dual monitors (was: I hate... oh I guess everyone)

On 7/26/06, Douglas Handy <dhandy@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'm amazed at the number of people who *don't* do this.  I've used
multiple
monitors for many years, and currently actually run four flat panels from
two cards.  I use two 20" at 1600x1200 each, an 18" at 1280 x 1024, and a
15" at 1024x768.  Gives me nearly 6 million pixels of viewable desktop
space
to work with.

Holy cow!  Could you post a photo of that setup somewhere?  Your office must
resemble the NASA control center!  I'm not sure I could keep track of a
desktop like that.

I started at my new job a few months ago, and they set me up with an IBM
Thinkpad and a 17" LCD.  The dual-monitor setup is pretty much required to
be able to work with DOC1 forms designer software that we use here.  Really
sweet.  Like Joe, I've also put the browser on one display and Word or some
other app on the other display.

I suppose that "people who *don't* do this" fall into one of several
categories:
1) They don't know they can do it.
2) They know about it but think it's way too complicated.
3) Their current video card doesn't support dual monitors and, so, eh, it
works.
4) Budget constraints, especially if one has to buy a new card in addition
to the second monitor.

I also recommend using something like Ultramon ( www.ultramon.com ) when

running mulitple monitors.

Ultramon looks like a nice add-on.  The Thinkpad comes with a setup utility
that works pretty well.  Unfortunately, anytime you disconnect from the
docking station and take it home and use it, then re-dock and restart, it
defaults into mirror mode.  This is a minor niggle.  The Thinkpad's setup
utility for this has a bug that doesn't let it save the dual-monitor setup
as a profile that can be set up as default.  So, my normal morning practice
is to dock and startup the Thinkpad, right-click on the desktop to get to
Desktop Properties / Settings, and click on the "Extend my Windows desktop
onto this (the LCD) monitor".

Flat panels are cheap anymore, and the productivity gains by having more

screen real estate are great, IMHO.

Prices continue to drop.  A decent price point for awhile there was about
$10 per diagonal inch, but I've seen some deals recently that are around $7
per.  I'm waiting for $5 on brand name with good specs.

- Dan