[WEB4LIB] Re: The Future - more than one monitor

[Alain D. M. G. Vaillancourt]

Hello!

Basically it is a question of money, if you disregard the "seam"
problems.  You have to be able to buy a much more powerful PC than the
ordinary (assuming of course that you have large LCD screens instead of
small ones) to get all the virtual surfaces working fast enough at
once.  And you have to buy a double or triple output video card (from
the same big video card manufacturers who make most video cards) which
happens to be costlier than the normal video card.  And then there is
the extra cost of many LCD monitors.  The "seam" is so big when you
have CRT monitors instead of LCDs that most people have found it is not
worth it, except for certain specialised software such as CAD (Computer
Aided Design) or GIS (Geographical Information Systems) applications
and of course, huge spreadsheets!

>From the software point of view the most recent versions of Microsoft
Windows can now handle multiple monitors as a continuous desktop
surface, and the Apple Mac has been able to do so for about a decade. 
You just have to specify it in your user settings, so the two or three
monitors will be treated as two different surfaces "joined" as a single
large desktop by software instead of identical views of the same small
desktop.  Of course, as noted in my previous posting to the list, the
current software will not take into account the presence of the
physical seam betweeen the monitors, giving you windows which overlap
form one to the other or lines of text which break at the "wrong"
place, and so on (see Grudin, Johnathan Partitioning Digital Worlds: 
Focal and Peripheral Awareness in Multiple Monitor Use) , giving you
the bother of placing all those things yourself.

Alain V.


 --- Phalbe Henriksen <phenriksen at neflin.org> a écrit : 
> Our Finance Director has two lined up, so he can see spreadsheets
> across 
> both monitors, or have two things up at once. I'd *love* to be able
> to 
> do that, but how does it work?
> 
> Phalbe Henriksen
> Director
> Bradford County Public Library
> Starke, FL
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Alain D. M. G. Vaillancourt" <ndgmtlcd at yahoo.com>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib at webjunction.org>
> Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:21:29 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: The Future
> 
> > Triplemons, or if you will triple monitor setups.  This is now
> rather
> > easy with the transition to lcd monitors.  The three way output
> video
> > cards and the powerful PCs are there also.  The hitch right now is
> > utility software here and there which takes the "seams" between the
> > lined-up monitors into account for applications as well as
> windowing
> > issues .  Such software has been discussed and prototypes have been
> > done (see: Wideband Visual Interfaces: Sensemaking on Multiple
> Monitors
> > by Jock D. Mackinlay, Jeffrey Heer and Christian Royer, all at
> > P.A.R.C.) but it will take a few years before we see it becoming
> > widespread. Two or three depending on the market. THis
> > "three-in-a-line" display gives a near-cinerama aspect ratio to the
> > combined desktops.
> > 
> > Alain V.
> > 
> >  --- "Helfrich, Gair" <GHelfrich at acmail.aclink.org> a écrit : 
> > > Hello everyone,
> > > 
> > > The collective wisdom of this group is needed! For the first time
> in
> > > many years we are working on our Master Plan. Naturally, one
> > > component
> > > of that plan is Technology and I've been asked to use a crystal
> ball
> > > and
> > > look ahead for the next 5 years. Right now we're short staffed
> and
> > > I'm
> > > having trouble keeping up with today, let alone anticipating
> what's
> > > coming in the next 5 years. That's probably true for many of us.
> :-) 
> > > 
> > > At any rate, if some of you who are on the cutting edge or have a
> > > clear
> > > crystal ball are willing to share some insights I'd very much
> > > appreciate
> > > it. What do you think is coming in technology in general and
> > > specifically in library technology. We've already got wireless on
> our
> > > radar--and have implemented in 2 branches so far--and are
> considering
> > > RFID. You can reply to the list or to me personally and I'll
> > > summarize
> > > the answers for the list. 
> > > 
> > > Thanks in advance,
> > > Gair Helfrich
> > > 
> > > __________
> > > 
> > > Gair Helfrich
> > > Network Services & Computer Services Manager
> > > Atlantic County Library
> > > 40 Farragut Avenue
> > > Mays Landing, NJ 08330
> > > 609-625-2776 ext. 6313  Fax: 609-625-8143
> > > ghelfrich at acmail.aclink.org
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > >  
> > 
> > __________________________________________________________
> > Lèche-vitrine ou lèche-écran ?
> > magasinage.yahoo.ca
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
>  

__________________________________________________________
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