Having to use an "Ultrabook" at work, I'm starting to see why the minimal resolution of Windows 8, 1366 x 768 pixels, is really too much cramped for normal PC use. Actually, it's almost begging for the Windows 8 Metro interface, since that ratio is really stretched horizontally and too small for serious multitasking.
The problem would have been the same on a MacBook Air 11-inch, since it has the same screen resolution, if it weren't for a few differences. On Mac OS X, there is an optional full screen mode that auto-hides the menu bar, and also it places the application in its own "virtual screen" (space), so that using a four-finger swipe you can quickly go from one application to another, kind of like on the iPad. A great difference of this full screen mode is that this is for normal applications, and isn't restricted to Metro apps or whatnot. So, while the full screen mode is jarring on a large screen, it remains completely optional and doesn't prevent at all a normal windowing mode.
Yet, even on a 17-inch laptop screen, I like placing productivity applications in full screen. The simple fact that you remove other elements from the screen can help focus on the task at hand. No wonder why even in Windows most users like placing most windows in full screen. I'm not saying that overlapping windows always reduce productivity, since many times you have to compare and transpose information between screen elements. But when you are in "content production" mode, it is very nice to have a full screen mode for whatever space your content should be placed. That's a very neat feature that I like to use in NetBeans that I wished existed in other IDEs and word processors, that is to be able to quickly switch from a full set of toolbars to a full screen mode of the editor in a single switch.
The missing next step is if there are "apps" that assume they are full screen, then a windowing manager could simply place them in windows, each app unaware that it became a normal application. The lack of consistency between apps would become glaring, but at least that would feel nicer on a tablet than blowing up phone apps full screen, and supporting such a dual mode would make that environment just as productive as a MacBook Air.
Published on November 21, 2012 at 21:21 EST
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