Reading that thread, I find that the screen space available for
productive work is, for many, something so critical that they have
essentially one window and no pannel, just to use all available space.

    I'm on the other side. When developping software, I typically use
one or two Emacs windows plus one terminal emulator on the same
workspace, or only one Emacs, but a browser window, because I'm
currently developping a web server. I usually dedicate a whole workspace
to Thunderbird -- I have two email addresses and many subdirectories in
each.

    In addition to these windows, I also have the Xfce pannel on the
bottom of the screen. I use an HP EliteBook laptop with a 14" screen and
feel comfortable enough. I like the overall size of the machine and
would be embarassed with something bigger. I usually put it on a table,
but can also work with it on my lap. I have abandonned long ago the use
of a mouse for the touchpad. I still need the mouse on my domestic
desktop, but don't like it. I don't like upstanding large screens: they
give me pain in the neck; a laptop on a table is close to the
traditionnal way of intellectual work; a paper and a pen.

--     Didier