This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
The Save Icon
Dec
17
2010
Kids these days… don’t even know why the save icon is what it is…or even what is it..
For those of you who don’t know the cryptic image that appears in the save button: it is a floppy disk. That’s what we used to transfer files before USB was invented. And back when a 24k modem was impressive.
Floppy disk
Since no one uses those anymore, it is time to get rid of it. But when people save files, to what do they save them?
We need to find a new save icon, one that is independent of the medium. Like the open folder for opening a file – the file can be local, USB stick, internet, whatever. Let’s explore our options…
Hard drive
Too vague – no one sees the hard drive, so that’s not going to work.
Compact Disc
Not vague, but slightly outdated. When was the last time you saw someone save a file to a CD?
USB drive
Not vague, but not the usual destination. This is probably familiar to most people, but most of the time you’re saving locally. Plus it might throw off some less technically-aware people: “How can I save a file without my USB drive? Look, it wants me to save it to the USB thing…”
Life preserver
Hmm…interesting. Good connection to the concept of saving. Unfortunately, some programs already use this as their icon for help.
Cross
Perfect! An icon to clearly denote saving a file. And it will help evangelize the masses, right?
For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost
Matthew 18:11
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 7:16 am and has been carefully placed in the Ponder category.
December 17th, 2010 at 11:57 am
I think it should stay as the floppy, just as a reminder of computing history. Can you imagine having a storage limit of 1.44mb these days?
December 17th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
This is what I thought of when I read this!!!
http://www.sanitaryum.com/2010/10/09/funny-click-this/cross-usb-because-jesus-saves/
December 17th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I think it would be awesome to have the hallelujah chorus playing as you saved a document since Jesus saves