Desktops of the week for 10/15/06

Here we go with another edition of TUAW Desktops ladies and gents. You readers are submitting some great stuff to our desktops Flickr group, and since our last edition was a nice overall roundup, I decided to pick a theme for this week: function. I'm a big fan of making the most out of my available desktop real estate, and the desktops I've chosen each exhibit an interesting perspective on this practice. In this edition we have desktops ranging from über-minimal yet uniquely-functional to a full-on Exposé overload, and even a pseudo-multi-dock environment. But without further adieu, let's get down to business:


First up is shorts by pacificbro. By his own admission this isn't so much a clever, intricate desktop setup, though it's more of a functional use of the wallpaper space with many common (and some not-so) keyboard shortcuts he needs to get around his daily business. Too bad I didn't see this before the My Dream App stuff started - I just got inspired to submit an app idea that swaps out shortcuts like this on the desktop space depending on what app you're currently working in. A simple F11 Exposé keystroke would reveal all (or most) of the shortcuts you need to work. *Sigh* - maybe I can get in on round two. But speaking of Exposé, let's keep moving.

Sure, Exposé in action might just be Fictive dB's attempt at gaming the system, but to give him the benefit of the doubt, I had to include this shot just in case he actually works like this (hey, I've seen similar examples from Mr. J on stage - it could happen). I'm not even going to bother counting the open windows, so let's just say that Fictive dB must be pretty busy - to put it lightly.


Last but not least is Mac Forest Desktop by slh06, containing three separate instances of a dock-like object, all performing different tasks. slh06 added notes to the submission, allowing everyone to mouseover and see exactly what apps are doing their thang on one of the most functional and timely (that's a list of timers on the right side, near the Dock) desktops I've ever seen.

There you have it for another edition of TUAW Desktops. Keep those submissions to our Flickr group coming (and check out our announcement post for rules and guidelines), and we'll be sure to exhibit the best of the best each weekend.
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