The future of files

http://gbracha.blogspot.com/2010/02/nail-files.html

Will the file metaphor die off? Are databases the new filesystems?

File hierarchies are a convenient way to think about organisation, but a tagging system and desktop searching is likely to be the way forward.
I do not, however, think that the file metaphor will die off, even if we had live images, or similar for programs.

no

That's an interesting issue. Even though everyone is so used to the idea of files and directories, I find them often inadequate when storing thousands of images, many of which could potentially belong to several categories. In this case a tagging system could help greatly, and I've wondered about implementing one myself.
I think we won't ever do away with the idea of a filesystem, but hopefully it will be augumented (or perhaps replaced in some scenarios) in the future.

The future of flies

There are specific cases where databases would be preferable to a filesystem. That's it--specific cases. Write yourself an app and be done with it.

>>3
I agree with this.  Filesystems are a better organization structure than a database in many cases.   I think a more likely idea would be a database "folder", which would be placed in the filesystem.

Give up. Files are already dead.
Everything normal people care to do is already up in the cloud.
That's why the iPad doesn't need to edit files.
In 5~10 years, every computer will be like that. Only a few programmers and other professionals will continue using macs.

>>7
I never bought in to this whole "cloud" thing.  I can see instances where such a setup would be useful, but not everything benefits from being "out there."

>>8
While I generally agree with your premise, I have to question whether or not you've ever suffered data loss.

"The cloud" is a good defense against data loss, which lends it a lot of buzz. Companies want reliability and low costs make it even more attractive (even though the "low cost" part is situational).

ALL data can benefit from being "out there," because it increases the barrier for loss by several orders of magnitude. NO EXCEPTIONS

>>7
Someone is a little too enamoured with Steve Jobs' cock.

>>10
Is it possible to be too much in love with the Lord God Jobs' cock?

>>9
Until the company shuts down the servers. Hope you've got local backups. Oh wait you no longer have a filesystem.

>>12
That does nothing to counter my point. Obviously having files "out there" in combination with local copies would be superior.

Your point is that it is better to outsource offsite backups to a company that don't care about your data as much as you do.

>>13
Uh, yes, because it's better to have your private data on someone else's servers.

Screw it, just share your hard drive with the whole Internet and let everyone copy a piece to backup for you. I'll go with "bank accounts.doc".

>>15
I would hope that they are encrypting their backups.
and let everyone copy a piece to backup for you.
Something like http://oceanstore.cs.berkeley.edu/info/overview.html ?

>>16
A complete prototype is currently under development.
Last modified on 07/08/2002

>>16
They just reinvented Japanese P2P networks like Share/Winny.