To me this is the same question whether we need directories or not in a file system. Ideally, your file system is a flat database and files are indexes by a vast array of automatic and manually added metadata that allows to easily retrieve them. Microsoft tried to go this direction with WinFS that was eventually cut for Vista, maybe because it wasn't practical (yet). Looking how people use the Internet though, where 90% of browsing will start at Google, this does seem a very reasonable approach for many things in the future. At the end, why should humans do manual indexing and retrieval if the computer can facilitate this part?
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To me this is the same question whether we need directories or not in a file system. Ideally, your file system is a flat database and files are indexes by a vast array of automatic and manually added metadata that allows to easily retrieve them. Microsoft tried to go this direction with WinFS that was eventually cut for Vista, maybe because it wasn't practical (yet). Looking how people use the Internet though, where 90% of browsing will start at Google, this does seem a very reasonable approach for many things in the future. At the end, why should humans do manual indexing and retrieval if the computer can facilitate this part?