Finder needs the fire rekindled
Apple really missed the mark with the Leopard version of Finder. I don’t need more places and things in my sidebar to get confused with. What I need are tabs. Who really looks at there system and folder structure in such a linear fashion? And with multiple Finder windows virtually indistinguishable from one another, who really wants to drag files from one window to the next?
Tabs are todays solution to many peoples daily folder grind. To move effortlessly from one location to another, to drag files tab to tab with the certainty the Finder won’t slip and slide into other folders as you hover over them with file-in-hand, to not fill your entire desktop real estate with little, grey, nondescript windows.
Finder is arguably the backbone of the OS. Sure it’s not sexy to hone something as dismal as a file browser and then blow your horn about it, but by perfecting the Finder with each new OS X Apple stands to have something to really talk about. Not everybody is going to do backups a la Time Machine, not everybody is going to get Spotlight, and most people only have one computer at home and will certainly never need to share that on the LAN or otherwise. But there is one indisputable fact of all Mac OS X users, new or old; they will all need to browse files on there computer and so much of their experience doing so is what will determine, for them, whether Mac OS X is a good operating system or not.
I make a plea to you Apple, don’t treat Finder like your 9 to 5 underwear. Make Finder your sexy lingerie that you are just dying to show off. Finder hasn’t had any significant advances since OS X came to be. It’s time she got a facelift, tummy tuck and some new lipstick.
[tags]Mac OS X, Apple, Finder[/tags]
February 5th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I gave up on Finder long time ago, it’s just not usable. Even the Windows Explorer is a pleasure to work with in comparison to Apple’s Finder.
For serious file browsing I recommend PathFinder, it’s a really nice finder replacement and has tabs and every little thing you’ve ever wanted.
Greetings
February 5th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
As you’ll see by this article I couldn’t agree with you more. I am a huge power user of Path Finder. That’s where most of my frustration with Apple stems from. What CocoaTech is doing with Path Finder isn’t what I would consider alternative thinking, it’s filling the pot holes left in Apples own Finder. Path Finder is what Finder should be.