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Want to simplify? Add a monitor

nwfdailynews.com — They may conjure up the image of frantic day traders, but few pieces of technology can make your work at a desk more serene than a second monitor. Forget about constantly minimizing and maximizing windows to read a new email. Put Outlook on its own monitor, and go about your work in the other.

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giantAppleCore 2 years 2 days ago, made popular 2 years 2 days ago

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othersomethings, on 10/12/2007, -134/+11I noticed every article you've submitted has ben NWFDN. So I guess you work for Freedom Communications, then? Or are you just a really loyal customer?
- mozzer, on 10/12/2007, -5/+68or how about: "it was an interesting story he wanted to share"
- giantAppleCore, on 10/12/2007, -4/+83I do typically submit nwfdn stories, they're my local paper, and their rss feeds contain interesting stories, I could subscribe to yahoo and get their stories, but what is the chance I could submit a story from there before anyone else?
- titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -5/+29So freaking what? If the content other Digger will Digg becuse they like the article. So what if some one only submits stories from one site or most of the stories are from their favorite site its the content that mainly matters.
  
  -Oh and when I first saw your name giantAppleCore I though it was giantAppleCare
- titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25I meant to say "...If the content is good other Diggers will Digg it because they like the article."
- Bansuri, on 10/12/2007, -1/+49At least it's not some crappy blog trying to generate page hits.
- gmillerd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4simplify but hitting ignore, i use a dual head system and its very productive. its just one of those things you dont realize until you try it.
- paintist, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4Since when does simplification entail buying more unessential electronics?
- tweekgeek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3There are some very useful apps that will set up virtual monitors for those of us that can't afford an extra monitor... http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/ is just one of them.
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.shiftingcreations.com/blog/posted-images/quake.jpg
  
  (Quake 3 on 24 monitors)
  
  http://nastyhobbit.wordpress.com/files/2005/10/multi-monitors.jpg
  
  (Flight sim on 12 monitors)
borninda818, on 10/12/2007, -29/+7or you could just get that apple or dell 30 inch screen. It's pretty much the same as dual monitor if you put the full resolution.
- RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26Or you could spend about 700 dollars and get two Dell or Viewsonic 20 inch widescreens.
- umrgregg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+52Or you could spend $1400 and get two of them. Like me :D
  
  Or you could save your money and just go outside and get some fresh air. I mean, if outlook is pissing you off to the tune of $700 it's time to go exercise.
- justinwalden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15But I believe the point is so that you can have two apps fully open with a dedicated monitor for monitoring email, and perhaps, rss, music controls, etc. Having a 30" monitor is also a bit annoying when you are close to the screen as it requires too much eyestrain, whereas two monitors just requires you to glance over.
- akira117, on 10/12/2007, -12/+4This is my monitor pretty big and really cheap I highly recommend it:
  http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2317700&Sku=H94-1906
- sclifford, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3At work I have a 30" cinema display and a 24" wide-screen Samsung. I typically use Virtue Desktops as well. I have to say it's very nice and lets me plow through a lot of stuff. It's about as much screen real-estate as I handle, though, but very nice for PhotoShop.
  
  Ideally I think that a cinema display with two normal monitors on the side would be best, especially if they pivot.
- Harboggles, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I use a dell 20001 fp on my Macbook pro and I use the extra 20.1" for my main task (browsing/gaming) and my other monitor for out of game chat browsing etc.
- JackAxe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Trust me when I say 2 screens just don't compmare to a single 30". I speak from experience and I would like ot mention a friend in the industry that had taken the dual HD 23" route first for more pixel space. This was after hearing my praises and rambles about my 30". It only took him a year to come around, but he moved to a 30" late last year and regrets not getting one in the first place, because of the money wasted.
  
  I like a second screen for isolation, and I've been using 2 screen setups for about a decade now, but I've never liked the clear seperation via the mointor's border, nor the the "color" differences between two screens that is there no matter how well each one is calibrated. Apps like Photoshop are prone to image ripping with a dual mointor setup. Wacoms as an example, work much better on a single screen. Mapping them to a dual screen cause tracking distortion. Maya, AEP, DVDSPro and FCP are any timeline app are much better to work with on a single higher-rez screen. Well all of my graphic apps, even Painter.
  
