This week's column - Visualizing Tools

This week's Loose Wire column takes a look at programs that visualize your hard disk.

ONE OF THE CRAZY THINGS about computers is that the more we use them, the more of a mystery they become. Think of all the things you've done with your computer: reading and writing e-mail, browsing Web sites, downloading (and making) music, editing and watching video, storing photos. All these things take up valuable space, but are impossible to find without a team of forensic experts to help. In short, finding what's valuable and what's not is easier in your loft, basement, garage or den than on your own hard disk.

That's the problem. Here's the solution: Software that allows you to view your hard disk as if you were X-raying it. These programs take a close look at your hard drive--or whatever disk you want it to, from a USB drive to a CD-ROM--and present it as a graphic, broken down into little coloured blocks that represent the files and folders that make up your data. The size of the blocks depends on the size of the files and folders they represent, and their colour depends on whether they are photos, music files, documents or whatever. Your hard drive will look like mosaic, with the various files and folders all separately adding little rectangular bits to make up the whole picture. Such programs, for want of a better term, are called disk-visualization tools

Full text at the Far Eastern Economic Review (subscription required, trial available) or at WSJ.com  (subscription required). Old columns at feer.com here.