Author Topic: Desktops V1.0 - a virtual desktop manager from Sysinternals (Read 32,661 times)

nontroppo · « **on:** August 24, 2008, 10:27 AM »

Hi guys, looks like the sysinternals guys have just released their own take on virtual desktops:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc817881.aspx

A whopping 62kb download (why don't they use bittorrent or a dedicated server farm, my download took ages!), it offers a keyboard friendly, minimalist alternative to some of the other.

Here is some other discussions on VD software over the recent past (my personal fave is Dexpot, though its bugs are slowly driving me off it).

http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=7090.0
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=5010.0
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=10721.0

kartal · « **Reply #1 on:** August 24, 2008, 06:11 PM »

It is very nice. However it is very limited. For example It cannot share application between desktops which makes it very hard to use becasue all my applications that startup with the system works only in desktop1 and I cannot move-copy them to the new desktop.

Althou I like the minimalist approach they took.

fenixproductions · « **Reply #2 on:** August 24, 2008, 07:27 PM »

2kartal
I can say you're lucky if this works for you after all.

For me: this is the first tool from SysInternals which doesn't work like it supposed to. I have the same desktop four times only. I cannot set this up to have i.e. Opera in D1 and TotalCommander on D2. Each application is available on each desktop. When I maximalize an app on one of these... it gets maximized in others too. Same functionality built in nVidia drivers works without any problems.

The biggest issue might be "placebo" imho. In any Linux distro I've used such functionality was very, very comfortable. In Windows - did not. I've tried many external solutions and also drivers related ones but each one of them lacks "something" which I cannot define.

4wd · « **Reply #3 on:** August 25, 2008, 12:40 AM »

Quote from: fenixproductions on August 24, 2008, 07:27 PM

2kartalFor me: this is the first tool from SysInternals which doesn't work like it supposed to. I have the same desktop four times only. I cannot set this up to have i.e. Opera in D1 and TotalCommander on D2. Each application is available on each desktop. When I maximalize an app on one of these... it gets maximizet in others too. Same functionality built in nVidia driversworks without any problems.

Exactly the same problem, (or "feature"), here - nothing but Desktop 1 replicated 4 times along with all application windows.

Shades · « **Reply #4 on:** August 25, 2008, 12:50 AM »

Over here all apps were opened in the 1st desktop.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #5 on:** August 25, 2008, 10:57 AM »

Also, after you run it, it can't be closed, you can only terminate the process

Bronislawa · « **Reply #6 on:** August 26, 2008, 07:37 AM »

It seems great but can only create 4 virtual desktops. I currently use Cool Desk, which can create up to 9 virtual desktops. It works pretty fine for me.

40hz · « **Reply #7 on:** August 26, 2008, 10:46 PM »

Quote from: fenixproductions on August 24, 2008, 07:27 PM

2kartal
I can say you're lucky if this works for you after all.

For me: this is the first tool from SysInternals which doesn't work like it supposed to. I have the same desktop four times only.

It behaves like some apprentice coder's first foray into programming a utility.

Same here. Hotkeys work erratically when they do work at all (about 25% of the time.) and can't be reassigned on my machine - and I'm using a Microsoft keyboard. What's up with that? All my other apps let me map shortcuts.

Open apps are also replicated to every desktop.

I'm amazed this came out of SysInternals.

Dormouse · « **Reply #8 on:** August 27, 2008, 12:19 AM »

Quote from: 40hz on August 26, 2008, 10:46 PM

I'm amazed this came out of SysInternals.

Maybe MS is finally exerting an influence

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #9 on:** August 27, 2008, 12:39 AM »

Sounded cool at first, but I got discouraged due to others experiences. I am still looking for something like this myself for Windows (currently using Vista/XP Desktop Manager, I think that's the name...). I don't want to boot to Ubuntu just to have my 256 desktops (I normally use 25, but Ubuntu supports up to 256, and I tried it out of curiosity - interesting, but you can't see anything on an individual desktop

).

Ehtyar · « **Reply #10 on:** August 27, 2008, 12:52 AM »

Desktops is using the Windows Desktop and Window Station API to switch between desktops, as opposed to the approach taken by most other application involving hiding designated windows and making other visible per virtual desktop. The windows desktop API uses a static heap of 48mb to be shared between desktops. The CreateDesktop API used by Desktops by default allocates 12mb for each desktop, thereby limiting the number of desktops to 4. This limitation can be overcome by using CreateDesktopEx which allows you to specify the initial heap size, but apparently Microsoft deemed this unnecessary, perhaps supporting the theory that this application was someone's first step into programming at Microsoft

.

Ehtyar.

fenixproductions · « **Reply #11 on:** August 27, 2008, 01:27 AM »

I've took a look into Desktops forum and I am simply amazed by the level of ignorance. For "multiplying same desktop" problem the answer is something like: "The only suggestion I can think of is selective elimination of other software (stopping services, exiting processes, perhaps with the help of Autoruns, etc.).".
Why would I need Desktops without any other software? I know that the purpose of such utility is to simplify UI overload during your work BUT not by turning everything down. I have Process Explorer for this.

