I can’t let this problem go. The feeling that the file system is wrong and could be more useful. ID3 tags of MP3s are a good start, but every kind of file needs this summary type metadata; TiVo files, mpegs, Word docs, etc. Some file formats have this but not all of them and not consistently. Also, you can’t search for this data with Explorer. It would also be helpful if there were a programmatic interface to the metadata that could be used from a command line or COM object.
I see that my Cannon Powershot added a column called Camera Model to Explorer, so there must be a way to add columns. Tortoise adds things to the right click in Explorer including overlay pictures, so that is possible. I saw a TiVo metadata extractor the other day. There are open source databases that could be used.
Files shouldn’t be organized by folder primarily. This should just be another piece metadata. Like a filing cabinet. However, when you look for something you may not remember what folder it’s in, but you can say it’s a photo taken from christmas 2005. If you’re very organized you put it in that folder. But I think you shouldn’t have to be so organized. Let the devices tag the data and put them anywhere on your computer. The Explorer should show you pictures based on a query on the metadata (you don’t see the query). You drill down through the categories that are available. Tagging similar to what’s on blogs like for Technorati might be very useful here.