Introduction
It's no secret that I don't like the Mac OS X Finder. Almost every article I've written about Mac OS X has included a litany of criticisms, from small annoyances to fundamental philosophical differences. Some readers agree with my criticisms, and some disagree, and some aren't sure exactly what the problem is.
There was even a forum thread on the topic recently. The posts in that thread represent a broad range of opinions, many of which center on network performance and threading issues that are a lot narrower than my personal concerns. But I believe the mere existence of that thread, and others like it, is indicative of a larger malaise surrounding the Mac OS X Finder.
In the past, my thoughts on the Finder have been scattered throughout several articles. The topic has never been given the thorough treatment that I believe it deserves. In this article, I will attempt to rectify the situation. In the process, I will try to answer one of the most common Finder-related questions asked by readers: "Okay Mister Smartypants, how should the Mac OS X Finder work?"
I'm going to outline what I believe is a fairly conservative vision of what the Finder could be, and explain what makes it better than the current Mac OS X Finder--not just for me personally, but for all Mac users. To do so, I must start by defining some terms that have historically been a source of controversy and confusion surrounding this topic.
Previous Mac OS X Articles
Ars Technica has been following Mac OS X since the second developer release in 1999. Earlier articles are listed below in reverse-chronological order, with the major public releases in bold.
- Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar 09/05/2002
- Mac OS X 10.1 10/15/2001
- Metadata, The Mac, and You 8/20/2001
- Mac OS X 10.0 4/02/2001
- MWSF: Mac OS X Post-Beta 1/17/2001
- Mac OS X Public Beta 10/03/2000
- Mac OS X Q & A 6/20/2000
- Mac OS X DP4 5/24/2000
- Mac OS X DP3: Trial by Water 2/28/2000
- Mac OS X Update: Quartz & Aqua 1/17/2000
- Mac OS X DP2: A Preview 12/14/1999
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