By default Ubuntu 11.10 with unity interface has a 2×2 workspace, however I am used to have a single row horizontal 4×1 workspace with 4 desktops. I haven’t found any option under settings to change this, but here’s a workaround:
Edit the file ~/.gconf/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/%gconf.xml and add two new gconf entries as follows:
<?xml version=\"1.0\"?>
<gconf>
<entry name=\"hsize\" mtime=\"1317329603\" type=\"int\" value=\"4\"/>
<entry name=\"vsize\" mtime=\"1317329604\" type=\"int\" value=\"1\"/>
</gconf>
Edit the hsize and vsize values to fit your needs 
github.com/poliva
Google+
linkedin.com/in/pauoliva
twitter.com/pof
Thanks for showing the straight-to-the-source method. The GUI way is to install CompizConfig Settings Manager (sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager), start it up, click “General Options”, click the “Desktop Size” tab, and then change the vertical size or horizontal size as necessary.
Keith, thanks for leaving that comment! Having already installed CCSM for a couple other tweaks (I just moved to 11.10 today, been doing a lot of ownership-taking) I went with your approach and had it the way I wanted it (4×1) in a manner of seconds. At most 1/3 the time it took me to type this comment.