I’ve been thinking more about file organisation. From my comments before, you may have come to the conclusion I don’t like gui file browsers at all, but that isn’t the case. There are times when it’s useful to have the list of file constantly in front of you. I was arranging my mountain of downloads the other day and found this to be invaluable.
I also find the thumbnail view of many file managers very useful. I use it a lot for viewing image folders. This is an example of the different ways of browsing. In this case I’m viewing my files by content rather than by directory structure. Another good example is Apple’s iTunes that allows you to sort and search your mp3 files in ways that are specifically useful for music files, like Artist or Genre. This again allows you to view your files in a way suited to their content.
However, for many things the command line interface is good. When I am coding, for example, I’m using the command line for compiling, opening, viewing and managing files. Being able to do all these things in one place, rather than in several different places makes the task far easier as the console forms a focal point for the activity. It also means I am not distracted by windows floating around my desktop that are only used ocasionally.
So then, so far my conclusion is that different ways of viewing files are useful in different scenarios, and there is no ‘perfect’ file management paradigm out there at the moment.