So when you don't have access to the cloud you don't have access to your files.
Greatly insane.
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Siri References OS X 'Finder' Ahead of WWDC 2016 [Update: Siri May Know 'Dark Mode' Too]
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So when you don't have access to the cloud you don't have access to your files.
Greatly insane.
Well in Finder's case it does mean it is obsolete. Someone else mentioned bash and that would be a great example of an old technology that truly works. Finder, not so much. For example, on my system with large drives when I select a folder it looks blank for a long time. I cannot determine if the folder is empty or if I am just waiting for Finder to find some files. Why? Because Apple took away the busy indicator. Sometimes Finder never finds files I know exist. If I want to know where a file is then I have to use bash (Terminal) anyway. If you really use Finder you will find many, many of these apparent "Lets make a kids toy" features. Don't get me started on Spotlight almost finding my files or telling me its working. Guess what Apple took away the progress indicator here too. So you tell me how long am I supposed to wait. Nope Finder has been dumbed down to the point of being in he way most of the time. Its time to kill it.
First of all, the iPhone can have a "file system" that isn't root access that makes things vulnerable. It can have a sandboxed app that stores traditional files. A Finder for iOS can have its local folder for files, folders for apps where other files are stored, and iCloud Drive access just like Finder for OS X. There wouldn't need to be the iCloud Drive app that is hidden by default.
There is an app called FileExplorer that does file storage this way, but trying to open a file requires it to be copied to the sandboxed storage of the other app. The whole point of iOS Finder would be to have a single place where you can see the files, open them, and be sent to the app that is made to deal with the kind of file without copying or inconvenient syncing in the cloud. Editing the file would save it directly just like a big boy OS.
Any apps that show up in iTunes with "iTunes File Sharing" should have a spot in Finder on iOS if it happens. Also, iTunes shouldn't have anything to do with it. iOS devices should mount the user file system like a flash drive when it's plugged into a trusted machine.
There is an app called FileExplorer that does file storage this way, but trying to open a file requires it to be copied to the sandboxed storage of the other app. The whole point of iOS Finder would be to have a single place where you can see the files, open them, and be sent to the app that is made to deal with the kind of file without copying or inconvenient syncing in the cloud. Editing the file would save it directly just like a big boy OS.
Any apps that show up in iTunes with "iTunes File Sharing" should have a spot in Finder on iOS if it happens. Also, iTunes shouldn't have anything to do with it. iOS devices should mount the user file system like a flash drive when it's plugged into a trusted machine.
Does the iCloud Drive app even do anything? In my case, I get to look at an empty list because I use Google Drive to store my files. Apple still only offers 5 GB of storage without paying and I've used 4.5 of it on my photo library and backup.
I pay for 200Gigs and use iCloud Drive all the time. It's great for getting to files on the go that I worked on my Mac.
I just have one question — who speaks like that?
"Siri open settings in the window"
Which window is this person referring to?
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Two thoughts:
"Siri open settings in the window"
Which window is this person referring to?
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Two thoughts:
- You can do that already today with Speakable Items.
- Siri 2.0 is going to be dramatically awesomely better! Total natural speech recognition.
I completely agree with Apple's original vision for iOS- people shouldn't have to regularly dig through layers of folders to do what they want to do.
That said, some people want and need that kind of functionality, so my hope is that Finder is included in iOS 10. Furthermore, Apple will hopefully allow us to hide stock apps. Finder could be hidden by default, so that people who need it can have it without burdening the majority of people who don't need it.
That said, some people want and need that kind of functionality, so my hope is that Finder is included in iOS 10. Furthermore, Apple will hopefully allow us to hide stock apps. Finder could be hidden by default, so that people who need it can have it without burdening the majority of people who don't need it.
That's not happening.
The Finder (as you know it, at least) isn't coming to iOS.
How do you define "filesystem access"?
