Chris Pirillo » dual-monitor

Do You Want to Read Tweets From the Womb?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:18:49 +0000

Do You Want to Read Tweets From the Womb?

I honestly thought that after all these years I had seen it all. I truly thought nothing more could completely shock me to the point where I stared at the computer screen with my mouth hanging open. We’ve seen so many silly things come across the tubes that we tend to be able to filter out and not even see the new inane things that pop up. However, reading about this particular new little invention was sort of like a train wreck: you know you have to keep going, but you cannot help but stop and stare.

The Kickbee is a belt-like device that a pregnant woman wears around her stomach. Every time the little bundle of joy kicks mommy square in the ribs or bladder, a tweet or text message will be sent out letting the expectant Daddy know. The trouble is… everyone following the momma-to-be will know, as well. Is this really something a Dad wants to see? I asked a few friends who either are expecting children or have small tots running around. Not a single one of them showed any interest at all in this gadget.

To be honest, I find it kind of creepy. What do you think?

There’s nothing creepy about our software center. All you’ll find there is the hottest software and apps at the best prices you can hope for.

Do You Want to Read Tweets From the Womb?

iMac Second Monitor Question

Chris Pirillo — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:59:08 +0000

iMac Second Monitor Question

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Liam has a brand-new iMac, and a 42″ television sitting around. He’s wondering if he can connect the television to the iMac to increase his workspace. As far as I know, the new iMacs will indeed do this.

As long as the iMac is a newer one and has the video out to video in connections on it, this will work in theory. Also, the television should be at least 1080p. If it’s not, you won’t be able to push many pixels down the pipe.

However, a second screen IS a second screen.

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iMac Second Monitor Question

What Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Do You Recommend?

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:03:52 +0000

What Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Do You Recommend?

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I have three monitors and one large surface, thanks to Eyefinity by AMD. I have these screens connected to a new AMD computer system, which was sent to me by AMD as well. I will be reviewing that system at a later date, so stay tuned for it.

As I set up this new system on the live stream, I realized I didn’t have the right keyboard and mouse to use with it. Sure, I have several keyboards and mice lying around. However, they all have cords attached to them. I prefer wireless systems, so I went shopping. I picked up this Microsoft Wireless Media Desktop set for just about seventeen bucks. It looks great, and works well enough for what I need to accomplish. It looks nice with the monitors, since this set is black. Both components have all of the buttons I need, so what more could I ask for?

I will upgrade the mouse and keyboard combo if I find the right one. This is where YOU come in. What set do you recommend? What do you use? Why do you love it? Leave a follow-up comment to this video. Better yet… leave a video response (if you can) showing off your desktop setup.

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What Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Do You Recommend?

AMD Eyefinity Multi-Monitor for Productivity

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:42:16 +0000

AMD Eyefinity Multi-Monitor for Productivity

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Sometimes, there’s more to the web than a single page. You may want to track conversations on your social media websites while watching a video at the same time. You can easily do this you know. AMDs Eyefinity makes it a snap to connect one computer to multiple monitors – and keep the picture as clear as a bell.

We’ve already shown you what Eyefinity can do for gaming. Did you stop to think what it can do for your productivity? Three screens – all running from the same machine – allowing you to do SO much more.

Running three monitors (such as the setup shown in the video) will maximize your productivity. You don’t have to waste time minimizing and maximizing windows. Everything you need it already open. In addition to running all of the programs you need at once, you can use your setup to expand a single task across multiple screens. Let’s say you’re editing some video footage. Imagine being able to stretch that (in a nice, clean way without distortion!) across three monitors. You’ll be able to see every tiny detail and be able to pinpoint exactly what you’re doing.

All of the things you see running on the screen in the video were being powered by the new Acer Ferrari. The Ferrari is small enough to fit in a purse or attache case, but it’s powerful enough to be a workhorse machine, as evidenced by the triple-monitor setup.

Both Casey and Raymond indicated that it’s hard for them to believe that they get to wake up every day and make money playing with so many amazing new pieces of technology. Casey was quick to point out that what’s astounding to him is the fact that we now have technology devices that are small and light, yet are able to be a powerhorse at home when you need them.

That, my friends, astounds me as well. What about you? Are you excited to see technology such as this? More importantly, are you planning to grab one of these sleek little machines for yourself?

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AMD Eyefinity Multi-Monitor for Productivity

How to Add a Monitor Using USB

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:25:22 +0000

How to Add a Monitor Using USB

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During CES recently, Traci Toguchi was kind enough to cover the events and parties for us, as I was unable to attend. During this interview, she’s talking with Seb Hochmuth from DisplayLink. DisplayLink allows you to easily add additional monitors to your PC. You do not need to add a new graphics card, or be restricted by your laptop’s hardware, such as a single VGA output. Some laptops don’t even have video outputs these days!

