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Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

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Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#11

Post by PeterisP »

Disregard powerusers - think about office tasks for simple non-tech people that need multiple applications for a single logical task.

For example, a common scenario of needing reference material while doing or creating something:

Project manager writing a budget estimate (excel or email) while repeatedly looking at a project proposal (word or pdf).

Secretary discussing a meeting schedule (email, skype) while looking at calendars of the involved people.

Any newbie learning a complex task or app while having a tutorial video or book open next to it.

Journalist writing an article (CMS, etc) while viewing multiple sources and previous articles.

In many of these cases multiple monitors would be useful as well, but modern monitor sizes easily allow writing/editing a document on one side of monitor while viewing the reference part on the other side. The historical way of doing this is to print out the reference document and attach it next to the monitor - there are tools for this in any office supply store. Now that screen space isn't so expensive, it's more efficient to keep both of these documents in the computer.

If you are a pure consumer of information, you may get by a single window. If you actually do something, then it's different.

Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#13

Post by jpswade »

Computers have become an "everything machine", to do everything you want, you need multiple windows.

However, things are changing. Consumers have realised that it is more productive to use a tool to carry out a particular task and get the job done.

They are fed up of having to wait for their PC to boot, do any updates, fix any problems and try and remember the original task they wanted to do. It's no longer acceptable. That's even before we mention the confusion of having multiple windows (think grandma).

People now expect things to happen instantly so they can use a device as a tool to carry out a single task. (ie: I need check my bank account - switch on device, open banking app, check account, turn device off).

This type of paradigm shift means that not only do people no longer need multiple windows, they have realised they no longer want them either.

Not only that, but as we get more and more smart devices, we don't need or want multiple windows as we'll have multiple devices instead.

Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#14

Post by beloch »

One of Murphy's laws states:

"If you build something so simple that even an idiot can use it, only idiots will."

Nobody will use an OS that meets the needs of the most common user types and stops there. Companies want to deploy the same OS across their entire install base. A modern OS must meet the needs of all its users. That includes power users. The question of whether or not most people really need multiple windows is therefore moot. Some do, so any OS that hopes to be more than a toy OS must support this feature. Full stop. End of discussion.

There are, of course, workarounds in Windows 8 that power users can use, so there's no need to panic just yet. Microsoft is certainly aware of how leery enterprise is of their tablet-desktop fusion. I'd be surprised if Windows 9 doesn't focus on being more desktop friendly.

Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#15

Post by Nursie »

I have 9 things open at the moment. I'm actively using about 7 of these (mail client, eclipse, software loader for embedded device, COM port monitor, device tech reference, source tree in explorer window, firefox for HN...). These are spread across two screens, mostly active working programs to the left and reference material to the right, though not all full screen.

I really don't care what the average user wants, if the system doesn't support my usage pattern then I'm not going to use it.

Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#18

Post by corporalagumbo »

Wow, talk about a pointless discussion. Metro is clearly not and never has been intended to replace desktop productivity work. Desktop mode isn't gone anywhere. Despite the ridiculous alarmism, Microsoft has shown absolutely zero signs of intending to get rid of or deprecate it. The worst thing you can say about Windows 8 is that Microsoft went a little overboard getting rid of the start menu, and the out-of-the-box workarounds require inelegant Metro-Desktop bridging. Damn, what a catastrophe... I'm sure Microsoft won't think up anything better for Windows 9!

Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#19

Post by keithpeter »

vidarh wrote: post #6

As an old Amiga user, I find the "new" movement to full screen UI's amusing. It's back to the future. 1985 all over again. And I like it. I've run most my apps full screen for years, trying to get back to simulating something like the Amiga "screens". Now, I do need to see multiple windows at times. But I also prefer not to most of the time. On the Amiga this was well catered for: - You started with the Workbench scr…

"I'm 95% of the way back there now, with Ubuntu with Unity (even got the global menu bar back - yay!), but there are still annoying niggles in my workflow.."

What you describe sounds very like the way I use dwm/dmenu (suckless tools on Linux) on a small screen. Each application has its own 'tab' (workspace in dwm), those are the private screens. Your 'public' screens sound like the dwm behaviour where you can 'merge' tabs on a temporary basis, then unmerge. There is also 'monacle' and 'floating' mode.

xfce4 can also provide 'private' screens by using the alt-F11 keyboard short cut to remove window decorations, so the program uses the whole screen (no panels or window decoration visible) but the program's menu bar still shows. Recent Firefox seems to break this, but LibreOffice works fine.

All that is on 1024 by 600. On 1920 by 1080 x2 I just use a lot of stacked windows.

Interesting.

Re: Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?

#20

Post by RyanMcGreal »

I've got three monitors - two at 1280x1024 and one at 1366x768 - running on my workstation and there are times I wish they were bigger or I had a fourth.

The idea of only being able to look at one application at a time - and of not having a dead-easy and intuitive way to switch between them - seems like an utterly asinine way to screw up a productive workflow for the mere sake of fashion.

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