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Example: the Save button looks like a floppy. WTF? A bit of an off-topic: the real WTF for me is that there is such a thing as a save button. I cannot fathom t

by andos 15y ago

Example: the Save button looks like a floppy. WTF? A bit of an off-topic: the real WTF for me is that there is such a thing as a save button. I cannot fathom that most software requires us to perform an ancient ritual lest they throw away our hard work.

omaranto 15y ago
You are totally right! After using my iPod Touch for a while my computer seems so archaic, forcing me to do its work, when presumably I got it to automate routine tasks...
Tiomaidh 15y ago
Both with essays and coding, there've been times when I was very grateful that there was a fixed moment in the document's life that I could easily go back to. Sometimes I start making changes and then think better of it[1]. Sometimes I edit something accidentally, and am very relieved that I'm asked whether I want to save my changes upon exiting the program. A possible solution is to have both normal saving and continuous autosaving to a backup file (as Word, Vim, etc. all do), but in practice that's a bit clunky. [1] - Yes, I could hit the undo button repeatedly, since any editor worth its salt will have a virtually-unlimited undo. But it's reassuring to know that you've undo-ed to exactly the right point--in Vim, at least, the "+" indicating a modified file disappears once you've undone all your changes.
- andos 15y ago
  Yeah, working with code is interesting because a source file is rarely in a “stable” state when it is being edited. The save button in this case serves as a checkpoint marker: “this here is good.” It's like doing mini-commits. If we were to do away with the save button, the rest of the “working with files” story would have to be thoroughly rethought.
colonelxc 15y ago
You can take away my save button, as long as you make it easy to discard my current work as well. The version control like systems we have today are ok (Time Machine, dropbox, Windows previous versions), but not ideal. If I'm using a word processor that is automatically saving, why should I have to then explore my hard drive to find the file and examine previous versions? The app I am using needs to present this interface (even if it is ultimately supplied by the OS, like save dialogues).

by andos 15y ago

omaranto 15y ago

You are totally right! After using my iPod Touch for a while my computer seems so archaic, forcing me to do its work, when presumably I got it to automate routine tasks...

Tiomaidh 15y ago

Both with essays and coding, there've been times when I was very grateful that there was a fixed moment in the document's life that I could easily go back to. Sometimes I start making changes and then think better of it[1]. Sometimes I edit something accidentally, and am very relieved that I'm asked whether I want to save my changes upon exiting the program. A possible solution is to have both normal saving and continuous autosaving to a backup file (as Word, Vim, etc. all do), but in practice that's a bit clunky. [1] - Yes, I could hit the undo button repeatedly, since any editor worth its salt will have a virtually-unlimited undo. But it's reassuring to know that you've undo-ed to exactly the right point--in Vim, at least, the "+" indicating a modified file disappears once you've undone all your changes.

andos 15y ago
Yeah, working with code is interesting because a source file is rarely in a “stable” state when it is being edited. The save button in this case serves as a checkpoint marker: “this here is good.” It's like doing mini-commits. If we were to do away with the save button, the rest of the “working with files” story would have to be thoroughly rethought.

colonelxc 15y ago

You can take away my save button, as long as you make it easy to discard my current work as well. The version control like systems we have today are ok (Time Machine, dropbox, Windows previous versions), but not ideal. If I'm using a word processor that is automatically saving, why should I have to then explore my hard drive to find the file and examine previous versions? The app I am using needs to present this interface (even if it is ultimately supplied by the OS, like save dialogues).