Desktops v1.0

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Desktops v1.0
By Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell
Published: August 21, 2008

Introduction
Desktops allows you to organize your applications on up to four virtual desktops. Read email on one, browse the web on the second, and do work in your productivity software on the third, without the clutter of the windows you’re not using. After you configure hotkeys for switching desktops, you can create and switch desktops either by clicking on the tray icon to open a desktop preview and switching window, or by using the hotkeys.

As always from these guys, a tiny program at 62KB

Alan

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Clutter of the windows? What is that, a joke? This IS called “Windows” and it’s supposed to have “windows” on the screen. Just use Alt-Tab or Alt-F4, depending on your desire. Sounds like fluff to me. Sorry to be negative.

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Horses for courses, I dare say. I guess it all depends on how you like to do your work. When involved in software development, I do like to have separate desktops running for programming, documentation and the usual e-mail/ internet stuff.

Alan

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Looks very nice so far. Thanks!

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I’ve got 2x 17″ CRTs (one at 1024×768 the other at 1152×864) but even so a completely new desktop is handy every now and then, say when someone interupts me to talk about something different to what I’m dealing with on screen.

I’ve just tried this latest toy but I won’t be keeping it. My major stumbling block is that all though it gives me the extra space I can’t start another instance of Mozilla on the new desktop. The new desktop really does seem to be like a whole new PC so when I run Mozilla it tells me my profile is already in use and locks me out. This is not the way Dexpot (post 704,493) behaves, where I can run Mozilla happily in numerous separate desktops.

Ken

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You might like to read about Central Point Desktop in this article: PCTOOLS.

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I’m lost as to the significance of your reference Peter. The article states:

In June 1994 Central Point was acquired by their top competitor Symantec who ultimately discontinued the product line. PC Tools was the main competitor to Norton Utilities.

Alan

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The gist of it is that there is nothing new under the sun, or at least that it has been done a good many years before.

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I was really mentioning it for its small size/ footprint and its venerable authors. There are shiploads of such applications – a mere 45 here for instance: Free Virtual Desktop Managers downloads.

Alan

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Whoosh!

All right, you have blown me away. I had no idea. The one thing I remembered was that the PC Tools version had the same number of desktops, four, and was received with enthusiasm similar to your own by some, and criticized by others as fluff, as yours by your critics.

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Sure, no arguments there. What someone considers valuable/ fluff will depend on the work methodology they have developed. I consider browser toolbars and e-mail virus scanning components, for instance, to be fluff, but I’m sure others welcome them. I was really querying why you referred to something so old, but I now see you were pointing out that the idea of multiple desktops is by no means new.

Alan

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I have a late thought that might explain at least some of the yeas and nays. What is the acreage of your monitor, and the resolution, and the type?

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I run my 17″ monitor at 800 x 600. That’s the “readability” I like, but it soon gets crowded when working on a software project. This is where I find the multiple desktops valuable – each dedicated to a set of applications supporting a particular task.

Alan

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Here’s a hardware solution for those uninterested in the suggested software. As for me, I’ve been using Desktops for 4 or 5 days in combination with UltraMon on a dual monitor system… works fine and I like it.

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Here’s mine when both daughters are staying over, each bringing their cats to visit our two “cousin” cats.

Alan

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Cool!

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As I told Alan by PM I meant my “fluff” post to be commentary but realize it came across as more serious. I would have deleted the post would it not have disturbed the continuity of the thread. For any more readers of my tripe, it IS a matter of “different strokes for different folks.” As some people like GUIs and others like Command Line and so on.

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It’s much like tabbed browsing in Firefox and IE. You either like it, or you don’t.

I’ve been trying to use multiple desktops for a while now at home (and recently at work), however I keep forgetting they’re there to be used. Part of my reluctance to use them may simply be caused by having such a high resolutions (1680 x 1050 minimum).

Old habits die hard.

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