No.548816
What do you think of the Windows 7 taskbar?
I mean the way that it mixes launchers with opened applications. I think it's pretty comfy as you have some muscle memory of where an application is in case you want to switch to it and open it. No need to use the main menu because most of the applications you use will be available on the panel.
Yet I don't see any of the major DE's going for this approach. KDE still uses the Vista type taskbar, with a few launchers on the left and opened applications on the right. There is no fixed order, they are placed in the taskbar ordered by the time you launched it, instead of having a fixed position for you to remember.
I would personally love if KDE tried to go for the Windows 7 approach, emulate the taskbar as much as they can. Except for thumbnails on hover, I hate that.
No.548827
Unity, and Gnome 3 do this.
Personally I am not a fan, having smaller quick icons is a lot easier for me or even better yet, use something like i3s search bar, start typing and press enter. Nothing not needed on your screen.
No.548829
>>548827
Yeah I forgot that Unity does this. But I never liked Unity because of the top 'menubar' and because the panel is not at the bottom.
The same with Gnome 3, I guess the dock might do this but i don't like that it's hidden. Also Gnome 3 is completely a different paradigm from that of Windows or KDE, which im not a big fan of. You can costumize it a lot with extensions but I never could to the point where it would feel great (i made it work much better though).
I guess what I want is basically a Windows 7 linux clone, that looks great and works even better.
No.548837
>>548829
Use a tiling window manager or add more dock icons for things you use, I think you have a bad case of baby duck syndrome. After using different DEs along with Windows 7 because of work I can confidently tell you that the work-flow of windows 7 is shit because of its reliance on giant icons, going through multiple instances of something under the same program is literally pain as I have to click/hover on the icon, wait a second, then browse through an assortment of window previews.
No.548843
>>548837
>>548837
I've never had the use for twms. I like floating windows, either I have them maximized, or resized and I like to move them around. When I use linux I use openbox and launch my applications with dmenu, and yeah it's nice, but I think I like having everything available with a click of the mouse. I have a general idea where everything is. Window grouping is not a big problem for me, I almost never have multiple instances open, and when I do I find the centralized hover method convenient.
No.548845
>>548843
I was refering specifically to i3s search tool, dmenu for launching applications ussually being a lot faster to start typing the name of an application and press enter then take my hand to the mouse, move my mouse down to an icon, and then move your hand back to the keyboard.
No.548849
>>548845
I understand, but I'm not a strong keyboard user, I mean, I use the mouse a lot and use the keyboard practically just for typing. So when I open an application I will still have my hand on the mouse when I start using it.
No.548854
It's annoying and ugly. Whenever I have to use windows 7 (like at work) I turn off aero, use a basic theme, and set icons to small. It's basically the XP taskbar.
No.548855
>>548849
>>548852
Seems like your convincing yourself, try new stuff man and stick in the environment.
No.548857
>>548854
I have aero disabled too. Also it's totally not the xp taskbar, it's completely different because the launchers and tasks are combined.
No.548858
>>548855
I've tried lots of stuff. I think Windows 7 is the comfiest os/de i've used.
No.548859
>>548858
Then why do you have this thread?? Its really just heres my opinion I will now defend it.
No.548860
>>548859
Because I care for linux and I want it to suceed. And in my opinion this is where at least part of it should be moving to.
No.549135
>I mean the way that it mixes launchers with opened applications.
I really don't like that. The classic Mac OS solution was smarter: a list of running applications was not visible all the time, instead it was neatly tucked away in the top right corner.
No.549163
>>548816
>What do you think of the Windows 7 taskbar?
>I mean the way that it mixes launchers with opened applications
Awful once you need to launch multiple instances of program.
Since that board is Windows support forum, please tell me, how to make shortcut on said taskbar launch any amount of instances of some program.
not using Windows myself, just once needed to let Windows user launch multiple instances of VNC client, resorted to putting normal shortcut to normal folder
No.549173
OSX does it better with the dock
No.549184
I bind super+letters to my programs and tile windows.
No.549193
>>549163
Windows tech support is on cuckchan/g/. This is a Gentoo tech support forum.
No.549195
>>549163
>Awful once you need to launch multiple instances of program.
>what is middle click
>what is right click
The former opens another instance of the application, and the latter shows you pic related.
No.549197
>>548849
So basically you are shit at typing so you feel you are faster using mouse than keyboard because you are too lazy to spend some time learning as an investment for an efficiency gain. Instead of admitting the reality that the windows task bar is utter shit, learning how to type well, and using a tiling window manager with dmenu you would rather deny reality completely and hope that others here will provide you the confirmation bias you need to continue living in your deluded state. That's pretty sad.
