Put as much information on the screen as possible.
And the corollary:
If you can't fit more information on the screen, then write a new X window manager.
As a consequence you would frequently see people proudly posting window manager screenshots that looked something like this one I found on the net:
Thinking about this led me to a recent epiphany about how I work, and how better to arrange my desktop.
I found that I a) get distracted by bright shiny things, and b) only actively use one application at a time. Surprising, but true. I ocassionally cut and paste text from one application to another, but I rarely read two different things at once (one with each eye, presumably?) and/or type into two windows simultaneously.
A few experiments later, here is my new desktop:
(Yes, that image loaded correctly. It's just black. All black. As in, there is nothing at all there.)
A simple panel pops out only when I mouse over it:
Most of the applications I routinely use either have tabs (such as Firefox, Konsole, etc), a MDI [1] interface (such as Eclipse), or a three-panel layout (such as Thunderbird), or buffers (such as Emacs). So the solution to simplifying my desktop was one of reducing distraction.
I launch each of the applications that I need and immediately maximize it to the full dimensions of my screen. No clocks, no taskbars, no CPU load meters, no biff-style email indicators, nothing flashing, blinking, or pulsing. Nothing transparent or translucent. Just one application in sight at a time.
Here's what the entire screen looks like (reduced from 1600x1200) when the terminal is in the foreground:
I added a few keyboard shortcuts to open up the applications that I need at a moment's notice. But for the most part I've found that the applications are already open (full-screen) when I need them, and I just Alt-Tab between them.
The benefits of the Desktop Zen approach include:
- Far fewer mental context switches, so tasks are completed faster.
- Time flies by without a clock in sight.
- Applications can make use of every inch of screen real-estate.
- Fonts can generally be made larger and more legible.
- Reduces eye (and brain) strain, as your gaze doesn't jump around as much.
- Works equally well on Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows.
Pure Desktop Zen.
You, too, can find inner peace.
Steps to achieving Desktop Zen:
- Set your desktop background to solid black [2].
- Set your panel (Linux), dock (Mac OSX), or taskbar (Windows), to auto-hide.
- Open your favorite applications, preferably those with tabs or MDI interfaces. (Such as Firefox.)
- Maximize every window to fill the full screen.
- Switch between applications using Alt-Tab (Windows, Linux) or Command-Tab (Mac OSX)
- Do one thing at once. Relax. Enjoy.
Try it for a while, and post your impressions below.
[1] A footnote about Multiple Document Interfaces (MDI): When I worked in the Visual Studio team at Microsoft in the late 90's there was a running debate regarding MDI. The guys working on the team were sticking to their guns and saying that MDI was the most efficient paradigm for navigating through large amounts of related information, such as a programming project. Whereas those drinking heavily from the pitcher of "Web" KoolAid were convinced that MDI was dead and Single Document Interfaces (SDI), such as it was used in Internet Explorer 6 and earlier, would ultimately reign supreme. How interesting that here we are, 5 years later, and the best web browsers are bringing MDI notions back in the form of Tabbed Document Interfaces (TDI). Including, as it turned out, Internet Explorer 7.
[2] White would work, too. Though I believe a solid black screen uses less power and puts less strain on the eyes.