The files are "hidden" because, mostly, they are stuff that the average user, and even some advanced users, don't need to mess with, but the OS needs to run. These invisible, are in fact, readily viewable through Terminal. But they are hidden form the GUI to prevent people form erasing stuff. There are all sorts of stories, urban legends, web sites, etc...that tell of the Windows users who open the Windows folder, and delete stuff that they never used before, say the system.ini file - and then they find out that their PC no longer works. In OS , those files are not visible in the GUI. If you want to see them aother way...
If you open a Terminal window and type 'ls /Volumes'
(without the 's"
hit return and you'll get a list of the Volumes attached to your Mac. From there, type 'cd nameofvolume'
(nameofvolume is one of your HD's or a sharepoint)
hit return, and you'll see a list of stuff, including the invisible files and folders, that live on your Mac. Unless you absolutely know what you are erasing, leave that stuff alone.
If you're well aware of all of this, then sorry for the lecture. I'd also be curious to know what files are hidden that you don;t need.
