As an alternative to an Internal Frame-based (multi-document interface-based) workspace implementation, we could provide a workspace that resembled the desktop on MacOS or Windows. Such a workspace:
- Would consist of a 2D area with iconic representations of collaborative objects, the locations of which would be shared
- Would allow opening of components in separate windows
- Could provide additional awareness information beyond that normally provided in the tree+list explorer view (e.g., who is using each object)
- Could be based on the whiteboard, allowing annotation. Since no component UIs would be directly embedded in the whiteboard, we would not encounter the command/focus ambiguity problems that we've seen in attempts to embed components directly on a whiteboard
- Would have well-defined web presentation, e.g., a clickable imagemap of the desktop. Web views of clicked components could optionally appear in separate frames. (And target frames could be specified per-object?)
- but would be much less WYSIWIS than the internal frame-based approach This could be mitigated somewhat by providing additional awareness information. For example, for each object, information could be provided telling which users had the object open, whether or not the window was active, whether or not the window was iconified, and the bounds of the window within each user's display.
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