Why bother? I love the fact that Apple has pushed iOS to the extent they have and yet haven't caved in to the demands for a desktop-like file browser. I love the idea of an OS being completely faceless, just a background thing that rarely gets in your way. Having said that, I agree they need some kind of shared file system in iOS so apps can access the same files as well as for saving files locally, but I don't think it needs to be Finder-like.
Why shoehorn the concepts from a desktop OS into a tablet OS? I'd rather see something more "tablet-like." As it stands, the addition of Dropbox on my iPad plays that role nicely (not perfectly, but close) and is something I'm surprised Apple hasn't done with iCloud.
Why not? For people like yourself who don't like to deal with files, just don't use the Finder! Nobody is suggesting that Apple FORCE a Finder onto everyone, merely that it is offered as yet another way to manage files. To demand Apple not include features because YOU don't want them is rather self-centered, don't you think?
I have an Android tablet (waiting for a Retina iPad mini) and the file system is the primary means I use to transfer files to and from the device. It is FAR easier to use for documents than going through iTunes. The iTunes interface is genius for managing audio files, but trying to shoehorn the duties of a Finder into iTunes is futile and unnecessarily limits the usefulness of iDevices. For some users, the ultimate iPad experience would be the ability to drill down to a document using OS X's column view and open it. Simple!
Dropbox IS an improvement, and for smaller numbers of documents it's awesome. But if I want to transfer a few hundred research articles to a tablet for a project, Android has the better solution for keeping the files organized. If I was using Windows I could even make the transfer wirelessly. iCloud is also nice for a handful of documents, but not for hundreds of files organized into a structured hierarchy.
Apple need to decide soon if they want their devices to be tools used by everyone including serious users, or merely instruments of passive content consumption. Apple USED to cater to both groups, which was a big part of their genius IMO. It's not easy to build an OS that fulfills the needs of both casual users and "power users", but that's what made OS X such a work of genius. All I'm asking is for the same design philosophy to be applied to iOS.
My own guess here is that Appe is afraid that letting people use the iPad too much like a computer would cannibalize their laptop sales. The reality is that an iPad with BT keyboard and trackpad would meet the needs of most low-end laptop users except for the clunky file management. Hell if I could use such a device I'd sell my MacBook Pro and just use my Mac Pro with an iPad for portable computing.
