Sticks and Stones

Before getting this MacBook I was used to a 20 inch screen which allowed me a lot more screen real estate. Downsizing was painful because it allowed me much less space in which to do all that I do, which is why Rafe Needleman’s piece at Webware.com last week was so useful.

Even though you may not be able to decorate your desk with two 30 inch Apple Cinema displays as Al Gore does, it is likely that from a hodgepodge of assorted CRTs and LCDs you could create a truly impressive screen worthy of a nuclear power plant.

While impressive to look at and possibly quite pleasing to own, there are actual usability benefits to this indulgent proposal: you’ll get more done. It’s incredibly easy to add a second display: all modern operating systems and computers have support for this. It takes the click of a few buttons and the tightening of a few screws (possibly just the sliding in of a plug to a socket i.e. MacBook, Cinema display and the wonder of mini-DVI).

But what if you need your RSS reader, a word processor, a spreadsheet application, World of Warcraft, and Sticks and Stones open? You would need two, maybe three monitors at the very least. Products like DisplayLink and DisplayFusion would be best suited for this sort of rigourous usage. As soon as I dive behind my computer and unhook the necessary cables to link up the 13 year old Gateway 17 inch monitor, I’ll be hitting feeds twice as hard, and hammering out posts twice as quickly. Or, procrastinating twice as much.