VIRTUAL DESKTOP MANAGERS  

The vast majority of the computers (at this moment) have one single monitor on which one single (electronic) desktop is visible - and this space can easily become crowded by all the programs, applications and windows that people need to use - a Virtual Desktop Manager is a program that will provide you with multiple desktops by "virtualizing" the normal desktop, and as a result each of those virtual desktops will be better organized and more productive than the original (single) one! (and actually in certain conditions a good virtual desktop manager can be more effective than multiple monitors!)

Not all Virtual Desktop Managers are created equal, and the features and stability of the programs currently available can be very different - most programs will only have a minimal set of features that are only suited for learning more about virtual desktops, a few other programs implement a number of functions that usually can help "managing" the extra desktop space - and from this last group very few can also have very good stability, flexibility and support!

If you want to learn more about Virtual Desktop Managers this small guide (or comparative review) will try to help you, but (unlike some sites that claim to have independent reviews but are only "web decoys" for some of our competitors) we will not claim total impartiality (after all, the real experience can only be gained by using a product continuously, and we are doing that with all our products and not with the products from our competitors), nor will we present all the bugs and problems from other programs (unless our competitors will pay us to discover / document things, we see no reason to give away our battery of tests :)

There are operating systems where some Virtual Desktop Managers are implemented inside the operating system (like BeOS) or inside the "windowing system" (like in Linux/FreeBSD/OpenBSD and similar, where some windows managers under XWindows can implement more than decent features!)

However the huge majority of personal computers are using today a Win32 version, from the oldest Win95 to the latest WinXP, and for the rest of our guide we'll only speak about this segment (which also happens to be currently the only one where it is possible to implement a decent business model for software).

And since we are now at this subject, not all Win32 operating systems are created equal - we have the Win9x family which was the first to be a major hit and had the best "backwards compatibility" with DOS and Win3x programs, but which was more like a version of Win 3.1 "rushed" on 32 bits, and as a result the entire family (Win95, Win95 OSR2, Win98, Win98SE, WinME) has serious limitations and serious stability problems!

The second Win32 branch is "the NT family" - starting with NT 3.1, then NT 3.5 and NT 3.51, then NT4 (which was the first one with decent desktop performance and Win95 compatibility), and more recent Windows 2000 (the first member of the family to implement decent PlugAndPlay features, and currently our preferred choice) and Windows XP (the most recently launched, and still plagued by security problems and lack of good drivers). The stability of this branch is MUCH BETTER and, for those users concerned about that, Win2000, WinXP and NT4 are the only viable alternatives (in this order).

While the entire Win32 market is pretty much a monopoly, for all the potential users of Virtual Desktop Managers the good news are that there is a LOT of competition in this segment and there are quite a lot of programs that bring a great diversity, but the bad news are that it's quite difficult to choose one product over another, especially when you don't have very much experience.

The very first thing that you should test is not the number of features (here XDESK will be the clear winner :) neither the number of possible virtual desktops (most people can only use about 3-4, and most programs provide up to 9-10) nor the "coolness" of the program (which usually is a sign of lack of other more important features).

You should first look after:
a) specific features that help you manage the extra number of programs / windows, like:
- lists of available desktops, eventually with the number of programs / windows on each desktop;
- lists of all programs / windows on all desktops (for instance XDESK has a "Task Menu" and a special "Alt+Tab dialog");
- graphical mini-representations of all virtual desktops (like "XDESK Quick View");
- eventually a list with only the programs / windows from a given desktop.
b) a very "compact" and "non-obtrusive" interface (a program that will take a lot of desktop space by itself will not be very effective in providing you extra space and productivity);
c) a program that is not losing windows (it might be a surprise for you, but almost all of our competitors are loosing/closing windows in certain conditions!!! when we tested most of the programs below only goScreen (and of course XDESK) had a workaround for those problems!);
d) while "easy of use" might be important when you first start, at a later moment you will almost certainly want a more powerful program;
e) you should aim for a program that is well integrated in its own features and also with your operating system;
f) a program that works on more operating systems is usually a better choice when you don't have an unlimited budget;
g) you probably want a program that is not crashing your system (and you should first test the program on your specific configuration)!
h) last but not least - you should choose a program that also gives you decent support and has a real chance to be around in a few years time (of course that XDESK was around since 1996 and has already outlived big-name programs like "Norton Desktop")!

