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Slate: a Mac OS X window manager for power users

mauriciogardini.com

71–74 of 74 posts

Re: Slate: a Mac OS X window manager for power users

#71
Is there a window manager for power users that don't like tiling window managers? Half my windows are too big to be tiled (browser, IDE, Inkscape, GIMP, etc.) Plus, I have the desktop background for a reason: I want to see it. I don't want an austere screen paved over with windows like a city with no grass. I like my large windows to not be completely maximized, so I have some empty space. I like having my windows a little disorderly, not quite properly aligned, for the same reason Japanese Go boards are a little too small for 19 stones to fit: nature doesn't create orderly grids.

I really miss sawfish, though. I like Alt-Tab to activate the actual window instead of a little a row of icons (it'd be even cooler if it would turn the inactive windows greyscale). I like being able to turn off window decorations per app. Sticky windows don't flicker when you change desktops, like they do on Lion. And, of course, a config file for the things you always want in the same place.

Re: Slate: a Mac OS X window manager for power users

#72
post #2

Am I the only one who hardly sees any value in window managers? About 99% of the time, I'm wanting only one window visible at a time, with others quickly accessible via cmd-tab and cmd=`.

I'm using the "awesome WM" under Linux and I find it much more convenient to have "virtual desktops" and always organize them the same way (1 for personal GMail + Google Docs, 2 for terminals, 3 for Emacs, 4 for professional email, 5 for an IDE, 6 for browsing the web, etc.) and be able to directly go to the one desktop that I need using a shortcut. It's beats tabbing / cycling between opened apps any day. As a side…

Just moved to a MBP Retina for the hardware after using Linux for years, and the main thing I miss is Awesome WM. After looking at Divvy, SizeUp and several others, finally settled on ShiftIt (primarily because of key shortcuts for resizing horizontally by custom percentages), but may have to give Slate a try...ShiftIt helps, but still no comparison to a decent Tiling WM like Awesome.

https://github.com/fikovnik/ShiftIt

Re: Slate: a Mac OS X window manager for power users

#73
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, exactly, is your definition of "power user"?

Can't speak for the OP, but mine is someone who is sufficiently comfortable that they will happily accept increased complexity for improved productivity. (Like so many labels it spans a range on a continuum, but the thresholds should be fairly intuitively obvious.)

That's a fine definition, but I don't think it implies that power users cannot be satisfied with OS X window management.

Re: Slate: a Mac OS X window manager for power users

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people -- I'm one of them -- find that switching whole windows seems to pop the mental stack. Whereas turning my head left and right does not do so. Most programming requires at least 4 logical views, IMO: 1. The code 2. The result of the code (web page, test results etc) 3. Documentation that supports coding 4. A control mechanism (ie, a terminal) No doubt there will be quibbling that some of these are reall…

Lots of people -- I'm one of them -- find that switching whole windows seems to pop the mental stack. That's really interesting! I have the opposite problem - switching windows doesn't pop my mental stack, but if there's anything on the screen other than what I'm trying to focus on, it keeps diverting my attention and ruining my concentration. Fullscreen emacs on OSX (without even the system menu bar!) is just awesom…

The trouble with this, ergonomically speaking, is that you spend all day with your head cocked to the left. In the long run, that's less than ideal for your neck and shoulders.

Of course, most window management schemes put people into that territory. Tiling WMs seem to optimize for maximizing occupied screen real estate, but I haven't seen one that optimizes around arguably more important factors, such as minimizing damage to the body (head, neck, eyes). Instead, you tend to see a lot of layouts that pretty much leave someone looking at the bottom left corner of a console window in the bottom left corner of a big screen 80% of their work hours. Not physically optimal, and in fact, an anti-pattern.

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