One of the really interesting trends I’ve observed over the past few years is something I call “the death of the save button.” It started in the mobile space, where the operating systems persist data in the background as it is being set and so the information is “saved” without an action required by the user. If you are reading an ebook it remembers where you were, if you were writing a note it keeps the words and returns you to exactly where you left it, etc.
We still have edit functions for information like contacts, but then the control is called “done” in Apple’s iOS devices instead of “Save.”
This same type of behavior has moved into computing, and is at the heart of the latest version of OS X, Lion. You still have a save control but the “state” of the document you are working on is retained and the data is saved in the background for the user. Which makes sense… which is the reason why I think the explicit save button is doomed, and along with it, the concept of a file system itself.
“Save” is a legacy concept aligned with the model of objects that existed in a physical container – a hard drive. You “save” the object “to” a place. Now computers are fast enough to save your files in real time, as you edit them. The “where” is less important as the fact that it’s saved, and securely so.
We are seeing an evolution beyond the idea of the physical file object into the idea of content… content that the user either consumes or creates. The tools that the user has allows for access to that content, and specific tools exist for accessing specific types of content. These tools are called “apps” and the model is now about aligning the content to the user regardless of the place or physical container… Wherever you go, whatever device, you can access your data. Why have a file system? The alignment is around the apps that can access the content, not around a ubiquitous file manager application – especially if you look at the idea of a universal search that allows you to find any of your data and then trigger the app that allows for accessing said data.
When you look at what Apple is doing with their iCloud offering, it is the next natural progression of that new model. A model that works best if all the devices are in a closed aligned system, of course… a system where all the devices are made by one company. A company like Apple. It’s a brilliant strategy – make computing so simple that you don’t even need a visible file system. It just works, wherever you are… your stuff is there too.
So, am I right? I think so, and I think that we need to look at a future where there’s just our digital “stuff” – not files, just “stuff” that we have, share, and use. And Apple will gladly sell you the newest shiniest objects to access your “stuff.”