multiple workspaces [was Re: building gnome]

[Bill Haneman <Bill Haneman Sun COM>]

Igor asked:

"When one is running Gnome itself, is it true that one uses virtual
desktops as a means of multitasking? Also, does Gnome run within a
single TTY even when the user has more than 1 desktop open at one time?"

GNOME (and Linux/Unix generally) can multitask without the use of
multiple virtual desktops; all applications on the desktop are free to
run concurrently.  Multiple workspaces (to use GNOME's terminology) are
a convenience feature for grouping application windows.  At this time,
our accessibility framework does not distinguish between these
workspaces.  When running GNOME, users typically use 'virtual terminals'
which are displayed in individual windows on the desktop.  An added
feature of the GNOME virtual terminals is the ability to host multiple
virtual TTYs within one graphical window, via 'notebook tabs', but this
is an optional feature.

- Bill