[clue-tech] two monitors - the new fad

[Nate Duehr]

Jack Parker wrote:
> I've used a dual head setup for much the same reasons and with much the same
> success.  My only beef with the setup is that I move from client(s), to
> hotel, to office, to home.  The physical side of the laptop that the monitor
> is on varies from place to place - if one is available.  If I'm in a
> situation where I don't have the second monitor hooked up, and I foolishly
> opened something like Winzip on the other screen when I last had it hooked
> up - W2KPro cheerfully keeps it on the screen which is not hooked up.  In
> other words I have no access to that app until I find a monitor and hook
> back up to it and drag it back to the right screen.  Hard to do in a hotel.
> Since I keep moving around like this, it's obnoxious to try to remember when
> shutting down/hibernating - to drag everything back to the main screen -
> especially when you've worked with a dozen different applications and you
> have to remember to do each one.
>
> In other words, not something I'd recommend for the road warrior.
>
> j.
>   
You definitely should look into XP and a ThinkPad.  This is wandering 
off the topic of Linux, but I definitely don't have this problem.  I set 
up IBM's Presentation Manager to have two settings, one with internal 
screen and one without and just hit Fn-F7 to switch.  Everything gets 
moved over to the active laptop-only screen by their switching 
software.  Works flawlessly.

ThinkPads are popular in the Linux world for their Linux compatibility 
and support, but it's rare to see a reviewer bother to mention the nice 
work IBM's done on the "add-ons" they always provide for Windows users.  
Their monitor switcher even understands how to change power settings for 
presentations, etc... it's well thought-out for road warriors.  Their 
"location switching" software for networking is also brain-dead 
simple... icon in the task tray, click it, change network profiles, 
everything gets set correctly... or you can just wait and it'll figure 
it out on its own.  Docking station always seems to "just work" too, 
which is more than I can say for Dell or Compaq docks.  ;-)

I'm kinda in hog-heaven right now as far as hardware goes... work 
provides an ThinkPad T43, and after I got over my issues (GRIN) with my 
first MacBook, I replaced it.  Now the problem becomes... which laptop 
to use?  And lugging both of them around...

The screen on the MacBook blows the screen on the ThinkPad away.

Nate