06.07.06
Mac Dual Screen Lovin’
Was wanting to use my MacBook, and eventually, Mac Mini at work. When coding I need lots of real estate, not just so my code is HUGE, but because I have to run so many apps at the same time and I need quick access to them. And once you go dual monitors, it’s very hard to go back. But with the MacBook and Mac Mini, they don’t have out of the box support for such a thing. So it seemed my options were to either take my 19″ LCD from home and swap it with my two 17″ LCDs from work or use the tiny 13″ laptop display along with a 17″ or 19″. Neither of those options sound all that appealing. The only thing I do on my home PC anymore is play games, so I will rarely use a 2nd display and will prefer a large 19″. And when you are runing a dual monitor setup it really matters that your displays are as similar as possible. Even a 17″ next to a 19″ can be very distracting and offsetting. So a 13″ next to a 17″ or 19″ is just out of the question. Some day I would like to get a fany cinema display, but until I can justify that outrageous cost I would rather just use what I have. Especially since I bought those 17″ LCDs not even a month ago.
I think I finally found a pretty great solution. Looks like this will work for my MacBook and future Mac Mini as well as my current Alienware Laptop. Some of the true Mac lovers scoff at the solution, because in their eyes the real solution would be to spend just a few more grand on Mac hardware that will do this out of the box. Life must be grand when you have daddy’s credit card in hand. Maybe some day instead of getting a new car I’ll put that money towards a beefy Power Mac with a 30″ cinema display. I’m sure it will be the best $10k I will ever spend.