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VirtueDesktop -- The End :-(

virtuedesktops.info — Well, the developer is stopping development for now. All I have to say is that he did a great job - hope someone takes over the project.

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  • AModlin, on 10/12/2007, -11/+12Hopefully Leopard will have features as nice as these.
    • idanmashaal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20I'm not sure I'm going to upgrade to Leopard soon.
      I have all I need in Tiger (for now).
      VirtueDesktop was a killer app for me...
      I was so hoping for a stable release.
    • Tu13erhead, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29Leopard's Spaces is a very nice replacement for VirtueDesktop. While it doesn't have all the pretty transitions, it is much more "usable" and much less buggy than VirtueDesktop.
    • m1th, on 10/12/2007, -0/+42virtuedesktops.info's server -- The End :-(
    • Brutis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34500 - Internal Server Error

      it is the end
    • speaker219, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22sorry about the comment abuse.
      Working Mirror:
      http://duggmirror.com/apple/VirtueDesktop_The_End/plain.html
    • schoate09, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2@idanmishal

      You'd better, or Apple will start killing off Application compatibility.
    • ZachPruckowski, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7schoate09 - Apple doesn't need to kill off compatibility. Within 8-12 months of Leopard's release, half the Mac shareware/freeware will require it for Core Animation or some other new feature.
    • dcbebop, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Agreed. Awesome app, OSX steals only the best ideas.
    • smhill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9@dcbebop
      "Agreed. Awesome app, OSX steals only the best ideas."

      Generally true, but it is hard to claim Apple stole this one from them. Virtual desktops have been on *nix systems for quite a while and Virtua wasn't the first Mac one either.

      Though it was/is very nice, it wasn't without bugs.
    • signal15, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Another one, CodeTek Virtual Desktop, has also bit the dust. It still works on PPC based macs, but not Intel. I bought the pro version, and it had way more features than Virtue, or any other virtual desktops I've used on other platforms.

      I feel like someone chopped off my leg if I try to use a machine without virtual desktops. I got hooked on them back in like 1993 on FVWM because I didn't know enought about unix at the time to disable them. :)
    • Kelmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@ZachPruckowski

      Objective-C 2.0's Garbage Collection will be the feature that will put applications into Leopard only status. Core Animation looks nice and can be used very easily (as best as I can tell from the WWDC demos last year) but Objective-C 2.0 means that one of the biggest pains in application development can go away - memory management. In case you are not familiar with it, Objective-C requires the developer to manually release objects created when they are finished with in order to reclaim the memory that they were using - fail to do this correctly and you have a memory leak. This is definitely the aspect of development that has caused me the most headaches and I'll be jumping on Objective C 2.0 as soon as possible.
    • cleverboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/overview
      http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/support
      http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/screenshots
      http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/downloads

      http://forums.cocoaforge.com/viewtopic.php?t=12392

      I'll say this much, even though Spaces won't have "plugins" or feature "unlimited" desktops, from personal experience, if you've decided that you can no longer afford to do a project, there's no better feeling than knowing the torch is being continued by another application with more resources in providing a vital feature / functionality / service.

      Recently, I've found myself working on a program again that I stopped working on in 2004, which a lot of people were interested in at the time, yet I couldn't afford to keep developing (and got distracted). To this day, its the best and only solution for doing what I want, and I'm a little helpless because until I finish it, there'll be nothing like it... possibly ever. That kind of sucks.
  • coldfusion1970, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Thats a damn shame.
    I wanted to see how it dove-tailed with Spaces.
  • joeycerone, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2sites down already? with 19 diggs?
  • Ngai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2On a MacBook...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1oBGg37Yvg


    and this is all I got from a cache from Google...

    http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:bnEbsCZm8pUJ:virtuedesktops.info/index.php/2006/10/15/virtuedesktops-053r233/+site:virtuedesktops.info+Virtue+Desktop&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us
  • Derfus, on 10/12/2007, -10/+8virtuadesktops is cool but with spaces coming in Leopard it won't be needed, so not point in continuing development.
  • Carsonauto, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1While not some godsend program, its a neat little thing that some people might enjoy. Dont think of it as some huge loss. Neat idea though, would've been nice.
    • DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I use it all the time. It's essentially my operating system switcher. OS X on one desktop and XP on the other. I'm not quite sure yet if spaces will perform this function as well.
  • antdude, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3http://duggmirror.com/apple/VirtueDesktop_The_End/ and http://forums.cocoaforge.com/viewtopic.php?t=12392
  • catfive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13This app is cursed... it's based on code from Desktop Manager which was also dropped by it's developer not far along the way.
    • tonyarnold, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26Wow - cursed? that's a much better explanation! :P I should add that to my list of reasons when the site comes back up... nobody likes being cursed!
    • bigredgpk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2v true, but i feel that desktop manager is more stable then Virtue was. I could never manage the desktops using Virtue but desktop manager made it easy as cake.
    • CrankyMcGuy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They also inherited DesktopManager's rendering problems when OSX upgraded to Tiger. I could only use certain transitions. Most flashed white on the screen on any Mac I tried them on. They also removed the sliding Desktop Pager which was the deal breaker for me. That and it crashed.