- You're never going to get in to the system files, or in to an App's internal data files; Apple is never going to allow that. If you want that access, you're doing stuff which is not supported by iOS. If you must have it, go to Android. Apple has no problem if no system-file-modders want an iPhone. They don't want to inconvenience and have to support the helpless customers who messed their system up by accident, the majority of whom will be following instructions they don't truly understand from some forum or other.
- The only thing you would be able to access is your own files; stuff you created/saved from an app. In that case, you already have a single repository accessible from multiple apps - iCloud Drive!
Not only that, but Apps can open data from inside another App directly; no need to even save it to iCloud Drive first. It hasn't been a copy operation for years - newer Apps are able to open the same exact file without making a copy first.
The most Apple will do is rename the "iCloud Drive" app so all you people incomprehensibly calling for filesystem access will finally take the time to learn what the system provides, and not just dismiss it for having "iCloud" in the name (I'm not saying you do, but lots of people who ask for this have never even tried iCloud Drive).
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They already did that. It's called iCloud Drive (because "Finder" is pretty vague, it's not going to be called that on iOS where a bunch of people who've never used a Mac won't have a clue what it does; maybe expecting some kind of search function)
It is actually hidden by default, and so people keep asking for this feature when it already exists.
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It does everything you just described! That's why there would be no need for it. You just replaced iCloud Drive in your head with something that does exactly what iCloud Drive does, then you say we "wouldn't need" ICD and that you've never even used it!
How do the first 3 paragraphs even make sense if you've never used iCloud Drive? How is anything you said credible in that context?
Google could also make an iCloud-Drive-like app for Google Drive if they wanted. iCloud Drive uses public APIs to act as an iOS Document Provider.
EDIT: Actually, they already did. I just tried it, and I can open documents from inside Google Drive from other apps. Using Coda and the standard iOS system APIs, I was able to download a file from GDrive (just like I would from iCloud), upload to GDrive. It seems a little buggy though, because it seemed to hang in Pages. Documents (by Readdle) worked just fine, as did Transmit, so it's a problem with the Drive app, not iOS.
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People object to it because everyone here thinks about their own use cases only.
I think that's EXACTLY why Siri does NOT work well. If it worked well, there were not a single chance for an operator error. A good assistant should be rock solid and support you without the user having to study how exactly the assistant works, what specific grammar and syntax has to be used etc. Back in the days when Siri was introduced they started with such an idea. In recent years Siri learned some new vocabulary but it never got any much smarter.
I am using Siri set in German, so maybe the English version is much better and forgives more "errors" from the intended vocabulary. Sometimes when I wanna set an alarm (one of the few things I still use Siri for) to wake me up in the morning, Siri shows me a map. Okay maybe my pronunciation was bad – in German "weg" for "way" seems to trigger maps while "weck mich" sounds similar (meaning "wake me"). But I only gave Siri a time not a place or destination as a parameter. A smarter assistant would know and understand that and not force me into perfect pronunciation when I just want to go to bed.
A smarter assistant would also let me edit appointments if it misunderstood something in the process of setting up a new appointment. Which it does in more than half of times, also because it really likes to add vocabulary into event titles which it requires as commands to actually trigger that function but then shouldn't be inside the event title.
Not quite. You can't make your own folders, and you can't store files using local storage only.
iCloud Drive is still quite clunky, most here are not asking for root level access, more a better way of managing files. iCloud Drive is limited in what it can do and forces you to use iCloud. A revamped version of app could let you use local storage instead.
Currently a simple thing like saving an image to a folder (for example to use later for a presentation) is stupidly complex, involving converting it to a PDF from safari, saving it to iBooks and then emailing it to yourself. Or if I want to save a bunch of files, say pages files into a folder, I've got to open each one individually in pages then move them to iCloud Drive. Its horribly inefficient and slow, for very basic tasks.
Truly great news is if they would get rid of the name Siri. I'm so sick of hearing it. Just the phonetic pronunciation is annoying, and to think we'll be saying it for years. Plus, they market it as if it's cute -- in reality she's slow, feature-sparse, and likely rarely used overall. Downvote all you'd like, it doesn't change the fact that she's not funny and the competition is lightyears ahead of her in her current state.
