First, thanks for the tip about changing the drive!
Much cheaper for me and a better deal for you! Is that what's called a "Win-Win"?
If you've been using PF for so long, perhaps you also used Gregg's Browser back in OS 6, 7, 8 or 9? So far back that no one would have thought of the interweb when you said "browser"!
While the Finder is similar (at least in Column View), Gregg actually copied his app after the Unix file viewer. I 'assume' that's where Apple 'borrowed' their column view, since they claim so much unix heritage.