3 ms·

I can attest to this - any average user I witness using a computer, maximizes everything. And then minimizes. And then maximizes. And exactly that, complains

by shawnc 14y ago

I can attest to this - any average user I witness using a computer, maximizes everything. And then minimizes. And then maximizes. And exactly that, complains about wasted space.

spion 14y ago
This is because overlapping window managers are fiddly. Moving around overlapping windows feels cluttered and unclean (yes, even with the feature to snap them to the left/right half of the screen). Proper tiling+tabbed window managers (e.g. i3) are much better at organizing screen space in a clean way. You can split the screen into window holders. Each window holder can be tabbed or stacked. Essentially what you get is the ability to split your monitor into multiple smaller monitors. Makes a lot more sense than the jumbled overlapping mess. See http://i3wm.org/screenshots/ http://i3wm.org/screenshots/ edit: here is a rather impressive screenshot that demonstrates the power of the tiling-tabbed/stacking concept: http://i3wm.org/screenshots/#/screenshots/i3-2.png http://i3wm.org/screenshots/#/screenshots/i3-2.png
- freehunter 14y ago
  I would disagree with that. My personal experience tells me that users shun multiple windows not because the WM is fiddly, but because the others windows distract them from the content of the window they're focusing on. Working tech support, I've had many users ask which window to type something into when there are multiple windows open, regardless of the fact that there is only one window we've been working with. Anecdotal evidence maybe, but I don't see any facts backing up either side.
  - spion 14y ago
    Indeed. I was actually speaking from personal experience and the experience of the few colleagues I introduced to i3. I don't really know what the average user thinks - could be very different.
meaty 14y ago
Power user here. I do this as well and use Alt-Tab to switch between the windows. I tend to prefer lower resolution screens as well (typing this on a 1280x800 screen on Windows 8 Pro). Windows 8 and ironically Metro are actually very keyboard friendly. I can imagine if I get hold of a surface pro unit, I'll probably be entirely happy with a touch screen, keyboard and stylus and do away with the mouse.

by shawnc 14y ago

I can attest to this - any average user I witness using a computer, maximizes everything. And then minimizes. And then maximizes. And exactly that, complains about wasted space.

spion 14y ago

This is because overlapping window managers are fiddly. Moving around overlapping windows feels cluttered and unclean (yes, even with the feature to snap them to the left/right half of the screen). Proper tiling+tabbed window managers (e.g. i3) are much better at organizing screen space in a clean way. You can split the screen into window holders. Each window holder can be tabbed or stacked. Essentially what you get is the ability to split your monitor into multiple smaller monitors. Makes a lot more sense than the jumbled overlapping mess. See http://i3wm.org/screenshots/ http://i3wm.org/screenshots/ edit: here is a rather impressive screenshot that demonstrates the power of the tiling-tabbed/stacking concept: http://i3wm.org/screenshots/#/screenshots/i3-2.png http://i3wm.org/screenshots/#/screenshots/i3-2.png

freehunter 14y ago
I would disagree with that. My personal experience tells me that users shun multiple windows not because the WM is fiddly, but because the others windows distract them from the content of the window they're focusing on. Working tech support, I've had many users ask which window to type something into when there are multiple windows open, regardless of the fact that there is only one window we've been working with. Anecdotal evidence maybe, but I don't see any facts backing up either side.
- spion 14y ago
  Indeed. I was actually speaking from personal experience and the experience of the few colleagues I introduced to i3. I don't really know what the average user thinks - could be very different.

meaty 14y ago

Power user here. I do this as well and use Alt-Tab to switch between the windows. I tend to prefer lower resolution screens as well (typing this on a 1280x800 screen on Windows 8 Pro). Windows 8 and ironically Metro are actually very keyboard friendly. I can imagine if I get hold of a surface pro unit, I'll probably be entirely happy with a touch screen, keyboard and stylus and do away with the mouse.