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My thoughts on the save icon

Is the "Save Icon" going to change any time soon?

I think it is already quite outdated, but even Microsoft Office 2010,
with it's amazing interface uses a 3½" floppy disk as a "Save Icon".The problem with this is that nobody actually uses floppy disks anymore.

Should the standard "Save Icon" not be updated for something more
relevant for our time?

People could argue that everybody knows what it is, and what it means,
but what about the next generation of computer users? Most of us grew up with Floppy Disks 3½", or 5¼". We would copy games
from our friends, that where zipped over up to 15, or even more,
floppy disks. MS-DOS, and Windows came on floppy disks, it was just a
part of life, and the save icon makes sense to us.

But, what about the next generation...

Games, and other software no longer ever come on CD-ROM anymore, they
are on DVD, and now even Blu-ray.

The only way to install Mac OS X Lion is to download it from the Internet, and the Mac Book Air doesn't even come with an optical disk.

If you want to copy something from a
friend you would use a flash disk, or download it from BitTorrent.
The next generation will never even see a floppy disk. How can the "Save Icon" be updated to reflect this?

Can it be updated to reflect this? Could a "Hard Disk" or "Flash Disk" or "Solid State Drive", or even "Online Storage" Icon be used instead of a "Floppy Disk"?

I don't know if it would make as much sense. What about using a "House Icon", like the ones often used for "Home Directory", or "~/"?

The icon would mean "Save to home disk".

What about a "Folder Icon" like the one used for "Open"?

The "Open Icon" would then have to change, they can't both be the same.

The "Save Icon" could have an arrow going into the "Folder" while
"Open" has an arrow coming out.

I don't know what it can change to, but it must change, or else we
might as well use a "Cassette Tape Save Icon".

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Location: Centurion, South Africa

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