Improve Productivity with a Second Display

A lot has gone on (computer wise) since my unplanned absence from Low End Mac. I got rid of my Windows laptop, got a Treo 750 (which I'll cover in another article), and got a TiBook 667 DVI (my main machine). And my iMac G4 is still running strong in my recording studio.

But most importantly, with some of the money I got from selling my Windows laptop, I purchased a nice big 22" LCD monitor. Wow!

Screen space definitely spoils. I currently have iTunes, Azures, Mail.app, my iChat buddy list, two chat windows, and Apple Software Update downloading QuickTime and iTunes on my PowerBook's built-in 15" 1280 x 854 display. On my 22", which runs at 1680 x 1050, I have Microsoft Word and Safari.

I can type an article and do full page browsing with one monitor! Wow!

Having two screens increases my productivity by a lot. I can do research and type a page without having to switch windows. I can look at my torrents with a glance while browsing the Web. I keep the clutter (like apps) on the second display and do my main work on my 22" screen.

OS X handles dual monitors with grace, as expected. When I unplug my 22", the internal PowerBook display automatically becomes the main display, and OS X seamlessly transfers my open windows as well as desktop files - and it does the reverse when I reconnect the 22".

'It's Not for Me'

A lot of people think dual monitors are a waste of money - and I can't blame them for thinking that. It's an added cost for something that seems unnecessary.

When I bought my monitor, I was going to use it "clamshell mode" and keep the PowerBook lid closed, using my 22" as my only display. What pulled me in (as well as lot's of dual monitor users) was the sheer coolness factor of seamlessly dragging a window from one display to the other.

Does Apple have any effect on it?

Yes! Not up until recently has Apple made display spanning possible on consumer machines.

I'd love it if I were able to do dual displays on my iLamp (er, iMac G4). I primarily use Logic Express and GarageBand on that machine. Having a big monitor jacked into it would allow me to edit in at least half the time. Apple used to assume that consumers didn't care for that functionality.

I couldn't stress the benefits of using dual monitors enough. If you don't believe me, go down to your basement, pull out that old computer monitor, hook it up to your Mac (assuming it supports spanning), and try it for yourself.

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Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: Power Mac G5 Quad, Oct. 2005 - With two 2.5 GHz dual-core G5 CPUs, the G5 Quad was the most powerful PowerPC Mac ever and introduced PCI Express.
• Group of the Day: Mac Network deals with all aspects of Mac networking.
  
• November 21 in LEM history: 00: OS upgrades, downgrades - AltiVec vs. Pentium III - 01: Saved by the clones - Computer of the future - 02: Apple Education: Let's get to it - 03: Panther lets Macs and PCs work together, - Lombard SCSI bug - 05: 3 survivors from the 1970s - Real world battery life inadequate - Windows to Mac file transfer with Zip disks - $99 alternative to Microsoft Office - 06: Parallels 1.0 far more polished than beta
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Recent Content on Low End Mac

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