Posted by Roberta Lee on Fri, Sep 19, 2008
This lyric from Foreigners 1978 Double Vision release took on a whole new meaning for me recently.
Working with a laptop for many years, I was content with my 15" LCD screen until recently... A few months ago when I started work at Bean Services I was introduced to a new epoch of web surfing and electronic efficiency. One morning in my first week at Bean, Jarrod walked in the door with 22" Samsung. He placed it on my desk told me to use it as an extended desktop from my notebook computer, that I would need it. Being a tech enthusiast, it made me giddy to receive such grandeur. Although at the time it seemed like an unnecessary luxury (although, I wasn't going to ask him to take it back), it soon became a necessity.
Having 2 monitors allows me to easily work on two programs in full screen mode... and cut down on the amount of time alt-tabbing between programs. When I'm writing application documentation, I can have beanbills open in one window and my document editor open on the other. I can cut and paste without having to find and open the next screen. The time savings and productivity gains are quantifiable, not to mention my frustration level has decreased. No longer do I get as distracted or lose my train of thought by swapping programs. Work flow is paperless and virtually seamless since I don't have to spend time looking for where I was in the original document as well as recalling what I was thinking about and why I wanted that bit of text anyway!
If you are still on a single screen setup, it might be time to consider the benefits of getting a second screen. The price of LCDs has dropped dramatically and the cost of adding screen real estate to your desk is nominal. It's easier than you might think as most notebook computers are equipped with decent dual video cards that start working as soon as you plug the 2nd monitor in. Even if you have to purchase a dual card for your desktop, they are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
It's hard to imagine going back to just a single monitor. Having 2 has been a great for increasing my productivity of my work.
nytimes.com - "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. http://www.jonpeddie.com/special/MultDisp.shtml
♫"Ooh, double vision, I need my double vision"♫...