coupled with a 19 inch external flat panel). I tend to leave functions like
email on the laptop screen and working files on the larger external screen.
However, I recently purchased a new netbook (Dell Inspiron 11z which I am
increasingly enjoying) with a 23 inch LCD connected via HDMI and I am
relying more and more with the external monitor thanks to the improvements
in Windows 7. You have probably seen the latest commercials showing the
snap to display feature in Windows 7 (essentially, you can have two
applications displaying side by side on a larger screen simply by dragging
the application window to one edge of the screen....the application
right-sizes to about half the screen resolution without having to drag the
window edges manually). I still tend to run email on the laptop screen but
it makes it a lot easier to have multiple windows available on the larger
monitor without all the fuss.
22 to 24 inch monitor costs are fairly inexpensive. The 23 inch Dell
monitor (which if memory serves is a re-branded ViewSonic monitor) was only
about $250. The major advantage is an HDMI input (along with the standard
RGB and DVI inputs). The big advantage to HDMI is that is audio and video
so I can leave speakers attached to the monitor and not have to always plug
them into the laptop (no docking station for the Inspiron 11z so it is one
less thing to have to deal with every morning). Of course, having an HDMI
capable monitor (along with a HD capable laptop) does make for some nice
video streaming options (watching the first two rounds of the Master's this
year is REALLY going to adversely affect productivity).
At the end of the day, I think it is personal preference and need. The 23
inch monitor takes up a lot of desk space (about as much as two 15 inch
monitors) but in a widescreen layout, it gives me the real estate I need
with only one set of cables (power, monitor, etc). My technical folks run
two and even three monitors in order to have several different management
utilities running simultaneously while the CEO runs only one screen because
she is only running essentially one application at a time. To my mind, this
goes along with who gets what type of machine. The tendency is often to
give the latest and greatest equipment to the powers-that-be when in
reality, the best productivity gain is giving the best computing power to
those who do the most grunt work requiring the horsepower. Same goes with
laptops. My setup with a light-weight, high-powered netbook with external
monitor was actually about the same as a standard desktop setup for our
internal needs but portability was a key need for my job and I was willing
to sacrifice screen space on the laptop for weight. The CEO on the other
hand hates the small screen so a traditional laptop makes more sense.
Next step is to mount the external monitor on a swing arm so I can push it
out of the way when I don't need it to save desk space.
TJ
TJ Rainsford
E: tjrainsford@gmail.com
On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 2:54 AM, James Lerman <pronto30@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> I'm contemplating the move from a single monitor to more screen real
> estate. Basically, I want a bigger screen than my 19-inch standard unit
> because I want to be able to view two documents side-by-side and not go
> blind doing so. I want bigger images with good clarity. I'm trying to
> decide between getting two 19-inch monitors or one 24-inch widescreen.
> I realize the 2x19s give more overall real estate, but they also take up a
> lot more room on the desk. I don't watch a lot of or create much video or do
> any gaming. Do do some limited graphics work. This is basically for creating
> documents, web browsing, and communicating.
> Those of you who have a 24" widescreen (not 23") unit, can you comfortably
> get two word documents side-by-side on it?
> Any brand or model recommendations to either definitely check out or stay
> away from? Don't have to go for the cheapest, but would like to stay under
> $500-600.
> Thanks for any ideas or thoughts.
> Jim Lerman
>
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