The Story of Dual Monitors & Multiple Monitor Setups

by Kerry Dean on 03/11/2010 at 5:48 pm in Commentary, Funny Stories, Within Range

Before you read on, please know that this post is not about marketing or search. Or even SEO. Or social media. It’s about monitors and displays. Dual monitors. Multiple monitor setups. Laptops and desktops. Sounds exciting, right?

I have an affinity for technology and gadgets. When I was hired at Range in 2005, there was a technology shift occurring. The entire office was transitioning from desktops to laptops. Everyone was placing their old CRT monitors on the floor next to their desks. I was given a desktop PC. When I saw all those beautiful 17-inch CRT monitors on the floor, my mission became clear: grab 3 of them and hook them up to my PC! (Note: My desk was not big enough for 4 CRT’s. So that’s why I stopped at 3.)

At the time, my job centered on time-consuming reporting, tagging and copywriting. Switching back and forth between Excel and IE6 was not the most efficient method of updating a product feed. A triple monitor setup would make my life so much easier, so I did what no one else had done. I went eBay and bought 2 video cards that would allow me to have 3 monitors. (Note: Due to the basic quality of my fantastic eMachines computer, I had to get 2 graphics cards to make this work.)

3 CRT Monitors attached to a desktop PC (not my actual setup)

The video cards arrived a few days later, and I was all set for multiple monitor nirvana. It was an exciting time indeed. People in the office would walk by my room and say, “Hey, who is the new guy with the monitors?” or “Hey NASA, got enough monitors?” But I knew deep down that I was onto something, and a couple of months later I read a newspaper article that detailed the rise in productivity that occurs from adding another monitor. I felt vindicated because there were business managers who had outfitted their entire offices with dual monitor setups, and they sang the praises of productivity increases.

About a year later, one of my coworkers asked me if it was possible to hook up another monitor to his laptop. “Why, of course it is,” I replied. Over the next 2 years or so, all of my colleagues switched to a dual monitor setup. And our company practically doubled in size. Clients were amazed by our work and productivity. And in 2008, Range Online Media was acquired by iProspect. I’m not going to take credit for all of that, but it is clear that my affinity for multiple monitors played a role in our company’s growth and success. Right? :)

3 Monitors Hooked Up to My Laptop via the Matrox TripleHead2Go

Today, I have a laptop computer with 3 external monitors. In order to accomplish this feat of technological wonder, I had to purchase a piece of hardware called the Matrox TripleHead2Go (link). Using this device, I can output my laptop’s display to 3 external monitors. Effectively, I have 4 displays for one laptop. I use the laptop screen for email. One monitor is for Microsoft Excel. One monitor is for the interwebs. And one monitor is for IM, twitter clients, etc… It really is a fantastic setup!

Even though this is an awesome setup, there is another frontier of multiple monitor greatness. I think it is the next frontier for us. Allow me to introduce you to the idea of rotating your widescreen monitors:

This is amazing. 4 monitors: vertical, side-by-side.

These 4 widescreen monitors have been rotated 90 degrees. Isn’t that awesome?!?! I love it. I am jealous of this setup. Why? Well, I’m glad I asked.

Most website widths are not set to utilize the full width of our widescreen monitors. Most websites have a width of 960px or less, but the widescreen monitors display a width of 1400px. Coders, graphics designers and other people who stare at monitors all day long have found that rotating your monitors allows them to see more of the code, graphics or website page. By doing this, you can see more of the page below the fold. If you are reading code or reading a website, you should think about rotating your monitors. It’s amazing. You don’t have to scroll as often. Will scrolling become obsolete? I don’t think so.

Now, even if you think this is really cool, you must consider that most monitors are not set up to rotate. There are monitors that are built to rotate. They are expensive. And you also have to take into account the capabilities of your graphics card. It’s likely that your laptop does not allow you to rotate the image on your secondary monitor.

However, if you find this idea really cool and your laptop enables you to rotate the image of your external monitors, you have reason to rejoice. But then you are brought back down to earth when you realize that purchasing a stand for this type of setup can cost a few hundred dollars. My advice: save up, pay cash and get those monitors and the stand. It’ll be worth it. Good luck!