On the Desktop Metaphor

<= Home

---

The desktop has defined computing for almost the entirety of it's lifespan, or at least the entirety of the time the consumer had access to a computer. It was meant to emulate an actual desktop where you could put files and documents you were working on at the time there for easy access and THEN store them in a drawer (or in the metaphor's case a folder in the path. I would argue however that, just like a real desk many people don't use it in the most optimal way. A computer desktop is not anymore useful than a real desktop when it is covered in documents and unorganized.

People arguing against the desktop metaphor often site its inefficiency and unorganized nature. However, I believe this to be a fundamental misunderstanding of how to use the desktop effectively. When used properly it can be a tool to access current files quickly and the file them away to be referenced later. It allows for more customization than a regular desk as the space is practically unlimited.

The desktop metaphor was created at Xerox PARC, the R&D division at Xerox, in 1970. It was modeled after the way that people used their desks at the time. Papers strewn about and folders filled with more documents. It made sense since their target audience was business people. It was designed for use with the Xerox Alto release in 1973. The computer also featured a vertical display meant to emulate the physical orientation of paper.

Despite its age, the metaphor holds up quite well, since the primary use of computer is still document processing. I too used to dislike it and think it was inefficient, but after a brief experiment of mine where I attempted to rigidily follow the metaphor I realized what I had been missing.

My experiment:

First I would like to clarify my primary uses of my computer, as these could change your mileage with the metaphor. If you only use your computer to access the internet and you don't store anything on the hard drive, save for a few images or documents you download, the desktop metaphor will likely be ineffective for your use case. My use case of my personal computer involves word processing, programming, and listening to music.

First I cleared all the icons and documents I had laying about on my desktop up and continued to use my computer as normal. When I would start a new word document I would save it on my desktop so that I could access it easily when I closed it and came back to it. When I would work on programming projects I would make a file link to my IDE project file so I could easily double click it to take me directly to the project in my IDE. I used the real world for reference. Would I actually keep this on my desk? If I would in real life, I would on my computer. If I wouldn't, then I wouldn't on my computer. Such was the case with my music consumption. I didn't store any of my music on my desktop, or make any symlinks to them as in the real world if I was going to listen to music I wouldn't keep it on my desk, it would be with my stereo or in my car.

Overall I would count it as a success, even though modern software has the ability to remember recently used files/projects it made it very easy to see an overview of all the files I was currently working on using the desktop.

Why is this important?

So, why is any of this even important. Most people don't care how they use their computers, just that they do what they need them to. First off it is an experiment in deliberality, I wanted to be as deliberate as possible in my use of my computer. Something that, in my opinion is lacking in the world, especially in computing. Most everything now is provided as a result of an algorithm, in taking control back I was able to be more productive and remember what is actually important to me in my work, rather than what Word or Google had deemed my "most important", whether that was the last file I touched or a project that an algorithm had deemed as being important to me. We could all use a chance to be more deliberate and this experiment was one of mine.