Akshay: I have a problem, Aravind.
Aravind: My lord?
Akshay examined his laptop, holding it as delicately and precisely as a conductor’s baton.
Akshay: Why doesn’t it work for me, Aravind?
Aravind: My — My lord? I do not understand. You — You have written extraordinary code with this laptop.
Akshay: No. I have written my usual code. I am extraordinary, but this laptop….no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised.
Its a proven fact that multiple monitors increase efficiency.
Survey after survey shows that whether you measure your productivity in facts researched, alien spaceships vaporized, or articles written, adding an extra monitor will give your output a considerable boost — 20 percent to 30 percent, according to a survey by Jon Peddie Research.
Speed is one reason computer game players use multiple monitors. “If you’re trying to take over the world, it’s rather helpful,” says Bill Blomgren, a computer consultant in Charlotte, N.C.
When I edit photos, the second screen lets me compare the copy I am working on with the original, or shows tool palettes and thumbnails of other images, and I can blow up panoramic shots for closer viewing (though with a bar down the middle, like the central pillar of an old car’s windshield). When I am shopping on the Web, my two screens let me compare products. When I work on tables or spreadsheets, I can see all the columns at once. When I expect important messages, I keep my e-mail program open on the side monitor while I work on something else.
Bill Gates uses three. So does Al Gore.
But some of the setups go beyond efficiency, and are just plain eye candy:
And then there was my setup. Its not much, but it works.
For those of you who have two or more monitors, but lack the graphics card to hook them up to one computer, try Synergy.
