I dont think you are understanding the problem here. Its not with maximizing windows on your monitor, its with having apps go fullscreen while still having access to your second monitor. Currently OSX makes the 2nd monitor linnen.
I understand the problem perfectly well. I've used Lion for a long while now. Prior to 10.7 there WAS no fullscreen feature (no universal feature, that is. Individual apps had their own implementations), and I hate how Apple implemented it.
Regardless, my point is that a lot of people have been using the full-screen feature as a substitute for full-maximize. I'll gladly sacrifice a quarter inch of screen real-estate to be able to use my external display simultaneously. I actually NEED that menu bar most of the time, anyway.
