Cadent Computing Inc.

I was reading an interesting article titled Apple's Flatland Aesthetic by Bruce Tognazzini regarding how many of Apple's apps have "beginner's objects" and do not suit more advanced users.  There is an implication in this article that allowing users to store objects in a hierarchy is important to dealing with the volumes of data more advanced users have.  I really do not agree with this.

I don't agree that letting users manually organize information into hierarchies is necessary.  Information can be stored in a flat layout but automatically represents itself in hierarchies as required.  For example, Apple's smart albums, present in both iTunes and iPhoto, automatically organize information based on the user's criteria.

Dynamic organization of information was a key design factor in Cadent wineCellar.   The selectors on the Thumbnail and List tabs allow a user to isolate specific wines dynamically.  The Graph tab is designed to show wine groupings in a hierarchy based on layers of selectors. All of this changes automatically as wine entries are added, deleted, or changed. 

In summary, why burden users with the task of organizing information when it can organize itself based on the need of the moment.  I'm sure there are many out there who feel a sense of satisfaction keeping things organized.  Me, I'd rather let the computer do all that work for me so I can get on with actually using the information.