unity-design team mailing list archive

[Jorge Ortega <jorge.ortega111@xxxxxxxxx>]

I find Unity approach to multiple virtual desktops extremely half-hearted:
it just provides the option to used them and an icon which you can't remove
from the bar.

Unity could use virtual desktop in a transparent way:

1-Don't show icon if only a desktop is being used.
2-*Apps. should open in a new virtual desktop each. (by default)*
3-When more than one app. is open then the icon to switch desktops appears
in the bar (it has to be very prominent)
4-Exceptions should be made, probably for configuration tools. For instance,
when you open pulseaudio sound preferences this window should appear in the
active dektop. The understanding is you are just checking on something or
carrying out a very transitory task and close the app straight away. A case
could be made for multiple isntances of the file manger as well: most of the
time we are transferring files between windows.
5-The transitions between desktops (apps. in fact) should be very smooth and
not sight-tiring.

In short:
current behaviour: apps open in the same space and the user has to put them
in different deskops.
suggested behaviour: apps open in their own space and the user has to put
put them manually in the same desktops if they want to do it.

Which such a behaviour the concept of virtual desktops becomes transparent:
people would use them without actually realizing, you don't decide to use
the feature or not, the feature is at the core of how your computer
works.The way to do this doesn't have to be the traditional zoom out/drag
and drop/zoon in: drag an icon onto other icon to move apps to the same
space/desktop and gain focus on this desktop immediately.

In this context minimizing seems to loose any sense: why do you wan to
minimize an app that is not sharing its space with anything else?

The above proposal has far reaching consecuences but would go a very long
way towards simplifying how people use their computers.


Failing to implement the above then please, get rid of the desktop-switcher
icon and  bring back the possibility to minimize windows from the launcher.


Jorge
-