briefcases & file cabinets
Darla Attardi and I were talking about useful metaphors to help explain online storage options. I think we came up with something that really works!
Storing files on your computer, is a lot like storing files in a file cabinet in your office. You use handy folders to organize them, and they are only accessible when you are in your office (let's just forget about laptop computers for a moment).
Your Novell storage space is like a briefcase that you can carry around with you. You don't have to be in your office to get to the files on Network storage, but you do need a computer with an internet connection (see my previous post about working from home).
Finally, a jump drive (thumb drive, usb drive, etc.) is a much smaller storage device that is like a pocket. The important thing to keep in mind is that we rarely carry important papers in our pockets because they are easily wrinkled and become illegible after going through the laundry. Similarly these small storage devices should not be the only place that you store something important like your thesis, Science paper, or home budgeting spreadsheet. (And never send them through the laundry!)
Perhaps the metaphor isn't perfect, but it does make it a little easier to explain the difference between saving a file to a computer's hard drive (the file cabinet), Novell network storage (the briefcase), or to a jump drive (the pocket).
What do you think, does this metaphor work for you? And which method do you use most often?
Comments
I like metaphors for describing technical concepts. Here's another very simple one to explain windowing and the concept of a desktop. I mention it only because, amazing as it may seem, there are still many computer users who do not realize that they can keep more than *one* window open at a time, and simply switch between the open (or active) windows as needed.
The term 'desktop' on your computer is a direct metaphor for your physical desktop. You may have many papers or stacks of papers all over your desk; the paper(s) on top are those to which you are giving your current attention, i.e., these are the active 'windows'. The ones you are ignoring for the moment (i.e., 'inactive') are underneath. But they are still there, and you do not need to file them away in a drawer simply because you are not currently attending to them. Similarly for multiple open windows on a computer, if you are not currently using one, you do not need to shut it down; you simply minimize it or move another window (i.e., another piece of paper) ontop of it, making that new window the active one.
Posted by: Selene Platt | April 7, 2007 8:52 PM
That is a great metaphor, Selene. Some of us use computers so much, that we take them for granted, but an exercise like this one provides new ways of thinking and talking about technology.
Posted by: Jean | April 12, 2007 1:20 PM