[the_pwner224]

> The actual issue is that Windows and Linux don't properly use a ‘super’ key―while the ‘Win’ key is sitting there uselessly.

Some people do use the super key. I have it bound to a huge number of actions (WASD to switch workspaces, Alt+WASD to move window to adjacent workspaces, C to close window, X to pause/unpause media, Z to show workspace overview, tab to switch between workspaces like alt-tab does for windows, P and ; to invert colors, F and T to control window tiling, / to bring up the dropdown terminal, and the 4x4 grid from '6' to '.' to go to one of my 16 workspaces).

It would be a shame if applications started using 'super' in their keybindings - having a key that is effectively globally reserved for user-configurable actions is very useful. There are no worries about conflicting keybindings when you use super; the same cannot be said of keybindings that use ctrl or even ctrl+alt+letter - for example, many IDEs use ctrl+alt+letter to do stuff, which would mess with global user-configured shortcuts. Perhaps the position could be optimized though.

[opan]

In both i3wm and awesomewm I use super as my main modifier for window management. I am also glad programs don't often touch it so that it's available for this.

[mikewhy]

> There are no worries about conflicting keybindings when you use super

Aren't there conflicts on most desktops?

- Windows, off the top of my head, has Win+R, Win+C, Win+V, Win+x, Win+D, Win+L, Win+E, Win+Directions - Linux (well Ubuntu/Gnome3) has Win+L, Win+R, Win+Mouse, Win+Directions - macOS (considering Ctrl to be super here) has Ctrl+Arrows, along with many common Ctrl+Letters from the unix world

[the_pwner224]

On Windows you can't do anything with super (AFAIK); you are stuck with what Microsoft provides you and that's it.

Most Linux desktop environments (Gnome, KDE, etc.) provide default mappings that involve super, but they can all be changed freely by the user. So you can get rid of Win+L or change what it does (at least on KDE, or if you are using just a WM like i3).

macOS is just weird, with the cmd/ctrl split.