      In all honesty, I haven't found any virtual desktop software for my Macintel that operates without bugs. I use DesktopManager 0.5.3 still for my iBook G4. I was tap dancing in the streets when I saw Spaces announced last August. I don't need fancy desktop transitions. I just want fast, snappy, and stable multiple desktops that I can activate with a mouse flick. VirtueDesktop was a step backward for me. Spaces hopefully will be a step forward.
    • blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I guess it was cursed inthe sense of the codebase not being very clean. Sometimes it's better to start from scratch again. Not to mention that with Leopard coming, the motivation goes down.
    • kiddailey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree with crankyMcGuy. Even without all the fanciness, DesktopMananger 0.5.3 is still much better than VirtueDesktop. For me though, its because VirtueDesktop doesn't have the menubar desktop switcher.
  • Rice, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Another end...

    ...another beginning.

    Another road that we must travel, another night for you to show me the wayyyyyyyyyy.
  • wmuostkman, on 10/12/2007, -19/+2my farts smell.
    • sambtravis, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Your comment was about as relevant as Snoozer's, but at least yours brought forth a childish laugh.
    • speaker219, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1*in the voice of seth from SNL* really? your farts smell? really?
  • TravisG5, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5I normally only use one desktop, but for school projects this app is a lifesaver.

    Sad to see it go :(.
  • Agret, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4Never even heard of VirtueDesktop
  • Mexrocker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9VirtueDesktop+Slapbook :)

    I impressed so many friends with that, but felt so bad when people would start to slap my macbook....
    • turpenine, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3yeah slapbook was cool, but horribly impractical for that reason.
      your laptop reacts to being hit?
      lets throw it and see if it renders faster!
    • Kelmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2SmackBook isn't required as at least the last release of VirtueDesktop included the motion-sensing switching of desktops within its own preferences. I was using this for a while since it was especially cool but eventually concluded that I couldn't find a "sweet spot" with the sensitivity settings such that I'd either have to hit the laptop harder (not good) or the desktop was liable to switch whenever the desk was knocked (irritating). I also found that using the keyboard to switch was frankly faster...
  • davermont, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Damn, VirtueDesktop is such a great program, it will be sorely missed.

    I understand the developer's decision and what a tough choice it must have been, I've been in similar situations myself. Hopefully someone will take over the project, there's still a need for it even with Spaces.
  • zaren, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I use Virtue Desktop on my personal iBook, but it was all kinds of not working on the MacBook I use at work. I came across "Desktop Manager" at http://desktopmanager.berlios.de/ and have been happily running that. It might be worth a look for some of you folks not looking to bump to Leapord right away.
    • CrankyMcGuy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Actually, VirtueDesktops was a commercial fork off of Desktop Manager 0.5.6. Aside from the GUI, the app is identical, complete with the same rendering bugs. I just couldn't justify paying for VD when the earlier version of DM (0.5.3) did all I wanted and stably for free.
  • UO07, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1desktoptwo.com
  • JoeMaller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Anyone looking for stable virtual desktops on 10.4 should take a look at YouControl:Desktops at http://www.yousoftware.com/desktops

    After a few days playing with Ubuntu, I immediately evaluated all the virtual desktop variants available for the mac. YouControl's was the only one which allowed dragging windows between screens. Not quite as slick as Beryl's cube, but totally intuitive. The app has also been dead-stable for me running on a MBP for the past few months, even handling connecting and disconnecting an external monitor without issue. No slap-book switching, but I found that was never more than a novelty for me anyway.

    It costs money, but YouControl's support has been very responsive.
    • CrankyMcGuy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Oh oh. I've been saying that VirtueDesktops was a spin off of the Desktop Manager code, but YouControl's app was. Dang. I think. Or were they both spun off of that code?
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It really looks like it is the only alternative left. No, I am not moving to "Spaces" instantly just because Apple provides it with $140 OS. Nothing against Apple, same reason I don't use iChat: Too simple!
  • doscrash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nooooo! It was so good.
  • CompIsMyRx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The link's dead too now. :(
  • washer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Funny. I just removed my copy of VirtueDesktop from my Macbook yesterday.
  • Mephux, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3You people are so stupid! Remember when Apple added Cover Flow To iTunes the development of the App stopped. Now with the addition of 'Spaces' Virtue-Desktop no longer will live! Put two and two together folks.
    • wal9000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, but that was different. Apple actually bought Cover Flow from steelskies, which is why steelskies stopped developing it. One generally does not continue development on software that one does not own.

