Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Spaces

So far, my favorite feature of Leopard is the ability to have multiple desktops (i.e. Spaces). I have configured a few of my most used applications to automatically open within a particular space. For example:

(click to view)

What might not be clear from the screenshot above is the complete picture of what I am loading in each space, here is a more verbose breakdown of each of my spaces:

1. Main Desktop
2. Skype
3. Adium
4. Mail
5. Firefox
6. iTunes
7. NetNewsWire
8. Eclipse
9. Parallels or VMFusion (still determining which one I like better)

Here is a another view:

(click to view)

What I really like about each space is that all application related events are captured in the space that the application is running in. It becomes really nice to have my chat windows, e-mail, etcs all within their own space without being cluttered upon other applications. I also like that I can easliy switch between application by using the APPLE+TAB key combo.

My only complaint is that I wish there was a Spaces preference that let me force non-space-assigned applications to load in a default space. Like, for instance, my main desktop (#1 above). Otherwise, whatever space you are in when you launch a non-space-assigned application is the space that it will open up in. Something to be conscious of if you don’t want to clutter up a particular space by accident.

2 Comments to Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Spaces

1. 

   I’ll be configuring Spaces (I think, I’m not yet Leopard upgraded) with a “context” focus (think GTD) rather than an application focus: I want to do my dev work (Space 1), read email (Space 2), browse web (Space 3), communicate with friends (Space 4), read feeds (Space 5), etc. I don’t care what apps it takes, I want to switch my mental focus to a new context and see whatever apps I’m using to manage that context. A virtualized Parallels/VMWare app could be in any space, I don’t care that its virtualized per se, its just an app I’m using in that context. Maybe you have that, but the separation of Skype from Adium (same context) and VMWare/Parallels separately maybe hints not.
Brant Herbert on November 8th, 2007
2. 

   Good point or maybe it is a hybrid of the two approaches? For example, running Adium and Skype in separate spaces might need to be an exception to the rule. I do this because I want to be able to keep my contact list and chat window(s) of either Adium or Skype in separate spaces. Otherwise, it becomes too cluttered to have more than one chat program in the same space but I will experiment more.

   Changing the mindset to think about context rather than application per space is a good approach. I’ll be playing with this more.
Brooke Kuhlmann on November 9th, 2007

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