Posted by member 6742 on 2003-07-06 05:23:31 link
Thanks for the minimalist answers, everyone! I have never been able to get used to a minimalist approach, and wanted to see if there was a fundamentally different way that minimalist users use their systems. Indeed there is.
Minimalist summary (making some generalizations)
- 1-4 applications running at a time.
- Prefers "Alt+Tab" method of app switching.
- Either doesn't use VWM's, or prefers very simple ones.
- Seeks to maximize desktop workspace.
- Prefers minimum of gui elements (reduce clutter, less confusing).
- Preferences vary on system info, with WinAmp functions and time being higher priorities.
- Seeks to reduce system usage by the actual shell.
Which leads me to understand why I personally haven't adapted well to minimalist themes (preferring, well, "maximalist" for lack of a better word).
- I tend to use 3-10 apps at a time.
- My taskbar gets heavily used, flipping back and forth to different apps.
- I group apps together in separate screenspaces (like having a few RC's and a help file grouped together in one workspace, PhotoShop in another workspace, browser in another, etc....) This means that I REALLY work the VWM's, which have to be visible so I can instantly pick one out of a row and know which grouped apps I'll be looking at.
- When designing a theme, I tend to make a hotspot to make the theme either minimize, or disappear entirely so that the whole desktop is available for the application(s).
- Like a few minimalists, system information imbedded in a theme is extraneous for me: just look at the task manager or PerfMon.
- When trying a minimalist theme, I always feel like I'm grabbing for something that isn't there, whether it be a taskbar, VWM's, a command box, or OTS e-var shortcuts.
- I've not seen a minimalist theme that uses significantly less resources than a maximalist theme. In comparing over 78 themes, I've determined the maximum memory usage difference between a maximalist theme and a minimalist theme to be 4megs, with 500k being the average.
- Minimizing gui elements and decreasing their size is contrary to Fitz's law, although hot-keys can compensate.
Don't think that I'm bashing minimalism; on the contrary, I praise it's success. Obviously more users prefer the way minimalist themes work for them. My primary objective is to brainstorm ways to hybridize these usage patterns to find or create something minimal in approach, but still functional enough to meet my requirements/usage profile.
Suggestions, please! (Maybe another thread is in order).
Minimalist summary (making some generalizations)
- 1-4 applications running at a time.
- Prefers "Alt+Tab" method of app switching.
- Either doesn't use VWM's, or prefers very simple ones.
- Seeks to maximize desktop workspace.
- Prefers minimum of gui elements (reduce clutter, less confusing).
- Preferences vary on system info, with WinAmp functions and time being higher priorities.
- Seeks to reduce system usage by the actual shell.
Which leads me to understand why I personally haven't adapted well to minimalist themes (preferring, well, "maximalist" for lack of a better word).
- I tend to use 3-10 apps at a time.
- My taskbar gets heavily used, flipping back and forth to different apps.
- I group apps together in separate screenspaces (like having a few RC's and a help file grouped together in one workspace, PhotoShop in another workspace, browser in another, etc....) This means that I REALLY work the VWM's, which have to be visible so I can instantly pick one out of a row and know which grouped apps I'll be looking at.
- When designing a theme, I tend to make a hotspot to make the theme either minimize, or disappear entirely so that the whole desktop is available for the application(s).
- Like a few minimalists, system information imbedded in a theme is extraneous for me: just look at the task manager or PerfMon.
- When trying a minimalist theme, I always feel like I'm grabbing for something that isn't there, whether it be a taskbar, VWM's, a command box, or OTS e-var shortcuts.
- I've not seen a minimalist theme that uses significantly less resources than a maximalist theme. In comparing over 78 themes, I've determined the maximum memory usage difference between a maximalist theme and a minimalist theme to be 4megs, with 500k being the average.
- Minimizing gui elements and decreasing their size is contrary to Fitz's law, although hot-keys can compensate.
Don't think that I'm bashing minimalism; on the contrary, I praise it's success. Obviously more users prefer the way minimalist themes work for them. My primary objective is to brainstorm ways to hybridize these usage patterns to find or create something minimal in approach, but still functional enough to meet my requirements/usage profile.
Suggestions, please! (Maybe another thread is in order).