  I'm not against adding a second screen to my 30", if it carries the title of Cinitiq 21ux. :]
  
  Blah, until something of a higher rez comes along, that's not painfully slow like the IBM 200 DPI screen from several years back, I'm content. I haven't been this content since getting my first 20" Sony in 96.
  
  Blah...
- Bobski, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8@akira117
  
  Feh- Your 19" monitor has no better resolution than My 17", as is the case with almost all monitors over 17".
  
  You don't have a better monitor, just bigger dots.
- hammydude, on 10/12/2007, -9/+19@akira
  *SMACK*
  
  How many times do I have to tell you people: Tiger Direct ***** Sucks
- CyberGlitch, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11You could install Linux and use multiple workspaces, saving a whole lot of money.
- skyshock21, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I think I'll just use the cube that comes with XGL/Compiz and save the money and deskspace thank you very much. I've done the dual (and triple) monitor thing... it's just overkill when you have something as powerful as the cube IMO.
- AnteChronos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11"You could install Linux and use multiple workspaces, saving a whole lot of money."
  
  The point of having multiple monitors is that you can see more stuff at once. I like to have the code I'm working in in one monitor, and the API docs in another. Using multiple workspaces just isn't the same thing at all.
- PowerCow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7or you could use your laptop as another monitor
  http://www.maxivista.com/
- akira117, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Any resolution over mine is not really worth getting right now.
  If I wanted high res. I would have got a CRT...
- nogami, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I'll stick with the 2 x 24" Dell LCDs that I own... Great picture, solid hardware, and they look frikken sweet on the desk :P
  
  N.
- lava, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I say get two of these:
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116373
- GIFF3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For people with not a lot of money to work with could give http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/ a try. It's works pretty well.
- golgotha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"The point of having multiple monitors is that you can see more stuff at once. I like to have the code I'm working in in one monitor, and the API docs in another. Using multiple workspaces just isn't the same thing at all."
  
  How about using multiple workspaces with dual monitors? This works terrific.
  I'm a web developer, so I have my editor in one monitor and browser in the other.
  On another workspace, I have my email on one monitor and my IM apps and music in the other.
  
  A sidenote: Fedora5 has amazing openGL screensavers! The nice thing about twinview is when your screensaver launches, you get two different openGL screensavers; one on each monitor. My windows only co-workers drool when walking past my setup.
- DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@justinwalden
  
  No, the point is to have a supervillain lair. MUAHAHAHHAHAHH!!!
- drjson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I am also a fan of dual monitor, multiple desktops. Often times I'll be working on multiple projects at a time so I'm able to setup desktops for each and leave my command/console/status windows on one and my visual needs on my main monitor. This allows me to quickly switch between projects when needed without worrying about losing my last spot I was at.
- perrupa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1>or you could use your laptop as another monitor
  >http://www.maxivista.com/
  
  Yeah cause a laptop is cheaper than a monitor.. ;) Just kidding, I know what you're getting at. I myself am in the situation where I dunno whether to get the 24" or two 19"s or waste $2000 on a 30" cause I really don't think I have the money for that.
goat77, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7I've got my 19" LCD and a 15" CRT both hooked up to my PC. The 15" CRT is mainly used for playing a constant steam of MST3k while I use my computer.
- hammydude, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I know someone with *5* monitors (19" lcd, 18" lcd, 2 15"lcds, and 19" crt)
  Plus he has his laptop also on his desk, so its kind of like 6
  
  I should really invest in another monitor, I am stuck with one 19". I had another monitor once but it broke...
- nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Ha, sounds like me. I had 4 17" LCDs, one on my Mac mini, 2 on my 2x Opteron (linux), and one on a crappy old Celeron (windows). With synergy (shares mouse + keyboard over lan) it's just like one big desktop, copy & paste works and everything.
  
  Then telus gave me a "free" 19" dell for signing a 3 year contract and now I have LCDs coming out my ears. plus a 19" CRT i don't use. where do you sell this kind of stuff at a decent price?
TiCL, on 10/12/2007, -10/+10Or you use a tiling WM:
http://gentoo-portage.com/x11-wm/ion3
- twid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7How is that the same at all?
- TiCL, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"How is that the same at all?"
  
  Because no matter how many monitors you add, you will always end up short. So changing the way you switch windows in the answer. Tiling WMs force all windows to become maximized and keep the user from ending up with several OVERLAPPING window with different sizes. It's a little hard to comprehend if you have never given WMs like Ion3, Ratpoison, etc. a shot.
  
