Re: suggestion for managing clutter on the desktop

[Rob Adams <readams readams net>]

Right click the handle on the tasklist.  Choose Preferences.  Under
Window grouping, choose Always Group Windows.

-Rob

On Sun, 2004-08-01 at 01:30 -0700, wrote:
> hi ppl,
> 
> Over the years the desktop has become more and more
> cluttered and has seen a number of methods to try and
> manage the clutter.  The use of an window list in a
> panel helped, as it made it easier to switch between
> applications, although became insufficient when a user
> opens so many applications that the user wastes time
> searching through the window list trying to find a
> particular application.  So two other methods were
> introduced to reduce the clutter of the application
> list.  These are the use of panel applets and the use
> of notification areas, and the use of tabbed
> applications, both methods designed to remove items
> from the clutted window list. 
> 
> While the combination of these three methods has
> reduced clutter on our desktops, we still are faced
> with too much clutter and are wasting too much time
> managing the desktop.  What could be an even bigger
> problem is the increased complexity that makes the user
> now having to know how to use the three completely
> different methods.
> 
> What I suggest is kind of like a modified, more
> powerful version of how OS X handles the problem
> (please note I have never actually used a mac so I
> don't really know exactly how os x handles the
> problem).  Have a panel(or applet) which has a icon for
> each unique running application(Eg if you have two
> firefox windows open, only 1 icon is shown for mozilla
> in the panel).  For the applications with more than one
> window open, there respective icon will have a little
> arrow on them and if you click on them, a list of all
> the associated windows and there titles will be
> displayed, which you can click on to open.  
> 
> So far this has probably all been done before, but the
> key is to have a second panel(or applet) that has a
> list of all the titles of the windows that are
> associated with the application of the window in focus,
> in a manner similar to current application lists.  This
> would eliminate the need for tabbed applications and
> bring the possiblity of other powerful features, which
> I will later discuss.  
> 
> So an example of how this would work is: say that I
> have a firefox window with gnome.org open, and I wanted
> to switch to the firefox window with gnomedesktop.org
> open. I would simply click on the button on my second
> panel(or applet) that displayed the title from
> gnomedesktop.org.  I no longer need to search through
> the huge list of an full window list or the need extra
> functionality of tabbed browsing in firefox.
> 
> Now to the additional powerful features of the second
> panel(or applet)... This is where I see some parallels
> to the new spatial nautilus.  You could do things like
> having different behaviours when clicking on the title
> buttons of the second panel(or applet), eg. left click
> opens window and middle click opens window and
> minimizes current.  There could be additional buttons
> on the the second panel(or applet) that do things like
> close all windows of the associated application or
> minimize all, maximize all, expose of just the
> associatied applications (if the composition x
> extension becomes mainstream...) and so forth...
> 
> The reason I believe this second panel(applet) will be
> so useful, is that people tend to switch alot between
> windows that belong to one particular application and
> this panel(or applet) makes it so much easier to do so
> by exposing all these windows to user without the
> clutter imposed by a full window list.
> 
> Oh an btw programs like gaim could treated a bit
> differently in the first panel(or applet) that I talked
> about so that it behaves just like it does as a panel
> applet although it is grouped in with the first panel
> just like any other application making it less
> confusing for the user than having it as a completely
> seperate panel applet.
> 
> So......this solution elimates the need for the user to
> understand panel applets and tabbed applications and
> builds on something users understand pretty well, the
> window list.  The solution has all the advantages of
> tabbed applications and panel applets (from programs
> like Gaim) and the additional advantages that the
> second panel(or applet) brings.
> 
> Ok and now for the appologies.  I would like to
> appologize for the use of the annoying "panel(or
> applet)"s throughout my email, in reality is just a
> panel applet, although a user may have it as the sole
> occupier of a pannel.   I would also like appologize
> for not having some sort of mock-up screenshot and or
> implementation that would make it so much easier to
> explain.  I currently haven't set up my computer, as I
> have just moved house and have been too busy with other
> stuff.  
> 
> Anywayz thanks for reading this far(assuming you didn't
> just scroll down to this point.....)
> 
> Tristan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
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