S
Stan Shankman
What is up with Vista's file system?
I thought Vista was slated to have a new whiz-bang file system that was
going to replace NTFS. But then I read that the new file system would not be
part of Vista at its début. But that it may yet materialize with a
Service-Pack or Second Edition or something like that. It's not clear to me
what the status of Windows Vista disk sub-system is.
Right now, or as it will be released, is Vista using the NTFS or not?
Who can shed some light on the current state and future plans for Vista's
file system?
And let me add, that Google's new online mail, employs a different mechanism
for handling files. Apparently all of the files stay in the same big
"folder", so to speak, and then to make each file distinct, one simply
assigns "tags" to the individual files. These tags greatly assist the
searching and confinement of those files. - I like the way the Google system
works (but I also suspect that less sophisticated users will have difficulty
in understanding how to use those tags). After I had been using the Google
system for a while, I thought it would be the wave of the future. I was
hopfull that Microsoft would employ a similar type scheme in Vista. For me,
it solves one very difficult issue - mainly, how to have the same file in
multiple locations at once without actually storing the file multiple times.
Oh sure, as it is on can place a shortcut where the file is needed, but the
idea of just "taging" each file with the appropriate designations really
seemed to work well.
As an example of how tags are useful, consider the following example:
If I want to save all "Mary" pictures, I can create a folder called "Mary"
and then put all of her pictures in that folder. Likewise, I can put all
"Bill" pictures in a folder called "Bill". But what if I have a picture that
has both Mary and Bill in it? Which folder should it go into? With tags, one
simply adds to that file the three tags; "Pictures" and "Mary" and "Bill".
To me, this serves a very useful purpose and that is why I am so excited
about seeing an implication of this kind of file system on a home PC. In a
way I suspect, it turns the file system into one big database. Think about
the possibilities of, say, hiding files? Now, individual tags can be
assigned access attributes. - Files marked with the "System" tag would
automatically be hidden unless the "System" tag was specifically included in
the search string. The possibilities of exercising ingenuity abound.
Thoughts? Comments? Anyone?
Okay, so while I'm on a roll, let me rant just a bit more:
I will share a few thoughts I have regarding the *philosophy* of an
operating system, and reveal the way I feel it should be done. As it stands,
a dichotomy existes in the way an operating system must work for all users -
the advanced as well as the novice. Advanced users want the operating
system to be more "business-like" with micro-control over every possible
aspect of the computer's operation. While many people, if indeed not most,
want the computer to be "easy to use" and they don't care about the details
so much as just getting the job done. So too is the computer's "help
system" - most users just want minimal context-sensitive "nudges" to keep
them on track, while techies want their help to contain every minute detail.
So, what to do? Who to cater to? You see? That is the dichotomy.
My thoughts are that you can cater to both groups by simply giving the
system "modes" so that each individual User can select the mode which suits
him best. My first thought was that maybe three modes would suffice. But
then I got to thinking; Why not make it linear - allowing the user to
smoothly adjust the complexity level? - One can easily envision a futuristic
system that employs cyber-intelligence and can slowly "learn" the
proficiently level of its operator. Of course many will just want to run it
wide open - options are always a good thing.
But now I am getting off the subject, so I will just leave it at that.
Thanks all,
- Stan Shankman
I thought Vista was slated to have a new whiz-bang file system that was
going to replace NTFS. But then I read that the new file system would not be
part of Vista at its début. But that it may yet materialize with a
Service-Pack or Second Edition or something like that. It's not clear to me
what the status of Windows Vista disk sub-system is.
Right now, or as it will be released, is Vista using the NTFS or not?
Who can shed some light on the current state and future plans for Vista's
file system?
And let me add, that Google's new online mail, employs a different mechanism
for handling files. Apparently all of the files stay in the same big
"folder", so to speak, and then to make each file distinct, one simply
assigns "tags" to the individual files. These tags greatly assist the
searching and confinement of those files. - I like the way the Google system
works (but I also suspect that less sophisticated users will have difficulty
in understanding how to use those tags). After I had been using the Google
system for a while, I thought it would be the wave of the future. I was
hopfull that Microsoft would employ a similar type scheme in Vista. For me,
it solves one very difficult issue - mainly, how to have the same file in
multiple locations at once without actually storing the file multiple times.
Oh sure, as it is on can place a shortcut where the file is needed, but the
idea of just "taging" each file with the appropriate designations really
seemed to work well.
As an example of how tags are useful, consider the following example:
If I want to save all "Mary" pictures, I can create a folder called "Mary"
and then put all of her pictures in that folder. Likewise, I can put all
"Bill" pictures in a folder called "Bill". But what if I have a picture that
has both Mary and Bill in it? Which folder should it go into? With tags, one
simply adds to that file the three tags; "Pictures" and "Mary" and "Bill".
To me, this serves a very useful purpose and that is why I am so excited
about seeing an implication of this kind of file system on a home PC. In a
way I suspect, it turns the file system into one big database. Think about
the possibilities of, say, hiding files? Now, individual tags can be
assigned access attributes. - Files marked with the "System" tag would
automatically be hidden unless the "System" tag was specifically included in
the search string. The possibilities of exercising ingenuity abound.
Thoughts? Comments? Anyone?
Okay, so while I'm on a roll, let me rant just a bit more:
I will share a few thoughts I have regarding the *philosophy* of an
operating system, and reveal the way I feel it should be done. As it stands,
a dichotomy existes in the way an operating system must work for all users -
the advanced as well as the novice. Advanced users want the operating
system to be more "business-like" with micro-control over every possible
aspect of the computer's operation. While many people, if indeed not most,
want the computer to be "easy to use" and they don't care about the details
so much as just getting the job done. So too is the computer's "help
system" - most users just want minimal context-sensitive "nudges" to keep
them on track, while techies want their help to contain every minute detail.
So, what to do? Who to cater to? You see? That is the dichotomy.
My thoughts are that you can cater to both groups by simply giving the
system "modes" so that each individual User can select the mode which suits
him best. My first thought was that maybe three modes would suffice. But
then I got to thinking; Why not make it linear - allowing the user to
smoothly adjust the complexity level? - One can easily envision a futuristic
system that employs cyber-intelligence and can slowly "learn" the
proficiently level of its operator. Of course many will just want to run it
wide open - options are always a good thing.
But now I am getting off the subject, so I will just leave it at that.
Thanks all,
- Stan Shankman