4 ms·

Not even version control saves every keystroke. Something I've always wanted was complete undo history, in every program I use.

benatkin 16y ago
I think that was part of the Google Wave vision. Also part of Jef Raskin's vision detailed in The Humane Interface, which so far I've only read summaries of. I didn't make the direct connection between Google Wave and The Humane Interface until now. I wonder how much of the former was inspired by the latter. The first search brings up this blog post, where the author mentions that he's taking notes in Google Wave but doesn't compare Google Wave to The Humane Interface. http://roberthanson.blogspot.com/2010/01/humane-interface.html http://roberthanson.blogspot.com/2010/01/humane-interface.ht... I'm amused.
- crizCraig 16y ago
  Yes, Google wave incorporated that as part of it's platform which would be cool for building Google Wave apps since it's already baked in. For other programs though, it seems like it would just be a matter of persisting the undo data. This data could also be source controlled allowing you to peer into the process of developers before you and gain a better understanding of the code. Keeping all your history in Photoshop would also be awesome. I wonder why apps don't do that more often. It seems like such an obvious and kick-ass feature.
  - benatkin 16y ago
    It's a complexity problem, though: not just for developers but for users. That's why it isn't about "other programs". The way out of apps dealing with complexity individually is for the platform to do more. This is what The Human Interface argues, going so far as to say there shouldn't be a plethora of separate apps for different tasks. When Google Wave first came out, Google touted its ability to be used all over the web, and to support custom-coded plugins that would get its versioning support for free. There are tradeoffs to adopting a front-end platform that gives useful stuff that are consistent across apps or sites for free. It's a very interesting concept to me nonetheless.
olalonde 16y ago
Blasphemy, don't you commit every keystroke? :D
JonnieCache 16y ago
Textmate has char-by-char undo and it is deeply annoying, one of the most oft-cited criticisms.
- jessriedel 16y ago
  I assume this is because it's too slow for normal undoing? The obvious answer is to make the undo interface a bit more sophisticated, such as having an option in the edit menu to control the size of the undo "steps".
jessriedel 16y ago
Mathematica desperately needs this. I lost about a day's worth of work once (although I was able to replicate it in a couple of painful hours) and I was flabbergasted to read that Mathematica has no automatic backup by default whatsoever. Further, the backing up system is horrendous if enabled.

benatkin 16y ago

I think that was part of the Google Wave vision. Also part of Jef Raskin's vision detailed in The Humane Interface, which so far I've only read summaries of. I didn't make the direct connection between Google Wave and The Humane Interface until now. I wonder how much of the former was inspired by the latter. The first search brings up this blog post, where the author mentions that he's taking notes in Google Wave but doesn't compare Google Wave to The Humane Interface. http://roberthanson.blogspot.com/2010/01/humane-interface.html http://roberthanson.blogspot.com/2010/01/humane-interface.ht... I'm amused.

crizCraig 16y ago
Yes, Google wave incorporated that as part of it's platform which would be cool for building Google Wave apps since it's already baked in. For other programs though, it seems like it would just be a matter of persisting the undo data. This data could also be source controlled allowing you to peer into the process of developers before you and gain a better understanding of the code. Keeping all your history in Photoshop would also be awesome. I wonder why apps don't do that more often. It seems like such an obvious and kick-ass feature.
- benatkin 16y ago
  It's a complexity problem, though: not just for developers but for users. That's why it isn't about "other programs". The way out of apps dealing with complexity individually is for the platform to do more. This is what The Human Interface argues, going so far as to say there shouldn't be a plethora of separate apps for different tasks. When Google Wave first came out, Google touted its ability to be used all over the web, and to support custom-coded plugins that would get its versioning support for free. There are tradeoffs to adopting a front-end platform that gives useful stuff that are consistent across apps or sites for free. It's a very interesting concept to me nonetheless.

olalonde 16y ago

Blasphemy, don't you commit every keystroke? :D

JonnieCache 16y ago

Textmate has char-by-char undo and it is deeply annoying, one of the most oft-cited criticisms.

jessriedel 16y ago
I assume this is because it's too slow for normal undoing? The obvious answer is to make the undo interface a bit more sophisticated, such as having an option in the edit menu to control the size of the undo "steps".

jessriedel 16y ago

Mathematica desperately needs this. I lost about a day's worth of work once (although I was able to replicate it in a couple of painful hours) and I was flabbergasted to read that Mathematica has no automatic backup by default whatsoever. Further, the backing up system is horrendous if enabled.