Another helpful response. I'd love to get my power users dual monitors but for now they get the standard replacement. We don't do "onsies" here either. You get a new PC or keep your old one. Even my PC and laptop are standard issue with more memory. Being a non-profit we try to keep tight control over IT costs. Aside there was an Apple display in Best Buy yesterday. The largest monitor was enormous. I want two.
>>> Len Hammond <[email protected]> 8/11/2009 9:30 AM >>> That's exactly the right reason for dual monitors. Will the productivity of the user be enhanced with dual monitors - or any other piece of equipment - be it mouse, special keyboard or other input device like a spaceball that some of the CAD guys like. Having used an old 21" CRT 4:3 CAD monitor to give 1600x1200 I got used to the 1200 height. When I went looking for a flat panel to replace the power hungry tube I looked for something that would give me 1200 in height. Finally settled on a Samsung 24" wide monitor giving 1920x1200. I absolutely love it. It did take a while to get used to the extra screen real estate but am now spoiled. And recently I had an older 15" 4:3 panel come my way so I stuck it on the second monitor port of my desktop. Interesting. As I use a KVM for the main monitor so that I can work on other machines, while the 15" is direct, I can have a help window open on the 15 while working on the 24 on a different machine. With a wireless mouse direct I can still scroll the help screen too. Now I am spoiled - but having fun. Standardized is most often better in larger environments too. Less bruised egos that way. I had always let the tasks performed determine the equipment on the desk, not the users position or ego. Often that did not make me many friends. Bottom line: More screen is better if you have the desk space (and budget) to support it. When determining the brand to buy (if you have a choice) not all monitors are created equal. Take a high power magnifier, something like 20 or 30 power, with you to some place that has many brands on display. Get up close & personal with the screen. After looking a bunch, from a distance you will begin to notice the clarity, or lack thereof. The close up will show you why the clarity is there or lacking. It was sure an education for me. When looking for my monitor I hit Best Buy, Staples, Office Max and Circuit City (I know you no longer have the option of CC). Look at the HD TVs as well and you will see the difference in cost right on the screen. There were a couple of brands I had favored and a couple that I had not considered looking at before reading this list for recommendations and spending the time in the stores actually looking closely at the screens. The sales people were not real happy about it - I was too critical and then didn't buy it there - I got my monitor from Tiger. I've been very happy with the Samsung I finally selected and will definitely look at Samsung if I ever get my Budget Director (wife) to fund a large flat panel for the family room. Probably got a little wordy here but I wanted to share my experience in the search to replace my aging CRT. I figure the electricity alone saved over the first two years of use will pay for my new monitor. Len Hammond CSI:Hartland [email protected] On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 2:47 PM, Steven Peck <[email protected]> wrote: Fair enough but it is an often seen comment on these lists and I was wondering myself as I too had generlized the same thing. Where I work, we have standardized on 20" widescreens a few years ago and due to pricing as stuff comes off lease, they are being replalced by 22" widescreens. The vast majority of our workforce is data entry claims processing so single monitor for them. A number of IT people use dual monitors either by leveraging their laptops as a monitor on their docking station or by having a second monitor. It all depends onthe type of work people are doing. Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
