You Control: Desktops for Mac1.3.1b1

is this still being developed or is it dead?

When I first bought this app, I was pleased for the most part with its functionality. It offered several tangible advantages over Spaces. However, I reported an issue that the support team said they aware of and working on, but it never got fixed. In fact, the only update that came out at all for this app in, I think, the last two years, was this beta release. Now, the developer's website basically states that Desktops will never be compatible with Snow Leopard. What did I pay for exactly? I think You Software treats their customers very badly, and I would never send them another penny.

10.6 Compatibility NOT Compatible There are significant changes in Snow Leopard that seriously impact You Control: Desktops. A number of features of the application are not functional. At this time, we are unable to commit to supporting You Control: Desktops on Snow Leopard. We will continue to support existing users on earlier versions of the Mac OS. source: h**p://www.yousoftware.com/desktops/desktops.php

Excellent software. No more updates for Snow Leopard ?

CodeTek VDP is abandonware.

Desktops is a good virtual desktop program. The features it has works well. If it were not for Codetek's similar program this would be my top choice. But the program is missing two very important features: 1) to assign applications to a particular destop and most important to allow a program to appear on selected, multiple desktops. Codetek Virtualdesktops, therefore, is much more configurable. The only thing that this has over Codetek is the fancy desktop transitions, which I love. You Control also needs polishing in one particular area. The pager is not at all polished. The desktop names in it look awful. The window pictures appear to be black and white and are difficult to distinguish from one another. This is important when you want to move a window from one desktop to another. Codetek does this slightly better but not perfect. It relies on displaying the applications icon on each window. I prefer this method, at least I can tell which program it is. Also Codetek lets you configure the pager multiple ways, not being locked to the menu bar, whereas You Control only allows a non-configurable vertical column. A long column makes dragging a window more work. Rating: 3.5 stars

This is what Spaces SHOULD HAVE been. Excellent program. :)

Sorry... I forgot to assign the stars.

Shame on you AKROBAT... you do NOT write 2 star reviews (thus lowering the overall rating) for a product just because you could not assign the middle mousebutton... and you don't run around to all the other virtual desktop applications and do the same, as you have. Try developing some software and learn what it takes before you do such a disservice to developers. I have tried them all... Desktop Manager, Virtual Desktops, Spaces... and by FAR You Control Desktops is worth every penny. For my money... SPACES is pure junk and not thought out well at all. This is particularly discouraging when it is Apple and when there were so many good software models for SPACES to choose from. You can't even assign an F key to switch to specific space... while you can specify an application to show up in all windows you cannot specify it to show up in ANY window... a subtle but significant difference... such as being able to open a second window of the same app in another space... and leave it there when switching. YCD is elegant and miles above SPACES... for example... you can use the pull down menu to select any currently running application and choose which behavior you want. You can simply click on the pull down menu to display each open desktop and drag windows from one to the other. I was a senior software engineer at Apple when the first mac came out and it never ceases to amaze me they bring out a new operating system and do things like SPACES so miserably... or like going to all kinds of trouble to put 4 rounded corners on menus (which I think looks refined) and yet remove the trademark rounded corners from the menubar and make it transparent... which is worse than windows! If you enjoy working with SPACES then you will LOVE working with You Control Desktops. As a developer I could not live without virtual desktops and YCD makes it easy and intuitive.

I've a Macbook and an eMac. I use Spaces on my Macbook and was looking for a similar app for my eMac. All I need is the option to allocate the main menu to the middle mouse button (like Spaces). Click the middle button, choose a desktop and that's it! I've tried all of the Virtual Desktop application on MacUpdate and not one of them offers the simple choice of bringing up the main menu (desktops) with a mouse button... not one! They insist on hotkeys... This is why I stick to Spaces.

