[cs702]

velodrome:

You can make the Unity launcher (i.e., the sidebar) less crowded. Just run "Appearance" (<Super><A>, "appea", <Enter>) and change Launcher Icon Size to 32. I had to do this myself for the same reason.

You can also switch quickly between all windows of the currently focused app -- just tap <Alt><`>. (The <`> key is right above the <Tab> key on US keyboards.)

Also, note that the little triangular pointers on the launcher are different for applications running in the current workspace versus those running in other workspaces.