I don't understand "tab hoarders" but I also don't understand why Mac users pollute their desktop with a thousand icons either. I guess some people like clean workspaces, and some don't mind clutter.
This is a strange generalization to make. I think it's more of a subset of computer users in general, not just Mac users...
[edit] for my part, as a Mac user, I couldn’t tell you whether my desktop’s full of icons (probably not?) nor what my background image is (… the default? Which I’m guessing is probably a mountain or a wave or something?) because I see my desktop so rarely, and never pay any attention to it.
Without first hand experience I would have "imagined" the same, but it's just not the case IRL.
I get it, but 100% of Mac users I've helped in my 25 years of professional computing had messy desktops. That's dozens (maybe close to 100) of Mac users. Not scientific, not conclusive, but it's exactly 100% with no exceptions. This includes fellow IT professionals and college acquaintances. The most recent experience being two days ago, where I assisted a Mac user in changing email settings. It's also very common for these Mac users to not understand file/folder structure. I often guide them to download a file/app, and once downloaded they generally have no idea where it went unless its... on their desktop! Same for "open" applications. For PC user's I'd say it's in the 10-20% range, low enough to be unremarkable.
I wish I could have virtual desktops or similar, per project. Any application I open for that project would be specific to that desktop.
In other words, my "taxes" tab might have:
- A browser for my bank.
- A browser for my 401k
- email messages regarding taxes
- a notepad for tax notes
- a todo list for tax steps completed and upcoming
This could alleviate the tab problem.
(or it could just explode the problem, I haven't been able to live this dream and it might not be so dreamy)