Many years ago I tried using multiple desktops through some factory-installed so

Question

Many years ago I tried using multiple desktops through some factory-installed software (NVidia Desktop Manager, or something like that) on my work computer. It was nice when it worked, but would often crash, lose my windows, and behave oddly with applications whose windows weren't allowed to be resized.

I'd like to try multiple desktops again but was hoping for some recommendations for stable, lightweight software. I say "lightweight" remembering how NVidia's software was bloated with loads of crazy options, which I suspect was responsible for its instability.

Explanation / Answer

I've yet to find a virtual desktop software that is not utterly decimated by the large numbers of windows I frequently have on my system, but of the ones I've tried, the following worked reasonably well:

Dexpot - Free for personal use, $30 / computer for commercial
VirtuaWin - Free

Both cover the basics that you'd expect from a virtual desktop environment. The biggest complaint was that it would often take 0.5-2s to complete a switch between virtual desktops, which was a no-go to someone used to instantaneous response from Compiz (Linux) or Spaces (OS X)

Stop the presses! I just tried out Desktops from Microsoft (Free). It's extremely simple and lightweight, and switches quickly. Going to be using this a lot...

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