We definitely need a natural way to move between "full screen" (no panel) and "panelled" mode, across multiple apps. And perhaps we need a good way for things like indicators to show up at appropriate times, when the panel is not being displayed. So kudos to the Elementary team for their explorations with wingpanel. In terms of space efficiency, though, if you maximise a window and have wingpanel float over it, you effectively have the same thing as the design goal for 11.04 Unity: maximised windows put titles / window controls / windicators into the panel themselves. And if you're not using a maximised window then space efficiency is by definition not your primary concern. I can see that there's a "lightness" of the desktop without the panel, yes. So I think this idea has merit and is worth exploration. I would welcome mockups and discussion on the Ayatana list, cc'd. Mark
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