In college, I had 9 virtual desktops in a 3x3 configuration.  In the top left, I'd run Gaim, Mozilla (for tabbed web browsing, of course), and e-mail (I used to use just the terminal based Pine, then Mutt, and finally ended up using the GUI Evolution after a summer affair with Outlook).  In the desktop to the right, I'd have a Emacs frame or two open with whatever coding I was doing, and a xterm window for compiling.  (Emacs, preexisting GUIs, already had a notion of "window" as one part of a split screen.  So Emacs uses the term "frame" when referring to GUI windows.)  Whenever I had a new task, such as writing a last minute economics paper in TeX, I devoted an entire desktop to that purpose.  I rarely used more than four desktops at a time, but it was nice having all those new windows spilling into extra space whenever I started another last minute assignment or distraction. 

 

Remember how I said my virtual desktops were in a 3x3 configuration?  The position of each desktop in that grid was important.  My preferred way to switch desktops was by moving the mouser cursor to the edge of the screen and "pushing."  I could finish reading my e-mail in the top left desktop, move the cursor to the right and push over to a different desktop and start coding.  Push back to left, and I'd end up where I started.  It was liking having a huge workspace monitor, but only being able to see 1/9th of it at a time, and without the added cost of actually purchasing a big ass monitor.

 

In Microsoft Windows (I am a Microsoft developer, for the MSN Messenger servers), the user interface always left me feeling cramped.  My e-mail and my code were on the same desktop, for goodness sakes!  Switch to Visual Studio to edit code, switch to the command prompt to compile, switch Outlook to read the e-mail I just received, minimize Outlook and go back to coding.  I felt like I spent all my time switching individual windows.  I decided I had to get two monitors; a single screen simply would not cut it.  A couple months after starting full time at Microsoft, I saw Costco selling cheap LCD monitors, and I bought a couple to bring into work.  That worked out pretty well.  I dedicated the secondary monitor to Visual Studio, and could compile and read e-mail and documentation in the primary monitor.

 

Dual monitors are great for a desktop, but with a laptop, would I really want to lug around an external monitor?  That would defeat the portability purpose of a laptop, and look a bit odd in meetings (code in meetings?  Never...).  My ideal solution was to find a good virtual desktop manager for Windows.  One that let me have at least four desktops, and switch desktops by moving the cursor.

 

The Windows XP Powertoy Virtual Desktop Manager, unfortunately, is clunky for me.  It switches desktops with a slow preview window, which shows an image of what each desktop looks like, and you click on the desktop you want; green numbered buttons in the taskbar; or hotkeys, which I'm not a fan of.  All I want to do is send my cursor flying into a different desktop.

 

After some searching, I found VirtuaWin, which (almost) meets my needs.  It supports up to 9 desktops, and can switch among them by moving the cursor to the edge of the screen.  The time the cursor has be at the edge is adjustable too, so I can get the right feel for how hard to "push."  But it's not perfect.  Sometimes, it feels a little slow when switching desktops.  And when there's little CPU to spare, VirtuaWin seems to get confused.  Windows that were in the first desktop end up in the desktop I just switched to, even though I didn't drag them there.  But so far, it's the best thing I've found.

 

...except maybe LiteStep (with whatever it uses for virtual desktops) has more potential, and certainly would make my computer a hell of a lot cooler looking, but I haven't played with that yet.

People have been asking me how I like my new laptop.

 

So far, I love it.

 

I bought an IBM ThinkPad R52 from Newegg.  Of course, this was before they threw in a free 512 MB of RAM, $20 instant savings, and a $100 mail in rebate.  In fact, at the time I made the purchase, they were advertising that it was on sale and the price would change in a few days.  A few days later, Newegg updated their site to say the sale price was extended, and then after that the price dropped!  Oh well.  I'm still happy with it.

 

I was looking for a laptop with a 1400x1050 screen, because I would be using it for work, and I'm not satisified with a mere 1280x1024 screen; I have dual 1280x1024 monitors on my desktop at work.  I also wanted internal WiFi, internal Bluetooth, and at least an 80 GB hard drive.  I didn't care about RAM because I figured I'd just max it out myself, and RAM is usually an easy thing to upgrade.  Getting an IBM was a definite plus (I had to get a ThinkPad before Lenovo started designing and manufacturing them.  But who knows if Lenovo will be good or bad for ThinkPads?).

 

Last week I upgraded the RAM to 2 GB, the official maximum capacity.  One of the memory slots was conveniently placed at the bottom of the laptop, with a cover specifically for accessing that memory slot.  Getting RAM into there was trivial.

 

The other memory slot was hidden underneath the keyboard (or so I had guessed).  I took apart my laptop (removed the keyboard and keyboard bezel, mostly by hoping I was taking out the right screws) to replace the stock 512 MB stick with a 1 GB stick.  After playing around for a bit, the laptop booted up with 2 GB of RAM and 2 hours of Memtest86 found no defects.  Yes, I was quite proud of myself for saving a whole bunch of money on RAM and doing it myself.

 

The next day, I find out there are manuals on maintaining ThinkPads.  I could have saved myself a lot of fumbling around.

 

About a week later, I find out that there are not only manuals, but also freaking videos!  Okay, this is ridiculous customer support.  It almost makes me wish that I had bought a very basic system and upgraded everything myself.  I'm sure it would've been cheaper, and I would've had fun doing it.

 

Oh well.

 

Anyway, I'm considering what to (I mean, if I should) upgrade next.  I'm considering getting a nice 7200 RPM 100 GB hard drive to replace the 5400 RPM 80 GB hard drive.  I don't really need the extra 20 GB, but it should give me higher performance due to greater data density.  I also would like a faster processor, but the fastest officially supported CPU is a 2.26 Ghz Pentium M 780, and as far as I can tell, that's the fastest Pentium M that Intel currently makes.  An extra .4 GHz doesn't seem like it'd be worth the trouble or price.  I wonder if I'll be able to stick in a mobile dual core CPU...(I can dream, right?)

 

Unfortunately, the mouse doesn't work too well on glossy surfaces.  Glossy surfaces such as the tops of the shiny tables at work in conference rooms.  The optical sensor just struggles.  I have to use other people's documents as mouse pads ("It's not your work; it's my mouse")!

 

To make matters worse, it's a seizure mouse.  It has a small plastic clear layer at the bottom, which you can see its red light through.  I'm using it on my couch now, and I can see it blinking on and off really quickly.  If I pick it up a couple of inches, the mouse starts to blink like the seizure robots in that one episode of the Simpsons (you know, where they go to Japan and Homer walks through the paper walls...).  I'm surprised Stowaway didn't include any warnings with their product.

 

This same mouse (well, maybe with different colors and stuff) has been rebranded by bunches of different companies.  You can find mice that look suspiciously similiar here, here, and here.

 

I guess ThinkOutside has some drivers that make it work on my hx4700 Pocket PC, but I suspect that any Bluetooth mouse will work with their drivers.

 

Oh well.  I'm now on a lookout for a better compact Bluetooth mouse...

 

(This looks kinda cool.)