You can make new folders. It's not obvious, though; Tap "Select", then choose "New Folder" on the bottom bar.
If you want local storage only, Apple has provided APIs which allow exactly that. I just created a Pages document in "Documents (by Readdle)", and was able to open and edit it directly from that location without copying. The Documents app would then be my equivalent of Finder.
I'm not saying iCloud Drive is perfect; it does what it does. There are places for it to improve, sure. However, it's not there for local storage. The APIs are available so you can use a third-party app for that if you like.
Using a third-party app is better in this case:
- You get choice over which storage provider you choose. Maybe one with a better UI or more advanced features (batch renaming, smarter sorting and searching, built-in viewers and editors, etc)
- Encryption. What about if Apple gets banned from encrypting your data in the future? You'll be able to install (or create, if those laws also apply to software developers and not just device manufacturers) an encrypted sandbox of your own.
I don't think its necessary for Apple to provide a default, local-only storage solution. The idea is that cloud-syncing is on by default for everything, because 99% of users have no specific need (e.g. job/legal requirement) to avoid iCloud, and because Apple themselves ensure that it's secure. So that's the default option they will provide. You don't have to use it - there are alternatives, but it's designed for the unique situation of cloud storage. Apple don't want to encourage every mom&pop to start worrying about the filesystem, which is what a default local-storage App would do.
Photos doesn't support exporting pictures to storage locations at all. It sounds like a reasonable request; you should file it at http://bugreport.apple.com
As for batch moving/uploading, that depends on where you got the files from. It you got them as an email, it's up to your email client to let you select and perform an operation on all of those files at once. If you got them some other way, things may be easier. Again, it sounds like a reasonable request for Mail (the default app); file it at bugreport.apple.com.
You basically just described iCloud Drive. Those first three paragraphs are exact features that iCloud Drive has.
The third party alternatives are an annoyance. Why can't apple build it into iOS. The third party 'options' will never be as flexible as Apple offers. Its just as clunky doing it those ways, believe me I've tried.
A simple on/off switch will keep people who don't need to manage their files from doing so. People are already managing their files with iCloud Drive via an on/off system, so how does a more comprehensive version of that make any difference?
When I cannot do something as simple as attaching a word document in a reply to an email in the iOS mail app, we are not not a post PC world.
"The third party 'options' will never be as flexible as Apple offers."
Funny, I hear the exact opposite statement about basically every other thing Apple bundles by default: Mail, Safari, Maps, etc...
When I look at those 3rd-party alternatives, such as Documents (thought I'd mention that there's no affiliation, it's just one such App I downloaded long ago - personally I use iCloud Drive/Transmit), they are often far more comprehensive than what Apple provides. They have more UI options and advanced features.
Custom storage locations are a niche feature. Less niche for cloud services, because by nature they are a single repository with no guaranteed direct relevance to any system. An alternate location for locally-stored files, however, is very much a niche feature. You want it for discovery, which Apple believes happens best when each App stores their own data, rather than as an enormous, global, hierarchical filesystem. You might disagree; they would counter that they have data to back up their assertions. I'm not going to take a side.
Maybe they will add it - it's Apple; who knows? I wouldn't expect it, though, and I wouldn't chastise the (many excellent) 3rd-party options out there which fill this niche.
If you truly want to password protect you extremely important information. You could buy an external drive (or create a partition), and set password in Disk Utility.
Considering the size of those romantic action movies, you should consider getting an external drive anyway.
Yet they lack the overall integration that only Apple can build in. The same as how Google Maps lacks the integration of Apple Maps etc.
They offer more than what Apple offers, because Apple hasn't built anything to compete with them.
I will chastise the 3rd party options, because they all mean jumping through hoops to achieve the most simplest things, and believe me in the 5 years i've owned my iPad, I've tried just about every single one of them, and they all make sometime that should just be built in, more complex.