It's an interesting contrast to OSX, which most people I know use by keeping a stack of odd-sized windows on screen such that at least a bit of each is always visible.
I can't function that way. I'm currently typing this on a 2560x1440 monitor, in a maximized Firefox window. Occasionally I put two windows half-maximized side by side, but only if I'm actively looking at both simultaneously (for instance, presentation slides and notes I'm taking, or a document in LaTeX and the rendered PDF). Otherwise, I maximize everything, even if it "wastes" space or makes the window wider than the "natural" size of the content, just to avoid distractions
It used to. Now it makes the window fullscreen and it infuriates me.
Some of us like fullscreen windows...
To be honest, the most annoying thing isn't that it goes fullscreen, it's the mind-bendingly slow animation that accompanies it. Just make the damn thing fullscreen instantly so that I can reverse it instantly, rather than waiting on a cutesy shrinking animation too.
(edit: IM clients, too. Forgot about those. But, still, everything other than IM clients and quick accessories, I run full-screen.)
Each folder would be given its own window, and it would recall its location on screen for future uses.
Thus you could build up a special memory of what is where.
It works for shallow storage structures like what the early Mac had, but these days it gets swamped.
Sounds like you'd get a lot of benefit out of a tiling window manager. I've been a full-time Xmonad user for 4 years now and I don't know how I'd ever go back to arbitrary-sized, overlapping window managers such as OS X's.
For my two use cases (maximized or left/right half-maximized), GNOME 3 works perfectly for me. I've tried tiling window managers, but I don't necessarily want something that minimal.
(OSX, 1920x1200 monitor, Safari taking up the full screen height but only about half the width. Just my desktop beneath though it's not uncommon for me to have a couple other finder or IM windows sticking around.)
I mean whatever works for you but I'd go crazy doing that, just as you'd hate trying to use things the way I do. People are different.
Sort of like hanging a few pictures up on your office walls so there's something pretty in there.
And I can maximize windows, but I almost never do it unless I'm working on a really big piece in Illustrator and need every square inch I can get.
Does that not make some websites more or less unreadable?
However, I like multiple monitors, and I think the reason is that monitors are large enough that the one I'm not looking at sits far enough out on my peripheral that I simply don't pay much attention to it.
I can't see how this app (and other layout managers) would help this workflow. I don't move or resize windows. They are all where I want them to be, albeit stacked on top of each other. You click (or keypress) to pick the window you want to use, then use it. No window movement necessary.