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Old May 16th 18, 05:55 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Ken Springer[_2_]
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Posts: 3,817
Default Windows Explorer, XP edition

On 5/16/18 8:58 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:
On 5/16/2018 8:45 PM, Ken Springer wrote:

Already installed and running in Windows 8 about a week and a half ago.
In fact, I'll be using it tomorrow in a class on file management.

Like a lot of articles on the web, this one is not very good.
Assumptions made, missing information, etc.


Shouldn't you teach your students to adapt to whatever file managers or
explorers they might be *FORCED* to use in the future?


NO!!! Grin You can't adapt to something you don't understand. You
start with the basics (add and subtract, then multiply and divide), then
as you learn, you evolve into more sophisticated and powerful tools
(algebra, geometry, eventually quantum physics). After you understand
what is happening, you can choose the file manager that fits you best,
and if you are "forced" to use a certain one, it won't take you long to
adapt to it.

For instance, the Mac's Finder gives you views you don't find in
Windows. But, if you know how things are done for file storage, it
doesn't take you long to realize the two computer systems are basically
the same, it's how the data is being displayed to the user that is
different. After that, if you are moving from Windows to Mac, you'll
find the Finder is not that hard to understand.

WinFile10 is the best "tool/teaching aid" I found for teaching how files
are organized, or should be organized, on your hard drive. That
includes what the hard drive's function is. The visual simplicity is
the key, here.

Sometimes, this perspective is hard to explain, you really have to see
someone struggle with figuring out how to handle files, where they are,
etc. You really have to see it happen.

You may not believe this, but I had a tutoring student a few months ago
that had been using her computer for, I estimate, 5 years and didn't
know how to save a file. Do you really think this person is going to
understand any file manager?

There is no standard regulating user interface design for commonly used
GUI programs. This is good business for irresponsible people to design
new interfaces, moving buttons and changing icons. Oh well... it's just
not black-and-white text.


In some respects, you don't want a hard and fixed design, because no
design works for everyone. And their never will be.

There's a new sound clip going around now, where some people hear the
word Yanni, and some hear Laurel. Try as I might, I only hear Yanni.
Similar to the dress photo that's out there, where some people see blue
and black stripes (me) and others see blue and gold.

WinFile10/File Manager is great for beginners, those are the folks I
usually work with. But, if you really want "power", then something like
Directory Opus is what you need.

You need the right tool for the job at hand, and sometimes Directory
Opus is not the right tool.



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.11.6
Firefox 59.0.1 (64 bit)
Thunderbird 52.6.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"
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