I really like the way this arranges the open windows on the desktop and using Windows "Tile Vertically/Horizontally" just isn't the same. Any options out there?
Apple's Expose: Is there a Windows alternative?
- Thread starter perdomot
- Start date
Other than the cacading and tiling options in Windows, which you mentioned, I don't know of any other sort of Windows management like Expose. Frankly, I think it'd be nigh on impossible to do in Windows ATM, because expose relies on the OpenGL accelerated nature of OSX. It dynamically is able to resize an entire Window, but keep the whole thing intact (even to the extent that movies continue to play when expose is activated). It will be interesting to see what Longhorn brings to the table, as from what I understand it is moving to a 3D accelerated GUI.
However, you also must remember that Windows has the taskbar, while Mac has the dock (which is inferior in many ways to the taskbar). Expose is almost needed to get around the dock's limitations. So, it's not really necessary on Windows (although having it as an option would be slick).
However, you also must remember that Windows has the taskbar, while Mac has the dock (which is inferior in many ways to the taskbar). Expose is almost needed to get around the dock's limitations. So, it's not really necessary on Windows (although having it as an option would be slick).
In OS X all the windows are rendered off-screen. What is displayed on the screen is a compisition rendered as one big window.
Each window, that you see, is pretty much one simple rectangle primitive in 3d space with the texture from the pre-rendered window mapped to it. So all that is needed is to run a single OpenGL-based transformation to resize the windows to miniture sizes.
Microsoft has duplicated this off-screen rendering technic and it will be aviable to users with fast hardware in the form of "Areo Glass", which is what the highest level of eye-candy will be called in Longhorn. Or something like this.
Now I doubt that MS will replicate the Expose' feature to Longhorn users.. that will just make them look stupid for such a blatent copying of a Apple feature, but I wouldn't be suprised at all that you could get something like that in a form of a theme pack or some shareware program somewere.
In linux you can do this too if your using experimental software. Recent versions of X.org's X server supported 'compisition extension', which is what the off-screen rendering stuff is called in Linux, but the software is still rendering in a conventional 2d manner, not in OpenGL, so it's a bit slow.
There are OpenGL-based versions of X.org's X server, that are experimental, that are OpenGL based and a couple people have whipped up hacks to recreate Expose' effect on that just for the hell of it, but for the most part nobody cares just yet.
And while comparing OS X Dock vs Windows Taskbar keep in mind that OS X and Windows handle windows completely differently.
With OS X each application has it's own sort of 'virtual desktop'. It it's own space with it's own windows, and the application menu (file, edit, help, etc, menu entries) are at the top of the screen, always.
If you open 10 browser windows, they all layer in their own space. Then if you open up a word proccessor program it creates a new 'layer' and puts it in their.
So you click on the word proccessor program then all the other non-related windows go the back, you click on a browser, then all the browser windows come to the front. So on and so forth. Each application has it's own space.
So in OS X's dock you have a entry for each application, not for each Window.
In the Window's desktop every window you open up gets added to the general mish-mash that is your desktop. All of them exist in the same space.
You open up 10 browser windows, and a few word documents you end up with a situation were you have a big mix-up and it can be difficult to find what you want. It only has one desktop...
It works fine for single-window'd apps to a certain extent, but if you get multiwindow'd apps.. like Gimp for isntance, it's very easy to get confused between all the different windows and menus and such.
That's why apps like Photoshop, that use lots of small windows, have to create a big 'parent' window to contain all the little windows. In this way it tries to emulate Apple's way of handling windows on MS Windows.
I personally prefer to have windows grouped according to application like OS X vs the general mish-mash like MS Windows.
Each window, that you see, is pretty much one simple rectangle primitive in 3d space with the texture from the pre-rendered window mapped to it. So all that is needed is to run a single OpenGL-based transformation to resize the windows to miniture sizes.
Microsoft has duplicated this off-screen rendering technic and it will be aviable to users with fast hardware in the form of "Areo Glass", which is what the highest level of eye-candy will be called in Longhorn. Or something like this.