  PS: I am not digging you down ;)
- twid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I didn't digg you down either, but the comment still doesn't make sense to me. The article talks about how having more stuff visible at the same time makes you more productive. The fanciest window manager in the world can't do that. So a tiling WM would benefit from more screen real estate just the same as any other WM would.
  
  Your comment makes me think of the old RAM DOUBLER app on the Mac. :)
- TiCL, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"The article talks about how having more stuff visible at the same time makes you more productive."
  
  I disagree with that, I think it makes things more complicated when you are `managing' more than 2/3 windows on multiple monitors. It would actually distract most average users (glancing at sports websites when you are going through spreadsheets?!?). If there are only two window to manage then switching between them should be effortless (in any WM). The article fails to put a good everyday example. The outlook example is stupid, as pointed out by other posters.
- xaxa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I use ion3, the concept is a lot like 'tabs' in FireFox etc. A 'frame' can hold a selection of tabs, and multiple frames are tiled (they don't overlap). I've bound the numeric keypad keys to switch between the windows, e.g. 1 and 3 scroll through tabs, 2, 4, 6, 8 between adjacent frames and 7 and 9 between virtual desktops. I tried using two screens, but I find it's much easier to press one key and see a desktop with my email, IM than refocus on a different monitor.
DaveRocks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Very Good Read, and that was the reason i invested in a new nVidia (well CS too) but i still need the second monitor
chubbymidget, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Can't agree more. At work I have laptop that supports a external monitor in extended mode and I run to monitors on my desktop at home.
- Bobski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Why are you running to your monitors at home? Shouldn't you place them a little closer?
Markie1006, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17I can't agree more either - multiple monitors rock.

I have an Nvidia Quad card in my machine at the office with 4 flatpanels all running in 1600x1200 and it makes life so much easier than trying to fiddle with multiple desktops.
I can see at a glance when something needs attention.
- garethevans, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Wow, you must have a hell of a job - stock trader?
- Markie1006, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Good call - I do work for a trading company but on the development side, and yea it is the same video card all our traders have.
t3hSmartKid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7A second monitor is nice to have around if you have the cash...

Or you could use linux with mouse wheel desktop switching.
- BlackCow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Actualy if you have an older moniter laying around that works just as well. I put my old smaller LCD screen next to my main 17" LCD and I use it to display my google side bar and RSS feeds and stuff. I found this realy cool program called ultra-mon that puts the tool bar on both screens and puts the windows minmized on whatever screen u minimized it on. It also adds buttons to the top bar that allows u to send it to the other screen.
- umrgregg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You can set up something similar with nvidia utilities on windows. And it dooes help some.
- titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1On my PowerBook I hook it up via DVI to my mom's 30 inch HD TV :)
- nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Mouse wheeling over the desktop doesn't quite cut it when you want to see your text editor and API docs at the same time.
aximbigfan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3i just (last week) put another CRT on my inspoiron 6000.. it has been heven ever since. seriusly though, i am able to get things done faster, my handdoesnt get tired of moving the mouse down to the taskbar to maximize apps, i love it, only thing i dont liek is the lack of advanced support for it in windows.
- twinklyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15You should invest in a monitor with spellcheck on it!
- cgseller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I concure - I just added one @ work and I'm productive again!
orlandogeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I've been using a dual monitor setup for a couple years and I would never switch back. I do some programming and web development on the side (as I'm sure many others here do) and it's very useful to be able to work on one screen and view results on the other. Thinking of switching from 19" CRTs to 19" widescreen LCDs.
- bjboth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I just upgraded from two 19" CRTs to two 19" Dell LCDs. I gained about 4 square feet of desk space, and I'm loving it. Now, two 19" Dells run about $250/ea, so it ain't cheap - but it sure is worth it. Never mind the jump in clarity from switching from analog to native DVI.
  
  Since I don't own any screen-calibrating equipment, having my dual screens at different color hues drove me crazy. Goodbye to that problem with LCDs - they match! ...They still could use some calibration, but it's much better than the CRTs.
  
  I'll have to warn you that there is some ghosting, especially when gaming. But in every other aspect, they are superior to my previous CRT setup.
  
