Re: GNOME 3.0 feedback and suggestions (for 3.2+)

[Adam Tauno Williams <awilliam whitemice org>]

On Thu, 2011-05-05 at 08:41 +0200, Frederik Hertzum wrote:
> tir, 03 05 2011 kl. 16:28 -0430, skrev Dokuro:
> > On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 5:45 PM, Frederik Hertzum
> > <frederik hertzum gmail com> wrote:
> > >
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Horizontal desktops missing:
> > >>>>
> > > =====================================================================
> > > <snip>
> > >>ctrl+alt+up/down to change workspaces (virt desktops)
> > > That key-combo (or any other for that matter) doesn't allow me to do
> > > what I want. I often need more than one set of apps open, which are
> > > related in some way, which take up more space (conveniently) than my
> > > monitors allows. Simply stacking them in a long list of workspaces will
> > > only help if I only have one task (which I often don't). I always set up
> > > a 3x3 or 4x4 set of "virtual desktops" when I'm working on GNOME 2
> > > machines because it allows me to do exactly this; group my apps
> > > horizontally and keep several sets of apps open at the same time.
> It would allow me to do something similar, but it quickly becomes
> cumbersome to remember where things are, it's difficult to set up,
> since, if I want to have it sorted by task, I sometimes have to
> rearrange everything, which can take a very long time. Not having
> workspaces in two dimensions really takes the fun out of using them.

I find I use workspaces far more in GNOME3 than I did previously.  They
are simpler and much better integrated into the whole scheme of things.
[aside: GNOME3 seems a lot snappier/faster to me, switching workspaces
is *fast*].

I wonder how common your use-case is; I really can't imagine the great
majority of people having greater than 4 or 5 workspaces.  That becomes
a mentally encumbering workload.  I consider myself a 'power' user and I
typically end the day with five workspaces, which is few enough to
easily navigate in one dimension.

3x3 is 9, 4x4 is 16.  That is a lot of workspaces.  I know I'd never be
able to quickly remember what is where.  

For 4 -5 workspaces one falls into an easy routine.  For me its
1.) Email, xchat, im, SM crap, etc...
2.) Some gnome-terminals, nautilus
3.) Monodevelop, some OOo documents, a browser window for looking at
docs.
4.) DbVisualizer, a spreadsheet, maybe a terminal window
5.) Some other documents