“Unlike the Mac, Windows lets applications install files all over the system and program folders,” Karl Johnson writes for T-GAAP. “The result of Windows allowing apps to install files or DLLS in many locations is it can wreck havoc with operating system stability. Apple has a better approach.”
“OS X confines application files to the application, system’s library, and user’s library folders. Some application preferences are system wide and others are specific to a certain user (which is why there are two library folders), but hints in OS X Lion suggest things are about to change,” Johnson writes. “Under the hood 10.7 Lion, Apple is hiding the user library folder and adding a new user folder called applications. If Apple does not want users to modify the library folder, why not hide all the system folders to protect the user from themselves? ”
Johnson asks, “Why hide the Library folder and add a application folder but not make any changes to applications? The only solution is that Apple is waiting for something. The only thing coming in the near future that will directly effect Mac OS Lion is iCloud, which would be a great place to backup preferences.”
Read more in the full article here.