  (There's my 2 cents. Got a few hundred bucks? Get some LCDs.)
theuber1337, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Couldn't agree more!

http://1337united.com/filehosting/phil/photography/room/leftcorner.jpg
Though, four really is my forte.. ^^
- DaveRocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16when i get a second monitor this is how its gonna look
  http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/5893/secondmonitorrw6.jpg
- brandizzle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8theuber:
  
  Who the ***** uses rotary phones? & I think it's time to clean buddy.
- umrgregg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ theuber1337, is you computer chair your toilet? :D
  
  Looks like your rig is in the bathroom...
- asdfff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That's an impressive setup, but why is there a bathroom sink in what I'm assuming is the living room?
- theuber1337, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Umm.. its my bedroom, and thats just my sink to the shared bathroom between rooms..
  
  @brandizzle
  Rotary phones are awesome man :P
- TiCL, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1You are gonna get very sick real soon.
- hobbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Hey, I remember that episode of Mythbusters.
  
  Seriously though ... get rid of those honky CRTs. Get some LCDs. You wouldn't BELIEVE how big your desk is once you switch to LCDs. Me? I'm packing 2 19"ers. I'd take a picture but I don't have a camera because I'm broke.
  
  Dual screens are amazing, I'd never give it up ... once you go dual, you never go back.
- theuber1337, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Why get LCD when CRT is so cheap though?
  I wouldn't be able to afford it; CRT works just the same, so the convenience isn't worth the cost to me.
- DaveRocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I would love to get rid of my CRT, but im 15, making only 6 an hour (which i spend all on hoagies from Wawa, and live in a row-home in philly so i know my parents are buying me one any time soon. I do have about 280 saved up, so i'm thinking about that $150 one i saw in a different comment (but i still need to get a diggnation tee) .
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Why get CRT when LCDs are so cheap? Hell, 4:3 ones of the same size as those CRTs are only $100 or so, and quality ones are not much more. A couple of Dell widescreen 20 inch panels are less than $600, total.
  
  Trust me, after having electron guns shooting directly at my eyeballs for years, I switched to LCD panels, and by god, I'll never switch back. My vision has come back too, I can see colors in the real world again. :)
- theuber1337, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Oh I use LCDs with other computers all the time, they're nice -don't get me wrong. But I don't see myself replacing 3 perfectly good 17" and 1 less than year old 19" CRT monitors, it would be a waste of good money that could go to something worthwhile.
  
  The only thing I have against many of the LCDs I see is they don't like high resolutions like 1920, and I've grown accustomed to working and gaming with it.
- Matt2k, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Quit looking for porn and clean your ***** room
- theuber1337, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@Matt
  What the hell? Weebls forums are porn? And my room is a mess?
  Dude, this room is clean, don't be such an ass..
graemee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I use two 19" LCDs at work. I use the web based version of Remedy and use two modules, incident & configuration. Add outlook, word & excel and even two monitors barely helps.
But it's alot better than one.
justinwalden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I am now inspired to go out and buy an LCD monitor. Too bad I use a laptop. Just imagine how nice it'd be not to just have two apps in fullscreen, but instead to create somewhat of an information center on the extra monitor with tons of widgets, clock, rss, music control, streaming TV. Although, I wonder how annoying it is to move the mouse over two screens esp. on a laptop when the touchpad. It seems a better idea would be an extremely wide single screen with two sidebars, one on each side with the main content in the center.
- jpavlish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A lot of laptops come with a VGA slot so you can add a second monitor. If not, there are PC card devices which can add additional monitors as well. They make great for "docking stations" with keyboards, mice and the like. Try it out!
- DaveRocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, to check if your laptop supports dual monitors just right click the desktop, and press properties go under settings and if you have two blue boxes (the one with the two on it should be faded out). If you have two boxes, that means your ready to go, and all you need is a monitor.
- justinwalden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, I've got a S-video out and a vga out, but it it still isn't a viable solution for when I am away from my desk. It'd be nice to have something like the F8 HUD in the Yahoo Widget Engine. The only thing I don't like about it now is that it doesn't fully hide everything else and when you hit F8 again, the widgets don't disappear.
- justinwalden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Excuse my ignorance, I just found out there is an option in Yahoo Widget Engine to have things only show up in HUD mode. Now I just need to get the docked Gaim window to disappear when I hit F8.
spenceman01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yes! I've been using 2 monitors for about 5 years now, and I haven't looked back. Typically I've got Winamp and my Gaim userlist in my secondary monitor and whatever I'm actively working on in the pirmary monitor. It's also great during coding sessions. You can have your IDE on one monitor and have documentation, etc. on the other.
Smoov, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The only thing I REALLY need my large monitors for is database diagrams. It really is helpful being able to see--and read--large schemas without having to scroll around too much. Since I do that a lot I can justify the multiple LCD monitor setup I have.

