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Switcher2: Expose Clone (Window Arranger) for Windows

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wreckedcarzz:
No, Flip3D most definitely have some usability issues. I wonder who at Microsoft figured it would be a good idea to display your open applications like a stack of photographs? It's not exactly the easiest way to do things, as you can't just scan over the screen with your eyes to locate the correct one. What I would recommend to anyone that want some of the convenience of a program like "Switcher 2" but doesn't want to install 3'rd party software, is to use this very nice tip from Cybernetnews and just increase the thumbsize of the regular alt+tab instead :)
-Dirhael (September 07, 2007, 08:29 AM)
--- End quote ---

I must concur! The AERO Win+Tab "Flip 3D" feature is very usable when I don't have Switcher2 open (or on other Vista AERO PC's). With the added "Cool!" effect of the person who owns the machine it is a fast way for me to work with 10+ windows at the same time. Just wish you could close them with it without having to see it first.

sri:
No, Flip3D most definitely have some usability issues. I wonder who at Microsoft figured it would be a good idea to display your open applications like a stack of photographs? It's not exactly the easiest way to do things, as you can't just scan over the screen with your eyes to locate the correct one. What I would recommend to anyone that want some of the convenience of a program like "Switcher 2" but doesn't want to install 3'rd party software, is to use this very nice tip from Cybernetnews and just increase the thumbsize of the regular alt+tab instead :)
-Dirhael (September 07, 2007, 08:29 AM)
--- End quote ---

I must concur! The AERO Win+Tab "Flip 3D" feature is very usable when I don't have Switcher2 open (or on other Vista AERO PC's). With the added "Cool!" effect of the person who owns the machine it is a fast way for me to work with 10+ windows at the same time. Just wish you could close them with it without having to see it first.
-wreckedcarzz (September 24, 2007, 05:53 PM)
--- End quote ---

I use PowerPro to bring up a menu (upon pressing Ctrl) of open windows from which I can easily select a window to close. Easy and convenient.

Check this out: http://screencast.com/t/y9YwQrmlaqx

f0dder:
Why didn't I search DonationCoder for "Windows Expose" before I did the google query? That could have pointed me to Switcher a bit quicker (oh boy, some of the expose clones are unstable rubbish). Especially that it's Vista-only and seems to "use Aero" rather than constantly doing polling screenshots is pretty sweet. And while it isn't 100% smooth on my laptop's Intel video chipset, it's smoother than some of the other clones, and enjoyable to use.

Imho expose goes beyond just eye-candy, it seems pretty darn useful when you have a whole bunch of applications open and need to switch beyond your last few used apps (which Alt+Tab handles OK). The (live) previews, combined with the AppIcon overlay, makes it pretty fast to locate the application you're interested in, and it's wonderful that Switcher is so keyboard-friendly.

As much as I hate to say it, Exposé is one of the nice features coming from Apple (but I wouldn't be surprised if they nicked the idea from some other place :)).

Darwin:
Thanks for reviving this thread, f0dder. I'm interested, but am wondering about the resource "hit" under Vista?

Darwin:
Forget it, f0dder-man - I got off my butt and installed it myself! So far, it's pretty good. Minimal CPU impact (NO CPU impact, really) and working set memory use is 44MB when idle and 59MB when "switching". This is under Vista 64-bit with 4GB RAM, a T9300 Core 2 Duo Core and with 512MB dedicated video memory.

PS just to note that memory use falls off/rises with the number of windows that you have open. I'm down to three windows (versus the five I had open earlier) and memory use has fallen off accordingly: 30MB idle and 42MB when "switching". Now I'm monitoring whether or not this creeps up over time. I'll report back in a few hours!

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