Here is just a partial list (sorted in reverse alphabetical order) from Open Directory:

• XDESK - Create up to ten virtual desktops and switch between them with hotkeys, a menu, or by clicking buttons in the System Tray area of the Taskbar. Other features include powerful rules, reminders, alarms, a CPU meter, auto restarting of applications, and easy mouse-based navigation.
• Stardock - Developer of various desktop managers, and Windows skinning software.
• Silicon Realms - MultiDesk is a fast virtual desktop utility which resides next to the Start button. Allows password-pretecting for each desktop.
• 4Screens - Virtual desktop manager work on the equivalent of four desktops, each with different applications and layout, at the same time. You can optionally password-protect a given screen.
• Perfect Screens - Create unlimited number of virtual screens, each screen has its own application toolbar and screen menu, quick application and file and directory access, sticky windows, user-defined hot-keys, multi-user and network support. Copy and move applications between screens, drag and drop from one screen to another.
• One Guy Coding - Vern 3.2 is a virtual environment resource navigator. Allows you to have many programs running at once with each occupying its own Virtual Screen.
• JS Pager Virtual Desktop - This vdm allows to create virtual desktops and have different wallpapers for each of them.
• Greatis Software DesktopKeeper - Utility to arrange the desktop icons in the way that best for themselves. Software includes a virtual desktop manager, wallpaper manager, windows manager, desktop icons protector, desktop intruders' locker and others. [Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000]
• GoScreen - Switch between up to 40 virtual desktops. Have applications running on separate virtual pages. Operate the program with the configuration file instead of Windows Registry.
• Gladiators - Author of Aston, desktop manager and shell replacement, AltDesk, virtual desktop manager with skin support, and Docbar, MS Word 95/97 utility.
• Flash Desktops - The first real-time virtual desktop manager, the windows are switched as fast as possible, with virtually no overhead. Optimizations range from superfast hooks to avoid polling to pipeline multithread internal structure and Windows API scheduling to optimize Microsoft Windows painting routines.
• enable Virtual Desktop - A virtual desktop utility that allows you to set up different appearances of wallpaper, patterns, and colors for each of your desktops. Switch between desks and windows quickly and easily fully customizable mini-window lets you see exactly what is on each of your desktops. For Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000.
• DesktopPlus - Organize your workspace by dividing your workspace into as many as nine Virtual Desktops. Switch between the Desktops by using any one of the four control methods, which include a floating toolbar, tray-based icons, shortcuts, and hotkeys. For Windows 95/98/NT/2000.
• Desks At Will - Virtual desktop manager providing an unlimited number of desktops. From Idyle Software.

Hall of Shame

However, please note thet the relevance of the Open Directory in this matter might be compromised since the editor for this category is also the owner of Cool Desk - Shelltoys Inc. - which in itself is not that bad, but he is also the author of a deceiving scheme in which he was writing a page with the aspect of an "independent comparative review" (he even goes as far as to credit some non-existent company with that), then he gets some domain names for that (single) page (at least 2 domains that I know of - virtualdesktop.info - which was also "pushed" into the Open Directory even if the editor perfectly knew that it was only a scam since he was the author - and watzcool.com ) and then is trying to fool potential customers with that "comparative review"!!! (but obviously he does not know or can not hide the fact that the domain names are registered on his name, actually one of them is even hosted on the same computer as his main site). If the page will dissapear in an attempt to cover-up the story, you can take a look at the cached version of the original page at Google or our local copy here! We also have an easy link to the domain information here!