4 ms·

The trend to run everything full screen is an odd one, probably was never even a thing on Windows, with its terrible window resizing options. Of course tabs in

by mavhc 9y ago

The trend to run everything full screen is an odd one, probably was never even a thing on Windows, with its terrible window resizing options. Of course tabs in browsers is a side effect of terrible window management in GUIs, and causes more full screenness

teddyh 9y ago
I have a theory about how this obsession with running web browsers in full screen came about, based on my personal observations on what happened at the time: The graphical web browser was originally mostly used on computers like Sun SPARCstations and NeXTcubes with desktop resolutions like 1152×900 (Sun) and 1120×832 (NeXT). The web browser, in these desktop environments, were not maximized, but were instead used as one window (or multiple windows) among many other windows on a desktop full of other applications, icons, and menus. (See for example the fact that the normal shortcuts Ctrl/Command-N (for new browser window) and Ctrl/Command-W (for close window), which are standard in all current web browsers, actually originated as built-in features of the NeXTSTEP window environment, and not as a feature of the first web browser (which was written for NeXTSTEP). Tabs were not a feature in any web browsers yet – separate windows were used for approximately the same purpose.). Anyway, the first graphical web sites were written with these non-maximized pixel widths in mind, with a typical web site being a bit above 600 pixels in width and assuming a maximum window height of around 700 pixels. PCs, around this time, typically had 640×480 pixels on their whole display (or maybe 800×600 or 1024×768 if they had a more expensive monitor and enough graphic card memory, but this was more rare). At that time, a user on a normal cheap PC, browsing a web site made for about 600 pixels in width, would find it easiest to simply maximize the window. And running multiple applications at the same time was not a practical option anyway for these PCs, considering the limited CPU and RAM available, so maximizing the web browser was natural. A few years later, as PCs became commonplace, and therefore became the norm for web browsing, and as monitors and graphic card memory became cheaper, web designers started using the full-screen mode as the assumed mode for using web sites, and as 800×600 (and later 1024×768) desktop resolutions became more common on PCs, web site designers jumped to using these widths as their assumed web browser widths. (See the common practice at the time to have little buttons on web sites stating “Best viewed in 800×600”, and similar.) PC users, during all this time, were thus implicitly taught to always maximize the web browser window. Meanwhile, Sun/NeXT/SGI/etc. workstation users did not really complain since they had ample resolution to spare for viewing these ever widening web sites, and workstations were on the way out anyway. However, nowadays, with both “retina” displays and much wider than 4:3 aspect ratios (initially 16:10 and later 16:9) being the absolute norm, it’s ludicrous to run (and design) a web site in full screen mode. I mean, the line length shouldn’t be over 55 characters per line anyway¹, so a web site has no business being wider than that. And personal computers are now more than capable of running more than one program at a time, which is only made more difficult by programs assuming they can cover the whole desktop for themselves. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_length https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_length
- pwg 9y ago
  Another possible explanation for the penchant of many users (esp. non-technical ones) to run everything "maximized": Most non-technical users have only ever seen and used MS Windows. MS Windows has always had atrocious overlapping windows management features as compared to Unix X11 window managers. So most non-technical users never really learned to use multiple, overlapping, onscreen windows at the same time. The one 'window management' feature that is directly visible to a non-technical MS Windows user is the task bar, and then its (the task bar's) only feature they see is "raise to top". Applying a bit of "if the only tool you have is a hammer, all your problems start to look like nails" mentality, and it becomes easier for a non-technical user to simply hit the MS Windows "maximize" button on every window that opens for any applications they use (after which most MS Windows apps remember and auto-maximize the next time they launch) and then use "the hammer" they have (task bar with "raise this window to top" tool) to simply pop an already full screen window up when needed, then pop up another one when that one is needed, etc. Plus, from their viewpoint, this provides a "less distracting" work-space since only the thing of interest is in view at any given moment. Couple this with a bit of "follow the leader", or in this case, someone else they've observed, or possibly from the trainer who maximized not because he/she wanted to, but because the 800x600 projector of the day was too small to demo anything with overlapping windows and we have non-technical users who all start running everything maximized.

