sounds like THE, Jef Raskin's idea of The Humane Interface.

The problem is that sometimes I WANT my windows to overlap. Other times I don't. Also, controlling focus and other stuff would have to be really well done, or else this idea would suck.

On the bright side, someone has already done a better job of all this... Yep, and it is Apple. Check out Expose on a decently fast system, and you will instantly go, "this is the one true way..."

as a side note, winexpose (the application that tries to make your Windows machine work like OSX's Expose feature) TOTALLY SUCKS. Esp. compared to the real deal.

Winexpose no doubt sucks because windows lacks the hardware accellerated graphics that mac has, and will for the next few years... thanks microsoft, I'm sure it'll be nifty when it's released in 2007!

On the matter of the mac expose being the one true way, I have to disagree :) First of all, I use os 10.3.x every day to do code, email, surf, etc, on a 1Ghz g4-powerbook, which matches the decently fast system requirement :)

Expose is nifty for finding windows, but it's no substitute for the virtual desktops that have been in *nix for ages now. For me personally to work nicely I need to organize my windows a bit. IE: a play area, a code area, an email area, etc. These areas aren't just ones that have my email client on top, but it's a task-oriented place where all things email go on.

On the mac I can use expose to move a window to the front relatively quickly (mouse to top right, find window, click, do work, but it only works on one window at a time, and when I'm working on something I still have gobs of windows under my main window that are visually distracting.

Right now I have 6 windows going. One browser, one email (personal), itunes, a distcc monitor and two code windows. With this safari window on top of a stack of four windows it's visually cluttered (the monitor and itunes are on a second monitor).

My situation at home lets me have a desktop with just mail. Two windows. And just code. Two windows. This makes things less visually cluttered, and easier to organize (if the boss comes by I know that I can hit alt-1 to get to my "work" desktop for example :)

Another downfall of expose is that it doesn't keep things in the same place. If I knew that my mail was always the thumbnail in the upper left it'd be a bit easier to deal with, but because of the (very nifty) dynamic properties of expose, it could be anywhere, depending on the number of windows open and their sizes. Also expose doesn't deal with minimized windows, so anything that I minimize to prevent cluttering up the screen I *still* have to search for in the dock.

Something that'd make it more usable to me would be to allow me to create expose groups or workspaces, so that I could choose not only an app, but a workspace via expose, and when it was chosen my other workspaces were hidden. So if I want to switch between 'mail' and 'work' I hit my expose key or hotspot and click on the top left area (assuming 4 workspaces). When this happens all my current windows are hidden (properly like under gnome/kde, not the silly hacky way that the virtual desktop managers for mac do it), and I only get my code windows. Hit the key or hotspot again, select the lower right 'mail' workspace and I'm back to only seeing my two mail windows. Another hotspot or key could show all windows in all groups maybe.

Dont' get me wrong, expose is cool, but when the gee wiz factor wears off it's deficiences for *my* personal way of working start showing.

That said I still hit shift and minimize and shift and expose key to see it all in slow mo'. I can watch that shit for hours :)