Please describe the problem:
Occasionally when I switch workspaces using the Workspace Switcher,
e.g., by rolling the mouse wheel when it has focus, something allocates
what looks like all available virtual memory.  I see my process
monitor's memory usage bar climb, and the disk gets very busy, to the
point where the machine is unusable for several minutes.  Eventually the
machine recovers, and the memory usage has become very small (maybe 20%
of the RAM is in use).  I suspect the recovery happens because the
runaway process exhausts all virtual memory and gets killed by the
kernel.  The machine is slow for a while after that, presumably because
the applications need to get swapped back into RAM.

This seems to happen mainly when two workspace manager applets are
loaded, e.g., one on the bottom panel and one on the top panel.  (N.B. I
like that arrangement, with the top panel set to be as large as possible
and to autohide.  That way the little one on the bottom is easy to use
to switch workspaces, while the big slide-out one is used occasionally
to drag windows between workspaces).


Steps to reproduce:
1. Launch GNOME
2. Set up two (or more?) workspace switchers on panels
3. Switch workspaces until machine thrashing starys


Actual results:
Thrash for a few minutes, then slow recovery as apps get swapped back
in


Expected results:
Nearly instantaneous workspace switching


Does this happen every time?
It happens every few minutes of messing with workspaces, when two or more Workspace Switchers are loaded


Other information: