VirtuaWin provides virtual desktops for your HP2133 mini-note running Windows XP

Over the next few weeks, I’ll highlight some of the best free software that is available for the HP mini-note, running Windows XP. Today, I’m recommending you take a look at a cool Open Source virtual windows manager.

We all know that the HP2133 mini-note has a great display. The 8.9 inch high resolution (1280 x 768) screen is perfect for viewing a single document, watching a movie or browsing the web, but since moving to Windows XP I miss the advanced virtual desktop software that comes with many of the Linux distributions, like Ubuntu. Recently to plug this functional gap, I installed an Open Source Virtual Windows Manager, called VirtuaWin. I’ve been running it on my mini-note now for a few weeks without problems. Now I can easily switch between web browsing, itunes, document editing and editing my blog with a single keypress. No more fussing around with minimizing & maximizing different windows etc. The software is initially configured for 4 virtual desktops, with simple navigation keys (which can be easily redefined) and has additional modules that you can use to add functionality. I kept the default number of desktops and modified some of the navigation keys. I’ve been using v4.0.1 which seems very stable.

You can download the software or read more about it at SourceForge.net (the home of all things Open Source).

Configuring VirtuaWin on the HP mini-note

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1 Response to “Virtual Desktops for your HP mini-note running Windows XP”

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1 Rob
December 9, 2008 at 4:43 pm

Cheers for the tip. I might giv this a go. With relation to memory usage, do you see any performance gains in running apps in a virtual desktop rather than in multiple windows? I would have imagined virtual desktops would have been more of a memory hog than simply letting XP manage the windows.