DisplayLink is out to change the world when it comes to docking stations! There are many different types of display connectors, and it’s hard to keep track of what kind is on what machine. However, you always have a USB port! The universal docks can be connected to any notebook. You no longer need a proprietary docking station for a specific notebook to add monitors!

With DisplayLink, your computer is extended to include proper plugins for an extra display, speakers, ethernet cord, and 4 USB 2.0 ports! We always need more USB ports, right?! I know I do!

This is definitely something I’m thinking of buying for myself to have here in my home office. At a little under a hundred bucks, you’re likely going to want to grab one for yourself, as well!

Thanks to Creative for sending Traci a Vado 3 to use during CES!

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How to Add a Monitor Using USB

How Do You Defeat Jet Lag?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:42:18 +0000

How Do You Defeat Jet Lag?

Dude, seriously – how do you get over jet lag without practically killing yourself? I was in Paris last week, to speak at the LeWeb conference. While it was a fantastic experience for me, I am still so tired I could die. Paris is nine hours ahead of the time here in Seattle. That is a HUGE difference, let me tell you. I was tired when I got to Paris, and I’m still wiped out two days after returning home.

Yes, I slept a little on the flight. No, it really didn’t seem to help. I’ve only been to Europe once before, and I had the same issues then, as well. I know many of you out there are jet-setters, right? How do you manage to go back and forth between different time zones without dropping over from exhaustion? How the heck do you reset your body clocks so quickly, and adapt within a matter of hours?

The community may not have been with me in presence, but I know you were all with me in spirit. Thanks to those of you who watched my presentation as it happened. Your support means a lot to me! I’m also glad that you all stayed home! It allowed you to keep writing and posting things on our sites!

There are several excellent new pieces of software featured on our downloads site today! Be sure you check back every day, so you don’t miss anything!

How Do You Defeat Jet Lag?

How to Add Even More Screens to Your Notebook Computer

Chris Pirillo — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:39:37 +0000

How to Add Even More Screens to Your Notebook Computer

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Let’s say for argument’s sake you want to add two external monitors to a computer that has only one video port. You need a way to connect via another port, such as a USB port. You would need something like the ViBook.

ViBook is an innovative graphics USB–DVI cable; the simplest way to add additional displays to any computer system, desktop or laptop. Several monitors can be connected using more ViBooks, even through a hub.

You can easily connect an external monitor by using your empty USB port. It’s honestly as simple as that. Heck, you can connect more than one monitor, even if you don’t have enough ports. Just check out the ViDock. ViDock Gfx is the ultimate graphics expansion for notebook computers taking advantage of the powerful ExpressCard expansion slot of modern systems, enabling additional displays to connect to your laptop portable computer.

If you’re looking to expand what you already have – and are limited in budget, space and means – these are the options for you. Take advantage of what you already have (USB ports) and expand your lifestyle and video options.

If you’ve never operated with more than one screen at a time, you’re missing out. Your productivity would go through the roof, seriously! Imagine if the largest screen resoluation you have is 1024×768… why not expand by grabbing an old monitor and hooking it up? It’s an extremely valuable solution for just about anyone.

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How to Add Even More Screens to Your Notebook Computer

One Big Monitor or Two Smaller Screens

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:36:42 +0000

One Big Monitor or Two Smaller Screens

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The first time I ever plugged a second monitor into my system, it was interesting. Of course, issues arose… as is usually the case with anything new. Having two monitors in many cases is better than one. I had an email the other day, asking me if I would suggest using one large monitor… or two smaller ones.

I would go with two separate monitors any day, over one large one. Having two monitors can cause issues, as I said. Some of your software may run differently. Your computer may need to have minor configurations made to it. It can be a headache to get correct… but it’s well worth it. On one monitor, I have my email and work open. On the other monitor, I have all my “widgets”… for IRC, IMs, RSS feeds, etc. It makes it a lot easier for me to keep things organized, and be more efficient with my work.

You’ll actually have more “screen real estate” within two 17″ monitors side-by-side than what you would have with one huge screen. As I said, this can help you stay much more organized. Having one monitor made things too cramped, and too jumbled. I had to search for things, or keep them hidden when running.

What do you all think? Is dual cool? Or is it better to stick with one monitor?

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One Big Monitor or Two Smaller Screens

OS X Multi-Monitor Setup

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:03:30 +0000

OS X Multi-Monitor Setup

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I’ve been using the dual 30″ monitors with my Vista machine, hooked up with Dual Link DVI cables. Someone in chat suggested I use one of them for the MacBook Pro. With these new MBP’s, it’s quite easy. Just plug in one of the DVI cables, and off you go… or so I thought.