For now I have a 24" Dell and two 21" Viewsonics in portrait mode, one on either side of the Dell. I have two Nvidia 7800 cards driving it all.

I'm considering a 30 incher. It seems like it would be "cleaner" and take up less desk space.

Once the price comes down a bit I'll look into it.
prax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I simply by using exposé. It's enough. I'd *like* a nice 30" screen, but I'd like to have some free desk space too.
conigs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Us video editors have known this for years. Once using apps on two screens (coding, video editing, graphic design) it gets very hard to go back on a single screen. You realyl dont' realize how much room all those toolbars/info windows take up until you can move them off the screen.
Now if I could just find a good way for my tablet to work seemlessly on two screens...
Samiyam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I just got a Dell 24" LCD widescreen monitor. I was going to toss my old yet still decent 15" LCD, but decided to keep it on for the extra desktop space. An added benefit is that when I hook up my XBOX 360 and play Oblivion on my widescreen, I can have a browser window open on my little monitor for browing Oblivion forums.

Once you try two monitors, you'll never want to go back.
usergentoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What you can do is setup two monitors (or three or four) and run vmware on one of them so you can work with a different os from your main.
dmurray14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I run two 17's, and I can already feel my growing out of it. My productivity is so much higher with 2 monitors, and I know I would make use of another...
DuttonLake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Once you try three, you can never go back.

I use http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/ too tie together my Two 20" Screens on my mac and 21 on my PC. It works perfectly. Its possible too copy paste text between the two computers. Great for testing web pages in all browsers.
- texref, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Synergy rocks! I have two monitors hooked up to my Dell laptop -- 19" (old CRTs unfortunately, but they work!) -- plus I use the LCD on the laptop. Then, with synergy I have a *fourth* screen that I use for my mac mini for web testing and other things... No way I could ever go back to one - or even "just" two!!
- daedalus01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@duttonlake
  
  I agree completely - I'm using three monitors currently and absolutely love it. I have one 19" LCD in the center, flanked on either side by two 19" CRTs. The colors don't match up perfectly, but I've gotten very used to putting IRC and mail on the left monitor, AIM and browser windows on the right, and explorer windows or whatever I'm working on in the center monitor.
  
  I also agree with the Microsoft researcher comment from the article; three monitors feel much more natural than two do (at least in my opinion), plus I enjoy the symmetry more so than a primary on the left and a secondary on the right.
timmarhy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6i was goign to digg this, but they mentioned outlook and i got pissed off.
too many bad memories.
Leiterfluid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Someone may want to alert Ric Romero of this new phenomenon.
castleking, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1For a few days I've had to use my dad's computer with three monitors while i was forcing fine to work. Even after about 2 days of use, I find it extremely difficult to go back to my 17" CRT. I'd like to get another one, but don't have space for a second CRT and don't have the money for an LCD. :-)
statmobile, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4FTA:
"There is a good chance your computer hardware already supports a second monitor"

That is the stupidest technology article I've ever read. It's more like, there is a good chance your computer doesn't support two monitors!
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Umm... The article is correct, and you are not. Something like 80% of the video cards made in the last 4 years have dual monitor support. If you have a recent video card with 3d capabilities worth speaking of (anything more than $100 worth of card), then it's virtually certain that you have dual monitor support built in.
TimU, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I never understood the appeal of multiple monitors. Work spaces seem like a much better solution for increasing screen space.

- They're cheaper. $0 for four work spaces. No monitors expensive video cards to buy.

- They're easier, IMO. I map Meta+[1234] to switch between work spaces. No head turning needed.

- They're portable. You can have four work spaces on your laptop without having to lug around 3 monitors.

I hear they even have programs that give Windows multiple work spaces these days.
- apotropaic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You could also just alt-tab for that matter. The fact that you don't have to constantly switch between programs is why I use 4 monitors. Just switching a works space isn't the same thing. If you don't feel like you should have to tilt your head 10º then fine, don't get multiple monitors. But its not that big of a deal.
- cryptoz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think the idea is to be able to double your current visible working space. It's not about if the window is minimized or open in another desktop; it's about the fact that many windows can be visible simultaneously.
ikiris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Multiple Monitors is the way to go if you have always have to have that one application open, or that one website.

