On 2010-07-23 12:41 , Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
I don't use Finder "file navigator" alternatives because in the 26
years I've been using Apple Mac OS systems I have yet to find one that
was as intuitive and sensible to use as the Finder. Most of them are
heavily laden with yakity-yak nonsense that the Finder does with far
more subtlety.
Path Finder is burdened with some "kid stuff" but thankfully most of it
is off by default; i use it for a few not so kiddy things:
- the NeXT-like shelf
- tabbed windows
- recent documents in sidebar
- the more detailed and Unixy file info display
- built in shell (though i keep coming back to iTerm)
- the ability to apply labels*
- the back button*
- the sorting in column view*
my favorite Path Finder Feature ever, though it was removed in newer
versions, is outline-style disclosure triangles within column view --
this was a big win for file management, but tabs and the dual browser
feature almost make up for it
all of the above are features i find very sensible and would like to see
in Finder; there is hope based on the ones Finder has already adopted(*)
i use one Path Finder window with multiple tabs alongside a few more
transient Finder windows; often i use the Finder contextual menu to open
the same folder in Path Finder
These products have a ridiculously small market
penetration, considering the size of the Mac OS installed base.
doesn't mean they are bad, just means a lot of people use their Macs
just for basic stuff; Pentax has a small market penetration too ...
And in
doing consulting the past six years as an independent, I've discovered
that the vast majority of problems on most people's systems are solved
by removing all these poorly designed and implemented add-on things,
and teaching them how to do what they want with the Finder.
naive people can get in trouble when seduced by the promises of things
they don't have, but the answer i think is prudence, not abstinence;
that policy has served me well, via a handful of carefully chosen tools
and techniques; i don't teach them to newbies though
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