no cheating

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.netEnglish
    1·
    4 months ago

    Wasn’t it basically a portable “My Documents” folder? It would sync up online, right? Or at least was easier to copy to a floppy, cd, or USB drive? I never actually used it but I always assumed that’s what it was for since it appeared in Windows once the Internet started being a major thing.

    • TheEmpireStrikesDak@thelemmy.club
      1·
      4 months ago

      I actively used it to backup my art files onto USB, up until last year when it kept giving me error messages when I tried to update it, so I thought, screw it, manual drag and drop. I’m not sure if the amount or size of files got too big for it. Up till then, it was great for backups as it would automatically detect what had been updated and only transfer those files.

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
    1·
    4 months ago

    It was basically the early version of the Roaming folder. It would sync to a floppy disk.

  • davidagain@lemmy.world
    1·
    4 months ago

    It was a zip file, essentially. You drag files into it, then you drag it to your usb memory stick and take it to work. At wprk, you drag it from the usb drive to your briefacse on the work computer and it updates with the newer copies. That’s about as much as I remember.

  • neidu2@feddit.nl
    0·
    4 months ago

    If I remember correctly, it was a regular folder with a special icon. The intention was that you could drag&drop it to some removable media to move between computers.

    I guess MS envisioned it as a digital replacement for the physical suitcase of documents you’d bring to/from work.

    Furthermore, this “digital replacement” strategy can be seen in other (now mostly defunct) MS programs such as that program that was bundled with windows 3.11 ( I think it was called wincard.exe) that mimiced a rolodex.

    I’ll take my MCSE now, thank you.

    EDIT: Seems there was some sync stuff with it as well. I’ll settle for some junior certification, thank you.

    • drspod@lemmy.ml
      2·
      4 months ago

      It was more than just a special icon for a folder, it had special behaviour too. Without looking it up (in the spirit of the meme), I seem to remember that it would automatically sync the files any time that you insert the floppy disk, kind of like having Dropbox but without the internet. The idea being that you would have files on your computer that you could take with you somewhere else (in your briefcase, on a floppy disk) and all instances of that briefcase would automatically sync the latest updates of the files without you having to manually copy them and work out which was the latest version of a file.

      • MonkderDritte@feddit.de
        2·
        4 months ago

        It was more than just a special icon for a folder, it had special behaviour too.

        How much you bet that the code is still somewhere in explorer.exe?

        Wait, isn’t this similiar to the homesyncd thing?

    • MudMan@fedia.io
      1·
      4 months ago

      The “digital replacement” nonsense is also why we now have “folders” instead of “directories”. This thing gave me so many awkward flashbacks.

    • 9point6@lemmy.world
      1·
      4 months ago

      I think it was very slightly more than a regular folder in that there was a sync wizard IIRC.

      I think you set it up with a piece of removable media and then you could press the sync button when it was present to take the newest file from either the removable media or the local disk. I also vaguely remember a conflict resolution screen where if both copies had changed you could keep one, the other or both. I’m trying to remember if you could have a 3-point sync where you used the removable media as a way of keeping the briefcase on your home and work computers in sync, but I never used that feature if it did exist.

      So yeah, It didn’t do much more than just dragging and dropping (as I think the OS dialog had similar conflict resolution at least from windows 98ish) but the two way aspect was pretty useful.

    • cobysev@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      4 months ago

      I guess MS envisioned it as a digital replacement for the physical suitcase of documents you’d bring to/from work.

      The whole computer was originally visualized as a digital office replacement. That’s why you have the “desktop,” like an actual desk top surface to work on. Files had icons that looked like papers, folders looked like the tan file folders you’d store in a filing cabinet. Plus a slew of other office-related parallels.

      The briefcase was just a continuation of that digital theme. Office workers would bring their work files home in a briefcase to work on later, then bring back to the office the next day. Microsoft tried to digitally replicate that by creating a briefcase folder that would automatically sync your files to a floppy disk, so you didn’t have to do it yourself. The Internet kinda ruined that concept, though. Now you can just email yourself files, text them to yourself on your phone, or store them in a cloud service to edit live on the site.

  • cbarrick@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    When did they remove the briefcase?

    I remember it on Windows 98, but not XP.

    Was it removed with the DOS/NT transition?

    Or is it still around, just hidden?

  • webghost0101@sopuli.xyz
    0·
    4 months ago

    Gpt4o the windows expert:

    “ The meme references a somewhat obscure feature from older versions of Microsoft Windows called “Briefcase.” Here’s a brief explanation:

    Windows Briefcase:

    • Introduced in Windows 95 and present in several subsequent versions, the Briefcase was a special folder designed to help users keep files in sync between two locations, typically between a desktop and a laptop.

    • You could create a Briefcase on your computer, add files to it, and then copy that Briefcase to another location, such as a floppy disk or another drive.

    • When you made changes to the files on either location, you could use the Briefcase to update the files on both sides by synchronizing them. This feature was particularly useful in the era before widespread use of networked file sharing and cloud storage.

    The meme humorously challenges a supposed “Windows expert” to explain this somewhat outdated and lesser-known feature, implying that true expertise includes knowledge of such old functionalities.”