about iTablet_specs!)
But, you're right cause the band's named after the Gibson short story.
(I guess people are more psyched about the Matrix Reloaded than they are about iTablet_specs!)
It was a good job for viewing how it might work. I like the analogy of the user who has everything on their desk top.
As some one who has 10,000s of files, my organization requires something a little more robust. So it might not be suitable for every user, but it will be for some.
And I'm sure there will be some more functionality to it.
D
As some one who has 10,000s of files, my organization requires something a little more robust. So it might not be suitable for every user, but it will be for some.
And I'm sure there will be some more functionality to it.
D
What's the freakin difference between a pile and folder ?!?
The feature will be more of an eye-candy thing.
Marc
The feature will be more of an eye-candy thing.
Marc
last off topic post for me, sorry
I personally am more excited about matrix reoladed because it's something I know for a fact is happening, I try not to get to excited about rumors/speculation. . . (please don't hurt me with semantics)
Anyway, because I use my digital camera so much, I'd really love to be able to bring all of the pics from a session to my desktop as a pile so that I can work with them easily. Even though I think that I use folders effectively, they sometimes take up too much screen real estate. If implemented well I can see piles definitely becoming yet another great feature of OS X.
I personally am more excited about matrix reoladed because it's something I know for a fact is happening, I try not to get to excited about rumors/speculation. . . (please don't hurt me with semantics)
Anyway, because I use my digital camera so much, I'd really love to be able to bring all of the pics from a session to my desktop as a pile so that I can work with them easily. Even though I think that I use folders effectively, they sometimes take up too much screen real estate. If implemented well I can see piles definitely becoming yet another great feature of OS X.