Virtual Desktop is the answer to a growing problem among users of
modern Macintosh computers, who have plenty of RAM to run programs
in, but donŐt have the "screen real estate" to handle large numbers of
windows productively. This problem is especially acute for people using
PowerBook computers, because of their small screen size.
Virtual Desktop, the premier virtual desktop manager for the Macintosh,
is an adaptation of the kind of virtual window manager found on many X
Window System workstations. Having allocated some memory for
off-screen buffers, they let the userŐs screen view move between
several "rooms" where various programs can put their windows.
Usually, these rooms are non-overlapping and arranged in a rigid grid
pattern. A small-scale window shows the user where all the windows
are, in a stylized form.