I Now Understand Workspaces

Tagged with hibernation, linux, windows, workspaces on October 9, 2024

I mentioned workspaces, also known as virtual desktops, in past articles and how I didn’t need to use them. Over the past few days, I practiced using them, looking for a good reason to continue using them. I now understand their practical uses. I also understand the reason some people prefer hibernating their systems over suspending them.

While I’m not familiar with any version of macOS, I’m very familiar with the Linux and Windows operating systems when it comes to hibernation and workspaces. They work in pretty much the same ways on both platforms.

Tiled Windows

When I’m writing an article for this blog, I will tile both my text editor and web browser windows, with the text editor on the left and the web browser on the right. This allows me to reload the web browser to view my changes without having to alt-tab or mouse between windows.

Since I also want to make sure my paragraphs aren’t too long, I’ll view the website in another full-screen web browser window. Alt-tab switching is tedious when it’s in the same workspace with the others, so I use another workspace. Since I have the grouped window list applet showing all workspace icons, I can click on an icon to get to the correct application on the correct workspace.

Unattended Workspaces

Hidden workspaces would confuse me. Having all the icons in the grouped window list applet makes sure that there aren’t any hidden from me. Even so, there are some workspaces I don’t even need to look at more than once. An example is a workspace displaying my Rhythmbox or Spotify application while I’m listening to music.

I can’t think of too many applications that would occupy an unattended workspace, but I’m sure any application that sends notifications would probably be a candidate.

Suspend or Hibernate?

While suspending my system works for me, I think I’d rather have it hibernate at times, especially when I’m using multiple workspaces. A power outage here in the Philippines can last for hours at a time. My mini PC doesn’t have a battery, obviously, and my UPS doesn’t last very long. Even a good laptop computer battery won’t last as long as some of the power outages I’ve had to endure since I’ve lived here.

I’m going to continue using workspaces, and I’m going to set up hibernation. I won’t need to use the hibernation feature often, but when I’m setting up something that’s going to take me a while to set up, I’d rather not have to set it up more than once.

Image is a screenshot by RT Cunningham, the author