At work, I have a CRM portal open on one side, and then use the other monitor as the workspace. It makes things a lot simpler.

Though a 30 incher would be great for large spreadsheets and diagrams (no automatic way to maximize across multiple screens in windows), there isn't an easy way to make applications only maximize to half screen so you could use the other half to display another application, I may be wrong, but that' s just from using a 20" widescreen dell at home.
fubar109, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Once you go multi-monitor, you don't go back. I can attest to that.
caboosemoose, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I've never said this before because I often find it very annoying myself, but even I am compelled to say on this occasion what the *****? A community generated website designed for technology geeks has promoted to the front page a basic article about having multiple monitors?! Has this not been basically obvious for a long time? Please do digg me down if you think I'm being harsh, but this seems ludicrous to find worthy of note rather than the bleeding ***** obvious.
- DuttonLake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think that for the people that don't have two monitors, this story is dugg for them so that they understand the need.
- ozziegt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I agree, but if you analyze what makes it to the front page, it's clear thise site is mostly wannabe techies more than real hard core techies. :)
  
  Digg me down. You know I'm right.
rbvmusic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1meh I would just get growl
wyattxp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3how do people deal with not having 2 monitors
- tychop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I haven't got a clue...
wokethebears, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i can hardly function on two monitors. ive had 3 for a year now. i cant go back. all at 1600 by 1200 res
Civil44, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ive got two 17's at 2560x1024 and love it. Im never going back to one its just not worth it as I do alot of graphics and recording on my comp the extra screen space pays off. Allready I want to get two 22's or even up it to 3 monitors. The biggest downside is it takes up your deskspace and having multiple monitors is a big drag on your power bill depending on what you have.
- Gendu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I totally agree with you, I have a a 21" as a primary and a 18" secondary I dug out of the garage. As a matter of fact, I'm currently watching TV on my primary while typing this on the secondary. Usually I run Firefox on my primary and Thunderbird/Songbird/iTunes on the secondary. When I play World of Warcraft I have the game on my primary and everything else that would help my game play on the secondary at the same time. Giving yourself a second monitor is one of the smartest things you can do for efficiency. Do it
JayRod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was thinking of 2 monitors, but I just got one 21" monitor. It's all I need. Great in portrait mode.
- oggusfoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dude, I got a 19" Dell recently. Didn't even realize it would do portrait mode. It's been sitting that way ever since in between 2 bookshelf Pioneer's. I'm in love with this monitor. Of course having 2 turned sideways only makes one giant crt shaped monitor :(
MrXee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Noooo !! You're giving good tricks away to the competition !
MortisTortis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3When you add a monitor, all you do is complicate your daily life even more with multitasking... trying to write a document? Read a website? play a game? How do you like your email client interrupting you all the time... Simplicity and isolation = true productivity.
- TiCL, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Unfortunately, most of the people in this thread missed your point, and just trying to justify their expensive spending with logic presented in an infomarcial.
- apotropaic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Have you ever had a deadline Mortis? Well in some industries deadlines can be very harsh, multiple monitors are great for when you need to be very productive. And the great thing is... for when you do need the simplicity, you can just turn the other 2 or 3 extra monitors off! So see, I can have it both ways, depending on what I'm working with.
  
  If you've ever done video editing or Photoshopping or Web development you'd know that all those stupid toolbars just crowd your real workspace. By moving them to the screen next to what your are working on you find it to be simple to work on your your working on rather then work on find the right toolbar.
- rbvmusic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm interested... because how does the extra monitor allow for better video editing? Whenever I have an extra monitor for Final Cut Pro I just use it as a full screen display of my video. I prefer having all the toolbars, timelines and effects in one screen so I wouldn't have to go through two screens to do something.
- saska, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As a documentation writer, multiple monitors are not only a necessity, they are the true path to productivity. I can have what I'm writing about on one screen and my document in another.
fcodc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Recently bought a 19-inch monitor to work with my MacBook Pro. It's very useful for web design. Although I can't deny simple pleasures like having all my chat windows on a single monitor as I work on the other.
anomalya, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2multiple monitors are old fashion. get a HDTV.
Murdock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Adding an extra monitor is great! At home, I have my old 19 inch CRT right next to my new 17 Flat screen. Its great to maximize video while still working on some code or e-mails.
At work, I have a Laptop and it provides dual monitor support. It is so cool to have the code your working on in Full Screen mode while the object exe is open on the other monitor.

