Rounding Up All Your Files

By Anita Hamilton Sunday, Feb. 22, 2004
    • We are so used to storing our computer files in folders and scrolling through lists of online-search results that it may seem perverse to try to reinvent the way we view these things on our computer screen. But two companies are aiming to do just that. Fractal:Edge has developed an interface called Fractal:PC ($20; available in March) that replaces file folders in Windows with a system of colored circles, above. Each circle represents a folder. If a circle is green, it means you have recently modified a file in that folder. If a circle is red, it means you haven't. To look inside each circle (folder), you simply rest your mouse over it for a moment. The company claims Fractal:PC makes it easier to find folders and files, in part because you don't have to click to open a folder. Meanwhile, Grokker ($49, from Groxis), which uses a similar system of colored balls to cluster Web-search results by topic, now works with Google and six other search engines.