It all makes me wonder why both Windows and OSX are so unwilling to either explore more powerful window management, or at least provide APIs to enable power users to build their own.
[1] : http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/13784/keep-a-window-on-top-wi...
You will wonder how many users have single-threaded, single-windowed mindset (hint: vast majority). No offense here, having multiple windows on desktop really distracts and confuses them, harming their productivity.
APIs are provided though, at least in Windows. Aston Desktop[1] is still working on Windows 7.
having multiple windows on desktop really distracts and confuses them, harming their productivity.
Take a look around at the desktops of the majority of windows and osx users. Not the power users, who are a small minority of the user base of both OS'es, but the "I merely _use_ a computer to do task _X_" type users.
Once you start to look, you'll notice a trend. An overwhelming majority of them will be running every single application on their desktop in window maximized mode. And this will be true no matter the size of any monitors they have attached. The closest they get to "window management" is to poke the icon in their toolbar/dock for whatever it is next that they want to see on their screen.
Both OS'es likely do have API's to allow for an 'always on top' setting, but with a userbase that is 99% "run everything full screen" at the outset there is no room for those users to make use of an 'always on top' window (because it too would be maximized, defeating the usefulness of the 'on top' setting). Therefore neither maker likely sees much value in exposing those API's.
However the majority of normal users don't care.
I also eventually got bored (using GNU/Linux since 1995) and always use whatever is the default WM of a specific distribution.
This is yet another reason why GNU/Linux lost the desktop, non-technical people and those that have to support them, don't really like choice.
Not really sure what you mean here, I choose a particular WM setup which best serves my workflow, and that's pretty much it, it's not as if you have to continously tweak your setup.
>This is yet another reason why GNU/Linux lost the desktop
Can't really see how it 'lost' the desktop, it never had it, nor was it ever in the runnning to claim it, same goes for OSX despite having a ton of product placement, straight up advertising and riding the huge wave of pro-Apple consumerism in the mobile space.
In short, I don't believe for a second that standardising on a particular UI would have made any difference in 'drawing the masses', if super wealthy Apple at it's prime couldn't, then neither would Linux.
Also in the old days it was fashionable to try all WM and post screenshots of our setups, specially on weekends.
There were quite a few web sites to share themes even.
Sure I am, but that meme was (still is?) repeated as a joke, did anyone actually believe it ?
>Also in the old days it was fashionable to try all WM and post screenshots of our setups, specially on weekends.
People still do that, there's a reddit sub dedicated to it: https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn ,but then again there's a reddit sub dedicated to just about everything.
Just like there are stamp collectors, train spotters, rock climbers, ballroom dancers etc, there are people who find enjoyment in tweaking/expressing themselves through 'pimping' their computer environment, I see nothing wrong with that although it's not my cup of tea.
After having configured my environment of choice according to my specific needs I leave it alone and instead waste my spare time on places like Hacker News ;)
And not that anyone will see this now, but most people in this thread were responding to my "OSX and Windows don't offer powerful window management solutions" specifically in reference to my comment about floating windows. That's just one example of many things OSX/Windows doesn't allow the user to do.
Not to be too dramatic, but i3 has made me more productive, more focused and happier while working. I now fear ending up in an environment where using Linux isn't possible. It's really that good. But really, tiling window managers are that good.
I also used Fluxbox and Openbox and like both very much, but they are kind of basic.
Working with any of those is both faster and easier than any of Windows or MacOS, for me at least.