If you already have a laptop, see if it supports the dual monitors, and then find someone who is getting rid of a CRT, and you'll be all set.
scotticus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah... like he's not using the extra monitor for porn.
AD7GD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2At home I upgraded a 19" tube to a 24" dell widescreen. At work I have two LCDs (20 and 17", I think). The two have more resolution, and it's nice that apps will maximize to one window. But the 24" widescreen rocks for reading big PDF documents. You can get two larger-than-life size facing pages plus the index comfortably. It makes reading datasheets so much more pleasant.
xelloss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have been using 2 17inch Samsung LCDs for a long time and it is just really hard to use a computer with only one screen, when I want to get Firefox or something out of my mind for a second, I throw it on the other screen and open up windows media player or something. Or I can surf the web and have the Cable on, on the other screen as I surf the web or whatever. I mainlly got it for playing MMORPGs, like FFXI or WoW, that way I can surf or have guides out for quest and still be seeing if something attacks me or what not.
SilentBobSC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I actually prefer both ways... I have a Dell 20" Wide at home on my gaming rig, which also runs part time as a dev machine while at work I have dual off-brand (Oysris?) but matched 19s. At work, the duals are all but a necessity for the sheer organziational appeal of having Photoshop/Flash/Macromedia stacked on the left montior (creative Apps) with my browsers stacked on the right along with Outlook running in the b/g. This has considerably increased my production and work flow.
- SilentBobSC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1and a quick PS - our sysadmin just got his Triple-19's up and it's pure gold for him, so he can leave it for all sorts of tasks, RemoteAccess, VirtualBox, etc. and tons of chat bubbles to no doubt :D
mludd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd love to use two monitors. In fact, I used to have a dual-head setup but it just won't work on my main machine as I use a Wacom tablet and they tend to get a bit confused in those situations... Also, having a workspace that is 8:3 and trying to map that onto a 4:3 tablet would be too weird for my taste.
- dvws, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Dude, in the wacom properties dialog you can adjust the screen area that the tablet is mapped to, or have it mapped to just one of the monitors, also in the same dialog, you can change the proportions of the active area on the tablet to maintain aspect ratio.
- mludd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@dvws:
  I've tried doing that, the problem is that it doesn't work perfectly (at least not for me), and anything less than perfect is not good enough. One problem I got was that I'd see the "crosshairs" or pointer on my screen and then as I started drawing I'd notice how slowly it began drifting so that after a while I'd be drawing half an inch to the side of where the pointer was...
trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I am currently working on a 5 year old laptop with a max resolution of 1024x768 and thanks to all these comments about having 3 monitors and 30'' displays I am now clinically depressed, thanks :(
- trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1To give a little perspective, I don't see any whitespace next to these comments.
frankthetank, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I use 3 -19". its sweeeet!
maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm dual monitoring my 17" widescreen laptop w/ this archaic 17" crt... it makes me want to cry. But, I cant complain about the functionality. One day I'll upgrade to something that looks nicer....
leed25d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Forget Outlook if you do this, I guess. I use the enlightenment window manager with a pager that gives me 16 virtual screens each complete with tiny snapshots.

So there.
somnium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I whole-heartedly recommend multiple monitors. I recently bumped up to three 17" LCD panels, and while I'm happy....I realize I could use one more. Ahhh...to have money to burn.

Anyway...my utilities of choice to deal with the extra real estate is Ultramon (from Realtimesoft....mentioned in the article, I believe) and Stroke-it. Stroke-it is a mouse gesture app. Using Stroke-it, I can left-click-and-down the mouse to move an app to the right, and left-click-up to move an app to the left monitor. Of course they loop, so if a browser window is open on the far right monitor and I send it right, it displays on the left most panel.

This method has worked very well for me for years.
lcarsdeveloper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2How about this instead?
http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?ID=676&date=desc&nummon=true&mon=desc

I personally have two 17 inch LCD monitors, anything bigger wouldn't fit on my desk, but I could never go back to programming on just 1 monitor :)
- somnium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Heheh....that setup is ridiculous. The best part is the desk made of 2x4s and what looks like a sheet of ply. How could he afford anything else? :)
  That's a true geek.
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