i tried it last night... works well, but looks terrible.

i wonder why apple has decided not to do this?

Is exactly what I was looking for. However, the memory leak (also mentioned on the program's webpage) makes the program unusable. Had to do a hard reboot, after running and using the program for some time...

I'm back to using space.app -- slightly flaky, but (a) it's free, (b) there are no humongous memory leaks, and (c) it's Free. (Did I say it's free?)

Coming from the Linux/UNIX world, virtual desktops are a free component of every desktop environment and most post-stone-age window managers. Trying to charge for one would be like trying to charge for, I dunno, the "About this Macintosh" box.

i just got an email from codetek saying that beta 3 is available and the memory leak is fixed.

*snip*
- Memory leak is fixed
- Hot keys for quitting Virtual Desktop and launching the
preferences window
- Aspect ratio and grid now working correctly on on complex monitor
setups
- 'Change desktop' pop-up window is now configurable
- Non-square desktop arrangements now supported
- Skin creation tool and documentation
*snip*

Edited by author 07-11-2002 12:25 PM
Just wanted to let everyone know that CodeTek VirtualDesktop is now out as an official release. It is significantly better than the beta, and would recommend trying it if you haven't yet.

Also, if you don't like the skin on the app we have several available for download from our site. Personally, I use the small deggy one as it not only looks good, but it has a small footprint.

We are also hard at work to bring out an update that will offer dragging to the side of the of the desktop to move to another desktop, as well as a significant boost in performance. We are also getting numerous bug fixes into the release that have been found by people using the software since the release.

Cheers!

Jeff
http://www.codetek.com

I have to agree. While the new version of virtual desktop is better it's memory leak was painful. It's also slow. The new version is nasty commercial propietary software. Coming from a linux world i have to say that the existance of closed programs is the thing i hate most. The second one is that the integration between quartz and x11 is a little akward.

The problem with space is it does it the wrong way. The model the space program uses is by hiding and showing applications. This means that you can't ahve an app in more than one screen. It also just sorta is klunky. At least virtual desktop has the right model.

If only apple was able to open source quartz or at least really open up their api then we'd be able to ahve a good vritual desktop program that was free (speech not beer)