by mavhc 9y ago

teddyh 9y ago

I have a theory about how this obsession with running web browsers in full screen came about, based on my personal observations on what happened at the time: The graphical web browser was originally mostly used on computers like Sun SPARCstations and NeXTcubes with desktop resolutions like 1152×900 (Sun) and 1120×832 (NeXT). The web browser, in these desktop environments, were not maximized, but were instead used as one window (or multiple windows) among many other windows on a desktop full of other applications, icons, and menus. (See for example the fact that the normal shortcuts Ctrl/Command-N (for new browser window) and Ctrl/Command-W (for close window), which are standard in all current web browsers, actually originated as built-in features of the NeXTSTEP window environment, and not as a feature of the first web browser (which was written for NeXTSTEP). Tabs were not a feature in any web browsers yet – separate windows were used for approximately the same purpose.). Anyway, the first graphical web sites were written with these non-maximized pixel widths in mind, with a typical web site being a bit above 600 pixels in width and assuming a maximum window height of around 700 pixels. PCs, around this time, typically had 640×480 pixels on their whole display (or maybe 800×600 or 1024×768 if they had a more expensive monitor and enough graphic card memory, but this was more rare). At that time, a user on a normal cheap PC, browsing a web site made for about 600 pixels in width, would find it easiest to simply maximize the window. And running multiple applications at the same time was not a practical option anyway for these PCs, considering the limited CPU and RAM available, so maximizing the web browser was natural. A few years later, as PCs became commonplace, and therefore became the norm for web browsing, and as monitors and graphic card memory became cheaper, web designers started using the full-screen mode as the assumed mode for using web sites, and as 800×600 (and later 1024×768) desktop resolutions became more common on PCs, web site designers jumped to using these widths as their assumed web browser widths. (See the common practice at the time to have little buttons on web sites stating “Best viewed in 800×600”, and similar.) PC users, during all this time, were thus implicitly taught to always maximize the web browser window. Meanwhile, Sun/NeXT/SGI/etc. workstation users did not really complain since they had ample resolution to spare for viewing these ever widening web sites, and workstations were on the way out anyway. However, nowadays, with both “retina” displays and much wider than 4:3 aspect ratios (initially 16:10 and later 16:9) being the absolute norm, it’s ludicrous to run (and design) a web site in full screen mode. I mean, the line length shouldn’t be over 55 characters per line anyway¹, so a web site has no business being wider than that. And personal computers are now more than capable of running more than one program at a time, which is only made more difficult by programs assuming they can cover the whole desktop for themselves. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_length https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_length

pwg 9y ago
Another possible explanation for the penchant of many users (esp. non-technical ones) to run everything "maximized": Most non-technical users have only ever seen and used MS Windows. MS Windows has always had atrocious overlapping windows management features as compared to Unix X11 window managers. So most non-technical users never really learned to use multiple, overlapping, onscreen windows at the same time. The one 'window management' feature that is directly visible to a non-technical MS Windows user is the task bar, and then its (the task bar's) only feature they see is "raise to top". Applying a bit of "if the only tool you have is a hammer, all your problems start to look like nails" mentality, and it becomes easier for a non-technical user to simply hit the MS Windows "maximize" button on every window that opens for any applications they use (after which most MS Windows apps remember and auto-maximize the next time they launch) and then use "the hammer" they have (task bar with "raise this window to top" tool) to simply pop an already full screen window up when needed, then pop up another one when that one is needed, etc. Plus, from their viewpoint, this provides a "less distracting" work-space since only the thing of interest is in view at any given moment. Couple this with a bit of "follow the leader", or in this case, someone else they've observed, or possibly from the trainer who maximized not because he/she wanted to, but because the 800x600 projector of the day was too small to demo anything with overlapping windows and we have non-technical users who all start running everything maximized.