3D desktop - anyone found a use yet?

Having finally sat down to have a play with an OS with 3D windows (Mandriva Linux - my laptop's video card doesn't support Vista's Aero), I've had great fun flipping windows sideways, rotating them up, and basically flying them round my desktop. Good fun and an entertaining way to spend 10 to 15 minutes when there's not much on the telly.

However, I can't see a practical purpose for them. Has anyone out there actually found a practical use for being able to flip a window to one side?

 

I can't find much use for it either (the 3D thing). But, to tell you the truth, I've never been a huge fan of the virtual desktop thing either. I've used them but I don't get it. I guess you save some taskbar space by using different desktops but that's about the only advantage I can see with it. I must have become to conservative in my old age. The old way seems to work just fine. Perhaps I'm missing something?

 

I like using workspaces on Linux. It can be handy if you are in the middle of something and have to stop to do something else for five minutes. You can do the second task on a different workspace and then return to your previous work with everything still as you left it.

There are a couple of 3D effects that I can see a use for. The ability to shrink and expand a window (though that's not really 3D) and make a window go transparent or semi-transparent. I just can't see the advantage of being able to flip a window to the side - and there appears to be a lot of video card overhead to support it.

 

I wouldn't mind a pound for every feature I've found that at first seemed to be a waste of time, but then once I got used to it you wonder how you managed without it. Perhaps rotating windows will get the same epiphany moment.

On the other hand there are the opposite occurrences. The wonderful gadget, that looks to be a really good utility but once you start using it, it doesn't live up to its potential.

The Vista sidebar for example, should be a great place to display useful information, but the default widgets are just a waste of desktop space for me. If you want to see how good the Vista sidebar could be (and I predict will be in a year or so) have a look at the free "Desktop Sidebar ".

Another example for me is SlickRun. When I first found It I thought "Great! what a splendid utility ". But then in reality I found I never used it and it just got in the way. So on for a few weeks and then uninstalled.

 

In Beryl I find the ability to bend active windows useful when I need to read the one underneath, it's also brilliant to be able to make the top window transparent, the auto-fit action which shows all the windows in use fitted onto the desktop is also a boon and one of the most useful is the thumbnail you get of another window when you leave the mouse cursor on the taskbar.

However, to answer your question directly, using the 3-D cube as such isn't actually useful........but I love those springy windows.

 

Yep! I can see uses for that!!!! That is useful.