I'd say it is time for the metaphor to die. That is, the global metaphor. People accept their computer as a platform. The 'desktop' metaphor is vestigial.
There is still great need for functional metaphor. Buttons that look like buttons. But most of the metaphorical aspects of our OSs have vanished already. What is the metaphor behind OS X's spaces? What i'd like to see, more than a metaphor shift, is the removal of outdated paradigms from personal computing. A device like a larger-screened iPhone, with the ability to multitask and sit in a bay station to allow for mouse/keyboard input as well, would be far better suited to the average user. Web access, music access, video access, email, IM, notes, and the wide range of apps you see on an iPhone are really the wave of the future. No more files system. No more 'metaphor' for the OS. The OS is just there and the little tools are the focus. That's my thought anyway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42903 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