Let's revisit this app. and compare it with Leopard's Spaces. In two ways, I think YCD is still better. 1.) Although it is not entirely stable, as I have already noted, it DOES let you place different windows created by the same application on different desktops, which can be very useful if you have several projects going at the same time which require the same applications. 2.) It lets you put different desktop backgrounds on different virtual desktops, which is a very effective visual cue to help keep you oriented about where you are (by contrast, in Spaces it's very easy to get disoriented). Also, of course, the different Keynote-like transition effects have an undeniable cool factor.

I've tried some other multi-screen apps., including some freeware ones. I. m. h. o. this is the best and most stable. And yet it continues to lack a feature I really like, the ability to open windows created by a single given application in various desktops and to accurately remember and maintain the position of those windows on the desktop where the user wants them. That would be a more accurate and more useful virtualization of the experience of having multiple monitors. Unless some undocumented improvements have been made (like all other such virtualization apps.) really isn't entirely good or entirely stable about remembering this kind of window placement.

I would've given You Control: Desktops a 5 stars review if it weren't for the lack of control that an user has to decide if he/she wants to switch from one desktop to another once he/she closes an application. I emailed the developers about this situation, but they've ignored my suggestion in every update so far. So, even though I've been an user of this application for over two years now, it annoys me that they would continue developing such an useful app without including such a simple option: switch or not switch to the next desktop after all the apps have been closed in the current desktop.

I am a former CodeTek virtual desktops user who recently switched to this application when I got a MacBook Pro. My Virtual Desktop needs are pretty simple - just have a set of applications that are always displayed on a particular desktop.This app works great and is very stable for that purpose. I haven't tried all the extra features. The demo worked for me without any problems. The app has a nice menu to switch between your desktops and you can customize the icon to your liking which is nice. I typically just use keyboard shortcuts for this, though. The arrangement of desktops is a simple list that cycles which is how I'm most productive. I've tried 2D sets / grids of desktops in other programs and always found it to take too much thought. The current beta has a bit more polish than the previous release and I've found it to be stable on my MacBook Pro and on my G5 Tower. YouControl Desktops also doesn't exhibit the annoying "unfocused dialog box" issue with Adobe Creative Suite CS 3 of which other similar applications suffer. The only feature I miss from CodeTek is the ability to have an external monitor not do switching. A workaround is to set those applications on the second monitor (e.g., EyeTV) to "display on any desktop" then turn off the desktop transitions. All said, the software is well worth the money for me.

This is the only virtual desktop application that works properly on Intel 10.4.8. It's missing some of the features of a few of the others, but it also doesn't have nearly as many bugs. NOTE: there seems to be a better version of this application on their website.

Same as previous reports - cannot get past selecting demo mode. Lack of reply from developer for so many months says it all... YouSoftware sucks.

I've never been able to try this software... I can't get past the window that asks if you want to try the demo, buy or register. If I hit the demo button another window appears saying that there was an error with my license (which i don't have of course) because it expired. Next time I launch it, there's no demo button.

As a professional photographer, I need all the desktop space I can get. This product helped me be more productive.

Great app! I can't work without it. The latest version works great. Desktops transition smoothly and I can allocate specific files to a specific Desktop - really reduces the clutter.

Russel, try VirtueDesktop ( http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16530 ), its free, and works (and is better, the right kind of better)!

Sparky, try version v1.1.1 on TIGER, it works!

I got it for TIGER because the other multiple desktop program I normally use wasn't compatible with TIGER. You Control Desktop is unstable in TIGER in the sense that the wibdows in one desktop have a habit of jumping over to another desktop. Annoying!

wow! really anoying app.. i have installed "Little Snitch" in my system like a tool to try to isolate spyware or web-contact applications... and You Control Desktop try to contact some server almost for 5 times! ...c'mon dev dudes, you only make stay away from your software!

Interesting alternative to dashboard ;-)

Phones home.

Virtue Desktop Manager offers everything this offers for free! So, unfortunately I see no reason to try this as great as product it might be. I can't live and work without virtual desktops!

I agree with Anonymous. It may very well be a great product but with open source alternatives it's hard to justify the cost.

niiice, i love this! If it would use a different Dock for every configuration that would be the clincher.