The Amazing Rotating Desktop System

[denny]

While I was in the shower, I thought of a UI that I'd really like. I'm sure that I'm not the first person to think of it, and therefore there must be a working (FSVO) implementation out there for X-Windows* - I'm hoping someone can point me at it :)

So, when my PC isn't being a bitch and exploding horribly, I have three monitors. What I'd like is for whichever of the three desktop areas the window with the focus is in, to be on the centre screen. To my mind, the obvious way to achieve this is to treat the desktop as a continuous strip that loops around and re-attaches to itself 'behind' the screens, and then to spin the loop around in the required direction each time you want to change desktop. I'm not sure what the best way to switch desktops is - going to the left screen and clicking on an application would mean chasing it back to the centre screen again, which is obviously too much mouse work. Mouse gesture to roll them around maybe? And a keyboard shortcut, of course :)

If it doesn't already exist, someone should write it for me ;) As noted in the title, you could call it TARDS, which is fun. Or I'm sure the acronym could be bent to fit TARDIS, for more geek cred.


* I'm going to take a wild guess at Enlightenment, given the vast quantity of bells and whistles that particular window manager had collected last time I was using it.

Comments

[babysimon]

Enlightenment had stalled last I looked at it.

You have seen the Compiz rotating cube, right? Sounds like you want a Xinerama version of that.

Compiz has a plugin system.</hint>

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Compiz is certainly the thing you want - now, just to work out if it can be made to display the screens on the left and right sides of the desktop 'cube' in alternate monitors...

[jazzydan.livejournal.com]

This reminds me a "hack" i have for my MacBook, which makes use of the internal motion sensor (normaly used to prevent HD Damage). It allows me to "slap" or "tap" the side of the screen to get the multi-virtual-desktop-doo-dah to switch to the next desktop. Obviously a slap on the left gives you the desktop to the left, and a slap on the right gives you the desktop to the right. Cool huh

You'll never make it in marketing

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

I = Interface to "bend" the acronym

Re: You'll never make it in marketing

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

You'll never make it in marketing

I refer you to the late great prophet, Bill Hicks.

[denari.livejournal.com]

Man that would be confusing surely? So you want the side screens to be there just for reference purposes (documents etc)?
What would happen if you wanted to scroll down in a document on your right screen? You'd click it, it would move to the centre screen, you'd scroll down and then how would you put it back on the right?

Or am I misunderstanding things?

[theorb.livejournal.com]

Just move the mouse pointer along with the windows, no chasing need be done. I think it'd be more confusing then it's worth, though.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good point...

[hythloday.livejournal.com]

Interesting idea. Running with it a bit, since it sounds like you want to take output from all three monitors, but only give input to one, would it make sense to constrain the mouse cursor to the centre screen, and to roll the screens when the cursor was pressed against the left or right side for a certain amount of time?

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that could work - I used to have my virtual desktops set up like that, so if you dragged something across the edge and held for a few seconds, it flicked you to the next one.

Off topic

[missyasmina.livejournal.com]

He's alive!!
*s*

Hope you've had a fun b-day-weekend/week-party :)