Now I doubt that MS will replicate the Expose' feature to Longhorn users.. that will just make them look stupid for such a blatent copying of a Apple feature, but I wouldn't be suprised at all that you could get something like that in a form of a theme pack or some shareware program somewere.
In linux you can do this too if your using experimental software. Recent versions of X.org's X server supported 'compisition extension', which is what the off-screen rendering stuff is called in Linux, but the software is still rendering in a conventional 2d manner, not in OpenGL, so it's a bit slow.
There are OpenGL-based versions of X.org's X server, that are experimental, that are OpenGL based and a couple people have whipped up hacks to recreate Expose' effect on that just for the hell of it, but for the most part nobody cares just yet.
And while comparing OS X Dock vs Windows Taskbar keep in mind that OS X and Windows handle windows completely differently.
With OS X each application has it's own sort of 'virtual desktop'. It it's own space with it's own windows, and the application menu (file, edit, help, etc, menu entries) are at the top of the screen, always.
If you open 10 browser windows, they all layer in their own space. Then if you open up a word proccessor program it creates a new 'layer' and puts it in their.
So you click on the word proccessor program then all the other non-related windows go the back, you click on a browser, then all the browser windows come to the front. So on and so forth. Each application has it's own space.
So in OS X's dock you have a entry for each application, not for each Window.
In the Window's desktop every window you open up gets added to the general mish-mash that is your desktop. All of them exist in the same space.
You open up 10 browser windows, and a few word documents you end up with a situation were you have a big mix-up and it can be difficult to find what you want. It only has one desktop...
It works fine for single-window'd apps to a certain extent, but if you get multiwindow'd apps.. like Gimp for isntance, it's very easy to get confused between all the different windows and menus and such.
That's why apps like Photoshop, that use lots of small windows, have to create a big 'parent' window to contain all the little windows. In this way it tries to emulate Apple's way of handling windows on MS Windows.
I personally prefer to have windows grouped according to application like OS X vs the general mish-mash like MS Windows.
An excellent post all around. As for me, I am generally finding Apple's way decent, but as a whole not an incredible step up from the MS way of Window management. My comments about the Dock were more in reference to its lack of 'staticness' which throws off locating stuff spatially. The Dock still does that stupid dynamic resizing when something new is opened up (that isn't fixed in the dock already). That throws off the ability to remember the locations of programs and such in the dock, except through reference to their position in relation to other programs in the dock. Admittedly, expose is a big help in alleviating some of these problems, as it allows for a quick, sight based window management system. Plus, it just looks grand, especially when you hold down shift
There is something like Exposé in Windows, but it just takes a screeny of each window and sticks the static image on a little window that gets resized. Not very nice to look at if you ask me.
SmallWindows is a free one to try:
http://smallwindows.sourceforge.net/
Another free one is iEx:
http://www.oxygen-inc.com/premium/InsaniSoft/iEx.htm
There's others that are not free, like WinPlosion and Entbloess.
I use the task-switch button on my MX700 mouse. I push the little button and a list of open applications appear on screen. Its far more convenient than pressing the F12.
http://smallwindows.sourceforge.net/
Another free one is iEx:
http://www.oxygen-inc.com/premium/InsaniSoft/iEx.htm
There's others that are not free, like WinPlosion and Entbloess.
I use the task-switch button on my MX700 mouse. I push the little button and a list of open applications appear on screen. Its far more convenient than pressing the F12.
Expose doesn't use F12 by default, but rather F9/F10/F11. You can set it to hot corners on the desktop if you like, but I have mine bound to my extra intellimouse explorer buttons.
Sorry, I've been playing with Dashboard, so I got it confused with F12. I haven't used Expose on my Mac for a while now.
The 3 programs mentioned, besides SmallWindows, have hot corners that you can bind.
The 3 programs mentioned, besides SmallWindows, have hot corners that you can bind.
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