      Apple has continued development within iTunes, in case you hadn't noticed. It has a full screen coverflow mode, which I find to me much nicer looking than Front Row, though it can't select individual songs within an album.
    • clackerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0dirty commie
    • Mephux, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Steelskies did not say anything about the buyout until it just showed up in iTunes. Stop being such an Idiot.
    • Kelmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You know, I'm sad that development of VirtueDesktop has ceased but if Apple makes a stable version of the application then I'm happy. I like the idea of multiple desktops and a system integrated into the OS will likely work better. Right now VirtueDesktop has a habit of crashing periodically such that applications are "stranded" on desktops that no longer exist so a stable implementation gets my support.

      I have absolutely no problem with Apple making Spaces.
  • sikosis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Last time I used VirtueDesktop, was over a year ago ... after installing it and having to reboot, my brand new iMac of 2 days old wouldn't work anymore. VD had done something to my OS and I had to reinstall it. So, I decided after that I wasn't going to touch that software again ... Bring on Spaces.
  • ToeCheese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3VirtueDesktop had issues with my MacBook and seeing a few other responses it seems that I wasn't the only one. As for Apple's Spaces I just hope that the transition animation can be shutoff. That type of eye candy gets dull after a first few times. Virtual Desktops isn't anything new (on Macs or other OSes) and given Mac OS X's Unix roots it always felt like a missing feature.

    For Windows users with NVidia cards, Check out NVidia's Desktop Tools.

    For Linux users, just about every distro that is released with a GUI.

    For GUI-Less users, check out `screen` (Ok stretching it a bit but similar)
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I wonder how were feedback to developer just because of people with x86 macs had trouble.

      You know, these people, open source developers rely on feedback from users. I wonder if dozen of idiots flamed a freeware/opensource product author just because their still not stable, Rev 2 product had trouble.

      If it is the case, damn them.
  • FHKE, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Another example that Apple kills tiny 3rd party apps when a new OS released ...(Tiger kills Konfabulator which is still in development though...)

    Who will be the next target?


    BTW, I have been using VirtueDesktop for many months and it works well.
    • CrankyMcGuy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Tiger didn't kill Konfabulator. That's been debunked for ages now. Now Watson, on the other hand...
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Konf is now "Yahoo widgets", backed by a billion dollar giant named Yahoo! Inc. So we can't call it "dead". I have used Yahoo widgets here while I don't like the concept but I'd call it better and more stable (in terms of coding) than Apple widgets.

      http://widgets.yahoo.com
    • aristotle0dude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Watson was an extension for Sherlock and the next version of Sherlock was already in development when Watson came out. It was only a matter of time that Watson would be replaced by functionality with Sherlock. It's all ancient history now since Sherlock is dead now too.

      I don't want to get into the argument about who copied who or that Arlo had worked on projects at Apple that never saw the light of day except as shareware released by Arlo.

      Yahoo widgets are based on XML and Mozilla's Javascript engine with proprietary extensions. That makes it extremely hard to program and debug. Dashboard widgets are based on Javascript and HTML making them easier to debug and Apple will provide an IDE for them in Leopard.
  • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1First Fire.app and as a customer who got abandoned by Codetek, a $50 desktop manager, "Virtue Desktop".

    Open source developers don't understand why "Spaces" or anything else wouldn't make people instantly switch away from their product. That is not how it works. See Miranda on Windows, did it "die" because of those bells/whistles Trillian etc?

    Versiontracker.com numbers: Downloads (all versions): 90,612 (Virtue Desktops)
    Downloads (all versions): 452,915 (Fire.app)

    These are "dream" numbers for a commercial company by any size including Adobe Systems and Apple.
  • thecontinental, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I use Virtue everyday on my Macbook and other than a few hiccups (which the developer fixed after one request on ther message board) it has been very stable and and a very useful tool. Cheers to Tony...
  • causticwindow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1does anyone have a mirror for a download of this. i have it running on my macbook but would like to use it on my em ac as well.
    • cmv0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think i have a copy, email me at calebvaughn|at|gmail|dot|com
  • tinyhunter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0sad to see it being stopped, as I love using it.
  • just_chris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"VirtueDesktop -- The End :-(
    Well, the developer is stopping development for now. All I have to say is that he did a great job - hope someone takes over the project."

    That's great, but what the hell is "VirtueDesktop" anyway??
    • mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It was a simple way to enable multiple desktops on your mac. Push a shortcut key combo & it shows a fresh desktop. It's a nice little app. I understand why he's not going to develop it anymore since Leopard is supposed to come standard with this.
  • kevinarth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I installed this a number of times and was unable to make it work properly. I've heard it was buggy, but many loved this app, so I wanted to try it. holdin' out for Leopard.
  • mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I really like VirtueDesktop and I use it daily. Many thanks to the developer.
  • wonderosity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Apart from its unfortunate APPronym which I almost didn't catch in my original opening sentence ("I've been enjoying VD for some time now"), this was an awesome app. Many thanks and much understanding to the developer as well.
    Cheers,
    leif
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