Windows Explorer in Windows 7

Funnily enough I'm using a Mac right now and there's nothing like the Vista breadcrumb bar in it. I guess you're talking about the columns layout of the window? That's not my preferred way of working it has to be said (and plenty of others, google "FtFF"), but it's useable. My issue with the breadcrumb bar can be illustrated by the following conversation I think must have taken place between the inventor of this godawful control and everyone they showed it to:-

Inventor: Hey, our research turned up that a lot of users don't get the location bar in Explorer because the shall namespace doesn't bear any relation to the directory structure. So I've enhanced it, I'm calling it "the breadcrumb bar".

Colleague: 'enhanced it'?

Inventor: Yes, we'll make it reflect the shell namespace with a series of buttons, one for each level. Users can move up a level, or more than one level by clicking on these buttons so we won't be needing that up button that takes up so much valuable space on the toolbar. Bob, who owns the toolbar, will be happy.

Colleague: They can move up more than one level at a time? That's awesome!

Inventor: Yes!  ... well, as long as the level they want to move to fits in the breadcrumb bar. 

Colleague: Oh... So, what are these triangle buttons between the folder names?

Inventor: Our research showed that users don't really get the whole 'slash' thing. So we just picked another symbol, triangles are popular. But check it out, click it!

Colleague: It shows a popup menu with the other folder names it it?

Inventor: Yes, so you can move DOWN the directory structure as well, how great is that? 

Colleague: But users can already navigate using the, err..... navigation pane...

Inventor: Our research showed that users don't understand treeviews and a lot of the time there's something else in the space where the treeview should be anyway.

Colleague: Yeh, what are those panels on the left, what the hell do they do anyway?

Inventor: God knows, they might not be there anyway because the navigation pane might be hidden. And Bob, who owns the toolbar, said he's so short of space now that he's had to put the controls for it in a multi-level popup menu.... So I thought the best way round that was to create another way to navigate the shell namespace.

Colleague: ummm, I guess that makes sense. So I can move down folders by clicking on the last triangle button...  WTF! Now there's a textbox showing the file path?!

Inventor: Oh yes... turns out some people still want to be able to type a file path in, so I had it just change into a textbox when you click on the little bit of space to the right of the last triangle button.

Colleague: I see. So how do you get back from that?

Inventor: You just have to click somewhere else... No, not there... Or there... Technically you have to give something else focus, but I'm sure the users will figure it out.

Colleague: Ah yes, the users who are confused by slashes and don't understand treeviews...   

<tumbleweed>

Colleague: By the way, what's Bob up to with the toolbar - did he say what all these new functions are that he needs all that space on the toolbar for?

Inventor: He said something about burning CDs. Apparently the kids are doing that all the time now, it's definitely more important than any of the other stuff that used to be there he says. Personally I would have put CD Burning in the menu, but the problem is that Kevin is in charge of the menus now...  you know how shy he is.