when did the hierarchical folder organisation we use today first appeared in the history of computing?
The Multics file system was indeed hierarchial, but it used directories (files that point to other files) as the organizing element, as is done today by UNIX, Solaris, AFS and other UNIX-like OSes. Folders didn’t appear as file system organizing elements until the advent of Windows (Windows 1.0 was released Nov. 20, 1985). The terms are functionally interchangeable, though I’m sure there are some low-level differences (any file system gurus want to weigh in?), but the term of choice for the UNIX world has always been “directory”, and “folder” remains a MS Windows term. I believe the correct answer to your question, Greg, is: “Hierarchial folder organization first appeared in the history of computing on November 20, 1985.
