Is Minimizing a Thing of the Past

[jmadero]

Wanted to know if anyone agrees that minimizing is a thing of the past. Gnome devs have claimed that it's outdated and therefore they will never include it again.

[elija]

The Gnome devs are wrong. You've only got to compare MATE and Gnome 3 to see how wrong.

[oz]

No, I don't personally think minimizing is outdated and thus far I've not been fond of the related changes in Gnome 3.

[Rubberman]

I minimize stuff on my desktop all the time, especially when I need the real estate for some other applications, I don't want the one I am going to minimize to distract me by making me think about what it represents when I should be concentrating on the new apps, and I don't want to lose the context already established in the minimized program. Sure, modern GUIs provide multiple desktops, but I find I don't use those so much.

[arespi]

I reckon I dont minimize windows that much anymore, just switch to another virtual desktop. I usually work with 4, the first two for email and browser and the rest is for misc. applications that I use on and off.

I love virtual desktops, it is maybe the first thing I miss when I switch back to windows

[MASONTX]

No!!! I typically have 6 to 8 items on my desktop, with only one at full size, the rest minimized. Depending on what I am working on, I may also have a 2nd or 3rd desktop that also have several items open, each desktop representing my general use desktop 1 (games, LFI, email), research and data for a special project desk 2 (sermons, spreadsheets, etc) , and anything else I have going on at the moment on desk 3 (other searches mainly).

[MikeTbob]

I think the minimize function is highly underrated and I will always use it. I'm with Rubberman on this one, multiple desktops are fine and all but I don't use them, leave my dang minimize buttons alone!

[Roxoff]

On my little netbook, every application is maximizes, so I can only see one at one, and I generally alt-tab between them. But when I'm using a proper size monitor minimizing stuff gets it out of the way, I use it all the time.

[jayd512]

Personally, I use minimize and virtual desktops.
It's a useful feature. And as such, needs to be left alone.

[Rubberman]

Well, from what all of us are saying, there is room for both approaches, separately and together. What works for you, I like to say! What does crumble my cookies however, are developers who assume they know what is best for me when they do a new version of software that has been a major part of our daily lives for a long time, and then change the entire paradigm! Apple forgot that with the new version of Final Cut Pro, and has lost a LOT of their customers as a result. There are those who think Apple is going in the right direction, but are not happy that Apple seemed to have forgotten all of those customers who made this product the standard of the professional video editing universe.