Two Heads Are Better Than One

The Quest for Desktop space

To just about all neophyte computer users, it's difficult to understand why you'd want to increase your desktop resolution. What's the most common complaint when you tell them that running a 17" monitor at 640x480 is, well, silly? "It makes everything look small!" I even heard that complaint from a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless **AHEM**TONY**COUGH**) majoring in computer science at Cal. Goes to show you that people who know how to program aren't necessarily experts when it comes to consumer computer equipment.

Poor James only has one monitor

Same with Kenn...

Anyway, as you gain more familiarity with multitasking and using multiple applications together, you begin to see the benefits of greater desktop area (not to mention the fact that there isn't a single decent webpage out there that looks correct at 640x480). So you bump things up to 800x600. Ahhh! What a feeling! You've got more elbow room, and that ICQ window on the right side holds more names on the screen and doesn't jut out halfway across the monitor. So you get a little greedy and decide to bump it up again to 1024x768. Now we're talking vast expanses - all of a sudden your desktop has the area of a Texas prairie when compared to the postage stamp dimensions of 640x480.

Even Thresh only has one monitor

Getting Hardcore

But you know what? That's still not hardcore. I still remember the first day I eagerly got a 20" monitor and bumped my resolution to 1600x1200. Yes, it's probably going to cause me to go blind by age 25 but who cares? I loaded up four IE web browser windows, right clicked the taskbar and hit "tile windows vertically." SHAZAAM! All of a sudden I could see and read four full web pages all at once! Once I saw that, I was sold. I haven't gone away from 1600x1200 ever since. But a little voice in my head was still telling me that I could have more, that there was still something better out there…then it occurred to me. Two monitors! If one monitor is good, then two are twice as nice, right?

But Bob has TWO!!!

A closer look