I’ve been spending a lot of time lately using Windows as my main OS, jumping between Windows 7 or Vista. This is mostly in part because I’ve been working with some native Windows programs throughout my daily routine. But I decided yesterday to give up working on Windows natively and returning back to my preferred Arch Linux mainly because of one thing.
Multiple desktops.
Yes, something as simple as having multiple desktops is what caused me to ditch my Windows designing environment. Sure, some may say that you can have multiple desktops on Windows, and I’ll be the first to agree with them. But you know what? I haven’t seen anything on Windows work as well or as efficiently as what I can have on Linux.
When I combine multiple desktops with some Compiz features I can be so much more productive than I ever have been using Windows. As most of my work consists of designing and building blogs or websites, I can create a setup that encourages efficiency. I have one desktop devoted to image work, with apps such as GIMP and Inkscape set in there. Another desktop has Firefox and Bluefish laid out there so I can quickly and easily work on a site on my local development server. And then I have one more desktop dedicated to general things, such as email, web browsing, music player, etc.
By keeping certain programs available on their own desktop, I can quickly jump to whatever environment I want with a keystroke, instead of hunting through a horde of open tasks littering my bottom panel. That, my friends, is much more efficient than any Windows alternative.
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http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc817881.aspx
The first thing I thought of for Windows was SysInternals multiple desktops, which I use frequently. But, then, I’m constantly frustrated that I can’t move windows from one desktop to another. I’ve also tried others (e.g. xDesk), and they all have shortcomings.
The GNOME / KDE multiple desktops are definitely more useful than Windows.
Compiz & multiple desktops doesn’t actually provide any useful functionality – it just looks cool.
Hey Andrew – Compiz, for the most part, is really nothing but eyecandy but there are some functions that I feel go beyond aesthetics and improve efficiency. When I’m working I tend to have several open windows on my desktop, some being obscured from view. By using the ring-switcher in Compiz I am able to cruise through all my open windows lightning fast and bring my desired one to the front.
I agree with you on Window’s abilities when it comes to multiple desktops. Some may find that it works great for them, but I have yet to find one that works as well as anything you can find in Linux.
I found virtuawin was ok … but bloody slow and unreliable compared to anything on unix. But that’s windows all over so you have to live with second best there.