Versions

In a few years, people will probably take for granted that documents no longer exist in a single state.

While those of us that use Dropbox or Google Docs today enjoy the benefit of being able to quickly restore past versions of files, the typical creator of files probably doesn’t know this exists. Lion will bring this benefit to a greater audience of file makers.

In the very near future, documents will exist not just in their current state but in all previous states. Creators of documents will work across time fluidly. Unlike Dropbox and Google Docs, Lion’s versioning feature displays past versions of files graphically—like pages stacked neatly on a desk (the way the mind naturally visualizes things).

Everything you’ve done up to t=now will be at your disposal without any manual effort on your part. Temporal decisions about when to save a file will be obsolete.

When fears of data loss and rework are completely removed, people will be more likely to experiment and focus only on creation. Computers will become cork boards of infinite depth.

It may all sound like hyperbole now, but I think we're seeing telling signs of an incredible future to come—one where creating things will only require creativity.