Taskbar clutter- a solution

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CMM

Is it me or is the Vista taskbar largely unchanged... in terms of
functionality I mean?
The other day I was lamenting how unweildy the taskbar is (the new preview
feature notwithstanding).
I had this idea... was wondering what other folks thought
http://www.cflashsoft.com/documents/orgtask/orgtask.htm

It's not a radical change, but I think it goes a long way to improving
usability if you run a lot of programs at the same time.
 
Essentially... to clarify my post... the suggestion calls for 1) getting rid
of the Taskbar's background... a nice visual thing I think and 2) providing
a "stack" widget where the user can drag and drop tasks onto to stow them
away (but not close them) and unclutter the taskbar. Check out the
screenshots in the prior post.

Hopefully, if folks think this is a good idea, it can be incorporated into
Vista. It's not too late! :-)
 
CMM said:
Essentially... to clarify my post... the suggestion calls for 1) getting rid
of the Taskbar's background... a nice visual thing I think and 2) providing
a "stack" widget where the user can drag and drop tasks onto to stow them
away (but not close them) and unclutter the taskbar. Check out the
screenshots in the prior post.

Hopefully, if folks think this is a good idea, it can be incorporated into
Vista. It's not too late! :-)
Click to expand...

At this point in development it's waaaay too late to anything that complex.
 
I dunno, making the backround itself transparent can be done via a simple
flag in code.
The stack can be offerred as a widget or an optional add-on... if it's too
much to do right now (frankly, it should take a week to code).

You're probably right considering MS's development efforts move at
ludicrously glacial speeds. :-(
 
Is it me or is the Vista taskbar largely unchanged... in terms of
functionality I mean?
The other day I was lamenting how unweildy the taskbar is (the new preview
feature notwithstanding).
I had this idea... was wondering what other folks thought
http://www.cflashsoft.com/documents/orgtask/orgtask.htm

It's not a radical change, but I think it goes a long way to improving
usability if you run a lot of programs at the same time.
Click to expand...

I could see your stack idea getting implemented as a sidebar widget.

Personally I use a utility that lets me minimize applications to the system
tray (next to the clock) instead of waste space on the taskbar itself. Just
having that built into the OS would already go a long way, IMNSHO...
 
I know. I run the same sort of utility.The stack is a similar concept....
but (I think) more intuitive and easier to use because of drag and drop.

The "Minimize to Tray" things smacks against several Win UI concepts (the
tray relays "status" and not a "dock" for apps).... and switching through
tasks that are individual icons in the tray is even more laborious than
using the taskbar itself!... unless they're accessed via a single icon that
pops up a menu- which is the same thing as the Stack idea.
 
Isn't this similar to OS X and how it closes windows up to the windows title
bar?

I can hear it now...
 
CMM said:
Is it me or is the Vista taskbar largely unchanged... in terms of
functionality I mean?
The other day I was lamenting how unweildy the taskbar is (the new preview
feature notwithstanding).
I had this idea... was wondering what other folks thought
http://www.cflashsoft.com/documents/orgtask/orgtask.htm

It's not a radical change, but I think it goes a long way to improving
usability if you run a lot of programs at the same time.
Click to expand...
I read your post today and saw this in the evening:

http://research.microsoft.com/vibe/groupbar.aspx

The Canuck
 
That's cool. I really wish MS had put a little more research into advancing
the Windows desktop experience in Vista... other than the the "eye candy"
that Vista offers. Especially for power users that run more than a couple of
apps at a time.
 
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