Setting up the dual screens with OS X was much different than it is in Windows. It is pretty elemental… almost TOO much so. I’ll get to that in a minute, though. When I plugged the cable into the MacBook Pro, it was automatically recognized. It automatically recognized the display, the colors, everything. Out of the box, Mac OS X handles dual monitors better than Windows: you can set screen-specific wallpaper images by default without any extra software. Just choose “Set Desktop Background,” and a panel appears on each screen to configure them separately.

Then… I ran into problems. I was over-thinking things, I admit it. The Menu bar was still showing up on the MBP, and I didn’t want it to. I wanted it on the big screen. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to move it, and Google wasn’t being my friend. So, I turned to my chat room. LifeJustIs2007, Protocol and a few others started looking around. LifeJustIs found the answer for me, and it was exceedingly simple, I had to laugh.

It’s easy to move your menu bar from one monitor to the other: just click and drag it to any side of either monitor to make it stick.

Uh yeah. It really was that simple. So now that it’s all set up, I think I’m going to keep it this way. I have one sweet 30″ screen for the Windows machine, and one right next to it for my MacBook Pro. Jealous yet? I know… I’m a lucky man. These are just awesome to use, and I’m very grateful to have them.

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OS X Multi-Monitor Setup

Dual Monitor Setup

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:01:04 +0000

Dual Monitor Setup

http://live.pirillo.com/ – A dual monitor setup can really help with your productivity and gathering information. Ponzi now has two monitors and she can’t imagine working with a single monitor.

Ponzi currently keeps one monitor dedicated to e-mail (she gets a ton of them) and the other monitor dedicated to general use – Internet, weather, IM, chat, and other applications.

Chris has a similar setup, dedicating one monitor to IM and chat, with another monitor dedicated to e-mail and productivity software.

Do you have two or more monitors? What do you use them for?

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Dual Monitor Setup

Dual Monitor Desktop Wallpaper

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:30:59 +0000

Dual Monitor Desktop Wallpaper

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Afrothunder – who uses and abuses the chat room – asked how he could get two wallpapers on a dual monitor setup.

Well, the problem is that Windows doesn’t come with the tools to use two wallpapers on two monitors – no surprise there – but there is a way you can get two wallpapers on a dual monitor setup. It’s a bit of a hack, but with any decent image editing program (read as: not MS Paint) you should be able to do it.

First, have the desktop in focus and press the "Print Screen" button (often labeled "PrtScn" and is usually next to the F12 and "Scroll Lock" keys). This copies your entire desktop into the clipboard.
Open your favorite image editor.
Paste the image into your editor.
Play around with the file by adding other images, splicing two wallpapers together, etc …
Once you’re done, save the file and set it as your desktop wallpaper.

If you’re looking for images to use as desktop wallpaper try these great sites:

Do you have any suggestions?

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Dual Monitor Desktop Wallpaper

Dual Monitor Setup vs. Single Screen Display

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 26 May 2007 03:15:49 +0000

Dual Monitor Setup vs. Single Screen Display

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – A multi-monitor setup can give you much more screen real estate to work with, but so can one really huge monitor. Glenn wants to know if he should get two 23 inch monitors or one 30 inch monitor.

If there’s one absolute fact in this work it’s that Chris loves having a lot of screen real estate in front of him.

With two 23 inch monitors, you’ll actually get more space to work with than with just a single 30 inch monitor. Having a second monitor can help you be much more productive than you could be with just a single monitor, since you have more space to work with. Plus you have the added bonus of redundancy: if a monitor fails in a dual monitor setup you still have one monitor to fall back on.

It’s for these reasons that Chris recommends getting the two 23 inch monitors over the single 20 inch display.

You’ll need a couple of things in order to take full advantage of your monitors:

You’ll need a graphics card with "dual head" output support. Most modern graphics cards have this ability, but you should double check to make sure.
The combined resolution of your monitors cannot exceed the maximum resolution of your video card, otherwise you’ll need to purchase; for example, if your video card supports a maximum resolution of 1600×1200, but both of your monitors display 1600×1200, you’ll need a second video card to get the most out of your monitors.

Do you have any monitor recommendations?

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Dual Monitor Setup vs. Single Screen Display

Multiple Monitor Madness

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 07:38:23 +0000

Multiple Monitor Madness

I’m so in love with Stefan Didak’s desktop. I can’t even think of what I’d do with that much desktop real estate (or how I’d pay the monthly electric bill to support that many screens). Two is more than enough for me, although some people find three indispensible – and Windows hardly supports more than one. Here I thought I’d be doing well with a 30″ plus one! Stefan claims “You can never have enough screen real-estate!” Maybe not, but you can certainly push the desktop envelope.

Jeez. My desktop isn’t even big enough to support that much hardware. I’m still waiting on Office Depot to redeliver the hutch (as well as other items I had to add to a second order). I’m beginning to think that home ownership is nothing more than one neverending task.

Multiple Monitor Madness