[hoary] initial usability reactions

[David Feldman]

>> Take a look at
>> (http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1005361.1005363)
>
> is that article available anywhere for free viewing (beside visiting
> an university library...)?  It looks interesting but that link points
> me toward a "please purchase" page...

It doesn't seem to be...sorry. Here's a quick summary of the relevant 
parts, attempting to be unbiased:

- They did a combination of observing and interviewing a bunch of users 
on the users' own computers. Users were both Mac and Win. They observed 
activities and asked questions pertaining to how users classified and 
organized their files.

- Users tend to have several methods for classifying files, depending 
largely on how current and relevant the files are. They make use of the 
filesystem to create extensive hierarchies for archiving files, and use 
their desktops to store temporary files and/or files immediately 
relevant to what they're doing. Novice users tend not to realize they 
can use the desktop this way but more experienced users make use of it. 
Users tend to rely on spatial organization to track things on the 
desktop, grouping files spatially by type or purpose.

--Dave