A commentator here asked:

With respect to tabs vs. windows (vs. virtual desktops vs. extramonitors vs. separate computers), I always wonder what combination ofthe above will lead to the greatest productivity.

Having used both, my personal opinion is that virtual desktops areinferior to multiple monitors for the same reason that tabs are inferiorto windows, namely that you can't see two virtual desktops at once.This makes virtual desktops good for grouping and a good place to shoveexcess windows but not a

In my biased opinion, one important consequence of who standardinterfaces help is that if you are designing asystem that people will be using a lot, one that they will regularlyspend a lot of time with, please use a good interface for it no matterhow non-standard it has to be. The drawbacks of a non-standard interfaceare more than made up by the benefits of a good one for the frequentusers.

(I'm biased in this because some of the best programs I've