Suggestions for better workspaces as independant tasks

[Julien Olivier <julo42 gmail com>]

Hi list,

after using gnome-shell for months now, I must say that I really love
the idea of using workspaces to isolate each task, and keep the number
of open windows to the minimum by only having windows related to each
workspace's task. However, something breaks this concept: the dash
always displays the favorite app icons and one icon for each currently
running app. Wouldn't it be more logical to always display the favorite
app icons and one icon for each currently running app *on the current
workspace* instead?
This would have the following advantage: it would prevent the dash from
getting too crowded, letting you focus on the applications needed for
your task.

For more consistency, the following changes would also be needed:
 - Alt-Tab should only display windows on the current workspace.
 - Favorite apps should only be highlighted if they are running *on the
current workspace*.
 - Clicking on the icon of a favorite app already running on another
workspace should launch a new instance of this app instead on switching
to the currently running one on the other workspace.

If all those changes were to be made, gnome-shell would really have a
logical concept for workspaces as isolated tasks.