What is a Virtual Desktop?

http://live.pirillo.com/ – We’ve discussed having more than one monitor on your computer, but we have not talked about having multiple desktops on one monitor. Virtual desktops accomplish this.

Why would you want to use a virtual desktop? They allow you to have multiple desktops, allowing you to organize multiple windows in a logical order. You can keep your internet applications open in one desktop while your test editing can be in another desktop, and so on.

Linux has a fantastic virtual desktop program called Beryl, which is helping Linux make Windows and OS X "look like crap."

Beryl is an OpenGL accelerated desktop that seeks to provide a free, open source desktop experience to the community that reflects the wishes of the users. Above all else, the project seeks to listen to and respond to the requests of the user base.

Chris recommends VirtuaWin for Windows, which lets you simply move the mouse to the edge of the screen to switch between desktops. While it’s not as pretty as Beryl, it’s functional, open source, and free.

VirtuaWin is a virtual desktop manager for the Windows operating system (Win9x/ME/NT/Win2K/XP). A virtual desktop manager lets you organize applications over several virtual desktops (also called ‘workspaces’). Virtual desktops are very common in Unix/Linux, and once you get accustomed to using them, they become an essential part of a productive workflow.

Do you have any recommendations for virtual desktop software?

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