After using Lion last night for a couple hours I have begun to come up with a thought.

With things like the improved virtual desktops and mission control etc... is screen real-estate no longer an issue?

With the introduction of Launch Pad I have removed everything from my dock bar apart from a few folders.

With the old spaces I never really actually used it as it was a bit clunky to move between desktops and stuff flitted around without warning. Because of this I had everything open as separate windows on a single desktop.

With Mission Control now I don't need that and I have quick access to any of the full screen apps I'm running. It's making me think that having something like a MacBook Air (especially the new ones that compete with the MBP of late 2010) would be suitable for everyone (with exceptions obviously).

Even for my programming needs a MacBook Air with 256GB would be more than enough performance/room for all my needs. I rarely play games any more but TBH the new MBA would blow my old (mid 2007) MBP out of the water.

Although a new 27" iMac would be quite nice too

No change for me. I don't maximise windows on my 24" display (or on my laptop's full HD display). I generally have twitter open on the left, overlayed with mail, then in the middle I will have my "input" window(s), then on the right my "reference" window(s). E.g. Twitter/mail left, Word in the middle and Firefox on the right, with reference material I need to write the Word document...

Having multiple spaces / desktops or whatever the OS in question calls them, doesn't really help, when you are using the peripheral windows as references for what you are actually doing.

I like it, screen real estate seems increased, yet I feel like I should be full screening more apps.
I'm a bit dismayed that you can't show two full screened apps one two monitors at the same time. I've always had a space for Gruml and Mail, each maximised on their own screen. Now I can full screen Mail, but can't have anything on the empty screen next to it

I used Spaces only recently, but I found it too difficult to move tasks from window to window. my memory meant it took ages to get used to it. Full screen only ever happened with games. It is not important to me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

That's kind of my point though.

I have never really used Spaces or fullscreen but having used it (and using it now) in Lion I really think it has improved drastically. To the point where I currently have 7 desktops (1 real and the rest fullscreen apps).

Switching is easy and all the fullscreen apps have been written specifically to use fullscreen and they all do it very well.

Currently I'm using Safari, iTunes, iCal, Mail, Xcode and Organizer (part of Xcode) in full screen.

There is no slow down at all whereas previously that many apps open would cause my (ageing) MBP to slow to a crawl.