Well, it's like hearing: "if my application raises Your antivirus false-alarms then switch antivir off" ;(

kartal · « **Reply #12 on:** August 27, 2008, 01:43 AM »

I am officially waiting a desktop software coming out of Nirsoft!!!

Sysinternals apps are nice but they would just miss something, somethings would be overlooked constantly. For example they have "zoom it" very nice. But when you are in paint mode you cannot see where the paint brush-cursor is, all they needed to add was a cross or brush indicator!!

justice · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2008, 12:06 PM »

I've not settled either on any virtual desktop solution, Dexpot comes close, but has too many options, is not polished enough and it's probably because windows isn't built for it.

MerleOne · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2008, 12:44 PM »

Otaku software has a nice Multidesktop software, but not free. It's called Deskspace : http://www.otakusoftware.com/deskspace/index.html

I rely on Dexpot and before I used VirtualWin which I found quite stable compared to other solutions.

MerleOne · « **Reply #15 on:** September 02, 2008, 11:24 AM »

GiveAwayOfTheDays offers today AltDesk...
www.giveawayoftheday.com

justice · « **Reply #16 on:** September 02, 2008, 01:21 PM »

I'm using Vista/XP Virtual Desktop Manager now. workds nice

Quote

One of Vista's most talked-about new features is the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). A new set of thumbnail API's can be used to access thumbnails of open windows. This virtual desktop program takes advantage of this new API and uses some tricks of its own to provide a powerful virtual desktop manager with a full screen thumbnail based preview. You can have as many desktops as you want and can seamlessly switch between them.

But wait! What if you still are using XP? Don't worry, Vista/XP Virtual Desktops provides support for XP as well, although window previews are not live since XP doesn't have DWM.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #17 on:** September 02, 2008, 02:48 PM »

Justice: that is one of the best virtual desktop managers I've seen!
It is definitelly worth one topic of its own

Lashiec · « **Reply #18 on:** September 03, 2008, 12:41 AM »

I suppose it was improved in the 0.9 versions, when I tried it months ago during my search for the perfect Exposé + Spaces clone (result: there's no acceptable clone), the description sounded fantastic, but I never witnessed a program failing to live up such claims so spectacularly. And it leaked memory like hell.

BTW, Dexpot was updated a couple of days ago. Better Vista support, and now runs in x64 Windows.

Armando · « **Reply #19 on:** September 03, 2008, 04:23 AM »

Quote from: justice on September 02, 2008, 01:21 PM

I'm using Vista/XP Virtual Desktop Manager now. workds nice

hmmmm... It doesn't work very well on my 2 years old laptop. Slow. Too bad.

justice · « **Reply #20 on:** September 03, 2008, 08:37 AM »

Yeah after a day's use (leaving the pc on overnight at the end of the workday), Vista/XP Virtual Desktop Manager is now using 160MB haha (private working set)

jgpaiva · « **Reply #21 on:** September 03, 2008, 10:38 AM »

Oh, that's too bad.

A memory leak really kills it. But it does have good prospects

Paul Keith · « **Reply #22 on:** September 03, 2008, 11:10 AM »

Quote from: wreckedcarzz on August 27, 2008, 12:39 AM

Sounded cool at first, but I got discouraged due to others experiences. I am still looking for something like this myself for Windows (currently using Vista/XP Desktop Manager, I think that's the name...). I don't want to boot to Ubuntu just to have my 256 desktops (I normally use 25, but Ubuntu supports up to 256, and I tried it out of curiosity - interesting, but you can't see anything on an individual desktop ).

How do you set your virtual desktops to not eat the panel?

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #23 on:** September 09, 2008, 03:32 AM »

Quote from: Paul Keith on September 03, 2008, 11:10 AM

Quote from: wreckedcarzz on August 27, 2008, 12:39 AM
Sounded cool at first, but I got discouraged due to others experiences. I am still looking for something like this myself for Windows (currently using Vista/XP Desktop Manager, I think that's the name...). I don't want to boot to Ubuntu just to have my 256 desktops (I normally use 25, but Ubuntu supports up to 256, and I tried it out of curiosity - interesting, but you can't see anything on an individual desktop ).

How do you set your virtual desktops to not eat the panel?

"Eat the panel"? The desktop manager stays the same size, just looks like a ton of pixels. I use Compiz to navigate through it. Good fun when you have a teacher looking over your shoulder wondering where that Firefox window of YouTube went...

Paul Keith · « **Reply #24 on:** September 12, 2008, 09:20 PM »

Hmm... it must work differently. I swear when I tried the gnome workspace switcher, I needed to add 4 to it's 4 panels to achieve something that exceeds it's max panel ability resulting in tons of square boxes...