JK points out that the venerable
application switcher TopDesk has added a mode that allows
you to flip through open windows in much the same way that Windows Vista's new Windows-Tab key combination offers. It's
definitely very cool to look at, and Otaku Software has done a good job of making the application very fast,
considering XP is not geared in a native way to provide a 3D view of open windows. The classic TopDesk views are also
worth a look, providing Expose-style overviews of all open windows.
I have one complaint though, which is that when using TopDesk to flip through open windows, it does not appear to respect the "most recently used ordering" that Windows tracks. What I mean by that is that when I Alt-Tab using the task switcher that is built in to Windows, it scrolls through the open programs starting with the most recently used window, and going back in order of use. This makes it extremely quick to switch between two or three active programs. TopDesk appears not to dynamically order the windows, meaning that each time you invoke the Alt-Tab hot key, you are required to look carefully at each window as it flips past.
TopDesk is a commercial program, and a license costs $9.95 USD, however it has a very generous 30 day trial period to run it through its paces in your daily routine.
[Update February 27, 2006] - James Stewart
from Otaku (makers of TopDesk) dropped by in our comments to point out that TopDesk does use the Z-Order which is how
the built-in Windows Alt-Tab feature determines which window to show next. I probably experienced an isolated glitch on
my system. Don't you just love developers that are willing to engage the user community? I know I do.