No.549198
Impressive to see people talking about something related to Windows without faggots ruining the thread
:^)
>>549135
That's wonderful, are there any current DE/WM with that feature?
No.549200
>>549135
Classic Mac OS is incredibly comfy. Also insanely fast on G* series hardware.
can be unstable as shit though
No.549220
>>549197
Windows where you have to type in what you want to find it is retarded as fuck. I'll admit there are some pretty gross aspects to Window's approach, but this autism about
>IT'S LE FASTER TO TYPE xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
needs to stop.
No.549221
>>549220
>Windows
>Window managers*
No.549226
>>548816
it's ok
icons take up space when you need task bars tho
No.549308
>>548816
It's ok until you have multiple instances of the same program running and then they stack and you can't tell which one is which without hovering over the main icon and examining all the running programs.
No.549351
>>549308
Again the Mac approach is smarter: running multiple instances of the same program is not allowed. A program can have multiple windows, but the user still sees them on the dock as a single program. And to have immediate access to any window, pic related is Mission Control.
No.549354
>>549135
I think Gnome 2 had that feature. I never really used it. Also the one in that screenshot is not even on the edge of the corner I think, so it would be harder to move your mouse quickly to open the list. I don't really like this approach tbh, it needs a click to see the list of running applications instead of just being layed out at view.
No.549358
>>549197
I actually use my keyboard a lot, for text editor commands, browser shortcuts, screen capturing and file uploading commands etc. I never said i'm bad at typing, I consider myself a decent typist. I've used text based launchers like I said (dmenu), I guess I like to click things too. You sound angry.
No.549361
>>549226
I don't understand, what do you mean with "when you need task bars"? The icons are part of the taskbar, they are the tasks. You have a lot of space to pin all the applications you use, and opening those wont take more space, and if you just pin a few you have a lot of empty space to open new tasks. Most of Windows 7 screenshots I've seen have taskbars that are not near full.
No.549368
>>549308
>>549351
Well on Windows you still see them as a single program on the taskbar, you hover the mouse over it to have access to all the instances, which I think is convenient enough, I wouldn't like to open Mission Control everytime to access an instance (window).
texttofoolflood
No.549372
>>549368
On the Mac, as I recall, clicking on a program brings ALL of its windows to the front.
No.549376
>>549372
Well that's not very nice, sometimes I just want to bring one instance/window to the front.
No.549405
I've always disliked quick launch application trays and I remove them immediately on whatever system I'm on. I prefer to actually use my desktop to access programs quickly since that's what it's there for.
No.549412
>>549405
Pic related in case that was confusing.
I've always found it rather perplexing how people jerk themselves off over their desktop wallpaper instead of actually using it.
No.549416
>>549412
>leaving shit all over the desktop
>thinking that's smart
I guess Windows users do that because their app launcher menu is a chaotic, unusable piece of shit. Pic related: an app launcher that is not a piece of shit.
No.549419
>>549405
>>549410
>>549412
Yes that's good use of the desktop. I usually have it covered by an application though, and I find it faster to launch from the taskbar than minimizing all my windows to see it.
No.549420
>>549416
I practically have every application I launch through out the day on my taskbar. And when I need to open something that's not pinned I just use the search box in the main menu real quick.
No.549422
>>549412
>ZSNES
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
No.549457
>>549422
When your shitty emulator has anything near the same level of reliability and usability when it comes to netplay maybe I'll finally consider using it, Squarepusher. I doubt it ever will though since you didn't have to code it while people were still running dial-up.
No.549459
>>549416
Nope, that's definitely still a piece of shit. Appfinders built into menus never seem to work well because they take over your arrow control due to the text interface and prevent the same kind of fast menu navigation that is possible with a traditional menu. And if I'm not mistaken doesn't Vista/7 have that crap anyway?
It's better to keep menu and appfinder separate. Xfce4-appfinder/i3 search tool/Krunner/etc are all better than those half-assed compromises in the MATE or Whisker Menus.
No.549464
>>549412
Yes, I use my icon-less file-less desktop all the time. Its what my windows sit and move around on top of.
No.549465
>>549464
So literally not a desktop then?
No.549470
>>549465
What would you call the space where open and active windows are placed and viewed? A workspace? I'll point you to the term "Virtual Desktop".
No.549471
>>548816
GNUstep sorta kinda does this. If you pinned a program to the right and you open it it will stay on the right so you can kill it or whatever you want. Anything not pined still opens in the bottom left.