At 09:08 AM 8/25/04 -0400, Christopher Smith wrote: > >On Aug 25, 2004, at 12:40 AM, Mark D Lew wrote: >> >> I rarely have several windows open at once. We went through this with >> the Expos� discussion as well. I just don't like having more than a >> couple of windows open anywhere. It feels like clutter to me. I'd >> rather close them and open them again later when I need them. I tend >> to close any applications I'm not currently using, too, even though I >> know it isn't really necessary. It just bothers me having them all >> open. Sort of like having all the drawers and cupboards open in the >> kitchen. >> > >Ha ha! That's strange, because I LIKE having all my drawers and >cupboards open (to the distress of my wife) but I don't like tabbed >browsing! Maybe I should give it another look, since it seems to suit >my personality type so well... 8-)
Working styles are amazingly different. If I have to have something, I like tabs and taskbars better than other features because I maximize all windows. I even used to use the auto-hide function with the taskbar, but now I've got a utility to minimize everything that's typically running into the system tray (mail, browser, audio editor, Finale, etc.). That way only the unusual items and active programs are on the taskbar and the bulk of my screen is occupied by a single task. (I tend to use ALT+TAB and CTL+TAB rather than taskbar or tabs to switch between programs and documents, not my trackball or tablet.) Once in a while I'll put windows side-by-side when I have a drag-and-drop thing going, or I'm comparing two documents. But that's fairly rare. I've never really found much of a use for multiple visible windows with screen real estate so tight. And I'm spoiled by Opera because it's been a one-instance browser for a long time. No cluttering up the screen or taskbar with multiple instances, and I can drag the toolbars wherever I want them to keep them out of my eyeballs. Plus I use Opera's F11 full-screen browsing as often as possible ... nothing on the screen but the page, not even browser icons or address bar. It's like the full-screen edit mode in photo editors. Idle question that I've wondered about: Do Macs maximize yet? They didn't used to -- there was always stuff around the edges, and all the various system toolbars & menu things couldn't be hidden (I may not have been in the presence of power users, and I've never used a Mac myself). I have no patience for some Windows programming teams' ideas of "design" when I'm working. I loathe programs that won't maximize to full screen, don't handle large fonts (which I use to have easy reading while getting a very full screen at the same time), and use non-standard menu bars and widgets. Of course, I'm so easily distracted that I have to have nothing but my task in front of me. All the beeping and flashing are turned off, all the window open/close expansion-contraction illusions, etc. I suppose when screens are actually desk-size and I can drag documents around with my fingers and out of sight, then I'll actually enjoy windowing. But for now, there's not enough room for my eyes! Dennis _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
