Re: Name change

On 2007-04-06, Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Whiskers <catwheezel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

snip

'Xinerama' allows a single 'desktop' to use two or more
diplays at once - or of course each display can be used separately.

How do you mean, `separately'?

Different workspace on each, rather than one space spanning them all. Or
one for 'system admin' stuff and another for 'my stuff', if you have to do
that sort of thing. Or one for the headless server under the stairs and
the other for this laptop. All sorts of possibilities.

snip

I'm just not ready for
a multi-dimensional desktop; I'm still a bit confused by having windows in
my desktop, not to mention moveable and re-sizable and over-lapping
windows ... who started this crazy nomenclature?

Xerox?

Probably.

AIUI, it was Xerox which first implemented overlapping windows.
Re-sizable windows might well have come from somewhere else. I did see
a pretty good family tree for the modern GUI/OS arrangement we've got
and it's *incredibly* tangled.

I can believe that. It sort of shows, too, doesn't it?

In the days of Windows 3.x, I preferred Quaterdeck's display with
non-overlapping 'Windows', or the 'filing-cabinet and ring-book' model
that came with my ICL sub-notebook;

Righto. I've always preferred having my windows overlapping because
I've never had enough screen space, y'know?

I think Compaq had something similar.
On a 640x480 9" display with a mind-boggling 16 shades of grey, you don't
want to leave any space unused.

Ye gods. 9 inches, eh? Well, well, well. That's `original Mac size',
that is - and they didn't have greyscale at all in standard trim, just
black and white. That's when I found out about the joys of overlapping
windows - you just don't have the room for anything else if you ask me.

One window 'maximised' was all I could manage on that thing. The office
desktops were text-only two-colour 80x25 character 13" displays at the
time (obviously, not running Windows).

snip

I can cope with three or four windows per desktop, if I can keep them
minimised when not in use; that's why I like multiple virtual desktops - I
can have a multitude of 'things' going on, without getting confused.

Hmm! I see - yes. Sort of like the way I do it, but with better
organisation. (that might not make sense to you, but it does to me).

I get it now - I think. Yes. <heh> I can't work your way because I
just can't keep track of things well enough - it's why I like to have
`everything all piled up in the one place' (at least on a computer -
real life, that's different).

[1] I don't like fiddling about. If it ain't straightforward when it
comes to UI `enhancements', I don't want to know.

Yup; clean and simple is the way to go
<http://i11.tinypic.com/2wohk50.png>.

Coo!

Now, if I had some Web space sorted out, I could reciprocate. But I've
not, so I can't.

If you don't mind losing control and ownership of the images,
<http://tinypic.com/> hits the spot.

Tell you what, see that email? That's what it looks
like here. One pair of pics is `Each monitor is its natural state'; the
other pair of pics is `Each monitor after I've hit F9 to fire up Exposé
so I can see all the windows'.

Let's make it recursive <http://i18.tinypic.com/29mm0t2.png> <G>

(I spy a real geek's OS at your end, mind - what's that down the right
hand side of your monitor?

GKrellM; basically a custom set of monitors and 'toys' with a launcher for
each of the apps I use most often. I have a self-hiding 'panel' as well,
which you an see in the latest screenshot. There's a 'desktop menu' for
launching less frequently used apps. I have no icons on my desktop, just
'post-it notes' as required. The current 'background' is a simple
graphic; sometimes I use a photo. There are some 'trick' backgrounds too,
such as news-tickers, transparent real-time syslog entries, animations,
etc, but mostly I think a background should not steal the scene.

System stats, eh? Who really needs that
sort of info when using a computer normally? Okay, in my case, I can
tell if I'm thrashing the CPUs for some reason 'cos the fans get faster
and a lot louder - but...)

Rowland.

Well, you seem to have the system or CPU temperature, and the time, and
various launchers, displayed across the top of your screen. I like to see
what my machine is doing; when the scanners are out on force it's fun for
a little while to watch the router 'status' and logs too - rather like
being indoors and watching the sleet and gale doing their worst out there.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~
.