Providing alternative content in a windowed environment

A computer-implemented method that facilitates display of alternative content, comprising:

• implementing, in an operating system window manager executing on a computing device having a processor, an Application Program Interface (API) that enables a rotation feature that is useable by the window manager to rotate a graphical object independent of an application that instantiated the graphical object;
• determining, by the operating system, a computer-based graphical object that is double-sided or potentially double-sided;
• identifying a portion of the graphical object that is not occluded by a second graphical object;
• selecting alternative content to be displayed on a secondary side of only the portion of the graphical object based at least in part on dimensions of the portion of the graphical object;
• rotating, by the window manager using the rotation API, at least the portion of the graphical object to expose the secondary side of the portion of the graphical object;
• and
• displaying the selected alternative content on the secondary side of the portion of the graphical object.

A computer-implemented method for extending an operating system window manager API, comprising:

• implementing in an operating system window manager executing on a computing device having a processor, an Application Program Interface (API) that enables a window rotation feature that is useable by the window manager to rotate a graphical object independent of an application that instantiated the graphical object;
• displaying a plurality of graphical objects, the graphical objects comprising one or more double-sided graphical objects, multi-sided graphical object, or single-sided graphical objects that can be configured to be a double-sided or multi-sided graphical objects;
• identifying a graphical object that is an active graphical object;
• rotating, by the window manager using the API, the graphical objects different from the active graphical object to expose secondary surfaces of the rotated graphical objects.