Re: Bug#167297: ITP: gnome1 -- The GNU Network Object Model Environment (version 1)

[Nick Name <nick.name@inwind.it>]

On Fri, 1 Nov 2002 19:54:22 -0200
Gustavo Noronha Silva <kov@debian.org> wrote:

>  What do you mean by virtual workspaces? Are they any different from
>  the 4 workspaces I use on my GNOME2?

I am sorry, terminology is important, and I've used the wrong term by
chance. I meant "virtual viewports". They do these things (sorry for
poor english)

- are organized in rows and columns (now they are also in gnome2)

- you can switch between them by putting the mouse pointer near the edge
of the desktop: if you put your pointer on the lower edge, you go one
viewport lower. In gnome2 workspace are really linear: if you hit the
lower edge, or the right edge, this makes no difference, and you go to
the *next* workspace

- the same considerations hold when moving a window

- you can put a window half on a viewport and half on another viewport

- you can get a viewport "in the middle" between others. I personally
don't use this feature, but might be useful with small monitors, dunno.

Now, with sawfish 0.something (woody), I use a 3x3 grid of viewports and
when I want, I create a new *desktop* with another 3x3 grid. The two
concepts are different, and I happily use both. But for me (and many
other people I know) viewports are the most important of the two.

The matter is that when somebody studies usability of a software, he
always do this looking at the beginner user. The experienced user is
always forgotten.

I am frustrated when I have to work in windows, even if I use some
"powertoy" or something (not installed by me so don't know what) which
implements virtual desktops, since what I want are virtual viewports.

fvwm and afterstep provided viewports, and I convinced a few people to
switch to linux just letting them use this feature, I am not joking. Of
course they were not compter-newbies.

I repeat, and some day I want to discuss this in [desktop]: there must
be attention for experienced users usability, not only to newbies. Just
let me the choice, because choice is the reason that made me switch to
linux.

Vincenzo


-- 
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight you, then you win.
[Gandhi]