Chris Pirillo » dual-monitor

How to Add Even More Screens to Your Notebook Computer

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

How to Add Even More Screens to Your Notebook Computer is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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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One Big Monitor or Two Smaller Screens

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

One Big Monitor or Two Smaller Screens is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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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OS X Multi-Monitor Setup

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

OS X Multi-Monitor Setup is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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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Dual Monitor Setup

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

Dual Monitor Setup is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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Formats available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4), Flash Video (.flv), MP3 Audio (.mp3), Microsoft Video (.avi)

Dual Monitor Desktop Wallpaper

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

Dual Monitor Desktop Wallpaper is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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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Formats available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4), MP3 Audio (.mp3), Microsoft Video (.avi)

Dual Monitor Setup vs. Single Screen Display

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

Dual Monitor Setup vs. Single Screen Display is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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?

Check out the Dual LCD Monitors video on YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

Formats available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4), MP3 Audio (.mp3), Microsoft Video (.avi), Flash Video (.flv)

Multiple Monitor Madness

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

Multiple Monitor Madness is a post from Chris Pirillo

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.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

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