Computer Desktop - How do you use yours?

[MacRS4]

Had a curious conversation last week about how people using OSX tend to use a lot of windowed apps and yet when they use Windows they go full screen. Same with most normal Windows users - they tend to use full screen for apps.

I know this *could* be because of the behaviour of the buttons being different, but it's a curiosity isn't it? Completely different behaviour regardless?

If I'm editing a word doc I'll have it in a Window to the left of the screen and then a browser or whatever to the right - I don't do that when in Windows, I tend to full screen.

Would be interested in people's thoughts on this

 

[Feek]

I very rarely use applications full screen whether I'm using Windows or OS X.

Another thing that I’ve noticed - and again I do this myself - is that my Windows desktop tends to get cluttered with files, folders, shortcuts etc.... whereas my OSX one doesn’t. It remains clear. Another one of those usage oddities?

This is true for me as well. My work PC has lots of shortcuts, files etc on the desktop and so did my PC when I had one at home but my Mac generally just has my main HD and my home drive. I use it for short term storage when I'm doing a lot of file shifting or, like now, I have a couple of .m4v files on there but they'll get moved into iTunes shortly and it'll be clear again.

 

[Spyhop]

SizeUp + custom 3-partition grid + keyboard hotkeys for window position and size

=

Make full use of 1920x1200 all the time without faffing about with the mouse or dodgy green buttons.

Both Windows and Mac are lacking without 3rd party utilities.

 

[whitecrook]

Does the Mac desktop still have the concept of 'Put Away'? i.e. your working on some stuff, drag to desktop then at the end of the day Choose put away and it puts if back on the HD somewhere?

 

[bigredshark]

Can't say I use full screen on any platform except on my 13" laptop (Windows - outlook isn't much use windowed on 1280x800). Just a waste of higher res to make things full screen surely?

 

[MacRS4]

You're right - it is a waste. Walking around looking at our users it seemed some 90% of the Windows users use all their apps full screen.

Looking at the Mac users, which admittedly are not huge in number, hardly any of them use full screen.

I just found that interesting.

Incidentally, top find on the SizeUp app! Great bit of coding.

 

[Dewotter]

I've found the visual footprint of OSX's windows themselves to be a key reason why I don't full screen windows as much as I do on Windows. Take Finder for example, it has the same panes, links etc as Explorer in Windows 7 yet looks and feels signifcantly more cleaner in comparison.