Time Machine data restoration (Score 1)

Got here via the link in your MacWorld forum post ...

Apple's innovation, and it is massive innovation, is related to the restoration of data. Not the restoration of files, but data.

That's an interesting observation, overlooked in nearly all the relatively mundane commentary/discussions of Time Machine I've seen so far.

The problem with backups is that they operate on files, rather than the units of data that interest people.

Obviously there are exceptions, but in general I think computing interfaces have gotten stuck being too file oriented. Is that file-centric perspective so mandatory or do most people just take it for granted without considering there may be superior alternatives? It almost seems like more experienced users are eventually forced to deal with tedious file management issues whereas casual users can ignore them longer.

Looks like Time Machine will be file oriented from the current Finder's view but what intrigues me most is its potential to abstract data in other ways thatwill auto-manage restoration details with minimal user interaction.