Mac publications are all taking a new eye to the apps and features that Leopard is 'killing,' and Dan's post about the
7 apps that Leopard kills inspired me to check out the current market of virtual desktop managers for Mac OS X. Since I'm on a MacBook Pro however, the only one I could really put through the ringer was
VirtueDesktops, which is fine since it seems like a feature-packed and very capable virtual desktop manager. Hence, another post in an ongoing theme here at TUAW: Why wait for Leopard?
While we didn't get a full shakedown of Spaces at WWDC 2006, VirtueDesktops seems to offer the same functionality, with quite a few tricks up its sleeve. Barb
blogged VirtueDesktops in February 2005, but it has certainly come a ways since then. It still offers a basic set of four desktops with the ability to add more, and it's very keyboard shortcut-friendly. Here's a quick rundown of the rest of this highly customizable desktop manger:
- Eye candy - a wide variety of the standard Aqua transitions are available for switching between desktops. This alone is worth showing off to friends, even if you aren't into the multiple desktop thing
- AppleScript-able
- Extensible with plugins
- Works with Growl to let you know which desktop you've switched to (you can name them for better organization and recognition)
- Sticky windows and apps - you can bind apps to one desktop or another, or specify them to show on all desktops. This is handy, for example, if Mail.app is 'stuck' to a 'Communication' desktop. Clicking on Mail.app in the dock will automatically switch to the required desktop
There's even more to this virtual desktop utility, and since Leopard is taking a while to cook, why not
check it out? VirtueDesktops is donationware and a Universal Binary.
Hey, it ain't no big thing! Just the biggest launch since Macintosh, the most fundamental deliberate shift of one of the most iconic companies to ever build an empire upon Earth, right? Honestly, I was pretty surprised to see any line here in Knoxville, Tennessee. But the West Town Apple Store had a pretty decent crowd, and even the little ol' AT&T store had a showing.
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