Most modern netbook type devices like the OLPC XO-1, Asus EEE PC, etc
have a small screen compared to a traditional laptop/desktop, and in
order to maximize screen real estate usage, applications on these
devices are run in maximized, undecorated mode. However, it must be
noted here that maximized + undecorated mode does not necessarily mean
fullscreen, as screenshot [1] and screenshot[2] show. They are both
screenshots of the same web-cam application, the first taken in normal
mode, and the next taken in fullscreen mode.
Currently as it stands, all desktop applications cannot be run in this
mode, as they are designed specifically to occupy part of the screen.
Examples of such applications include The GIMP[3], Pidgin, Skype, etc.
Hence, it becomes very difficult for the implementers of a netbook
graphical environment to make normal desktop applications coexist with
applications customized specifically for the netbook GUI. Both classes
of applications set the _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE hint to
_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_NORMAL, which makes it hard to distinguish one
class of applications from another, unless one resorts to some kind of
whitelisting or blacklisting process.
An example of this would be the Sugar graphical environment, where all
Activities are run in maximized + undecorated mode (there is a large,
easily accessible button on each activity toolbar which lets the user
close the activity). However, when we try to run applications such as
The GIMP, it becomes unusable, unless we somehow implement a blacklist
feature in the Window manager, asking it to not to maximize/undecorate
the blacklisted applications. I believe Ubuntu Netbook Remix also uses
an advanced version of such a system[4]

Hence, I would like to propose a new _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE, namely
_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_NETBOOK_APP, which indicates that the window
having this property is the main window for an application designed
specifically for small screen devices. The window manager should
typically make this window maximized (both horizontally and
vertically) and undecorated, so as to maximize screen real estate
usage.


[1] http://dev.laptop.org/~sayamindu/sugar_metacity/Captura%20de%20pantalla_1_2.png
[2] http://dev.laptop.org/~sayamindu/sugar_metacity/Captura%20de%20pantalla_1.png
[3] http://dev.laptop.org/~sayamindu/sugar_metacity/gimp_sugar_shot.png,
http://arstechnica.com/news.media/remixgimp.png
[4] http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~netbook-remix-team/netbook-remix/maximus/annotate/25?file_id=maximusapp.c-20080523140113-ytrevso9ct6ay111-21