@957492b3 radical idea to get that UX with a computer: have a special "sticky note" stylus that you can use with a graphics tablet, or maybe with the laptop's touch pad. Whenever you pick up that stylus, a virtual sticky note pops up and anything you scrawl shows up on it. Bonus points if picking up the stylus wakes the computer from standby, notetaking works on the lock screen, and putting the stylus down afterwards puts the computer back to sleep. 

 @957492b3 This solves the app navigation issue in a physical way that has lower cognitive load, at the expense of extra hardware and a ton of software work.