Multiple Screens Re-visited

Just before MacWorld 08 I went through a series of failures including one of my two external LCDs and for a while the Matrox DualHead2Go that was attached to the LCDs. Add to that, when I got a replacement 2nd LCD and the DualHead2Go to work, the fact that the two LCDs were not exactly the same screen ratio caused some distortion between the two screens. Damn. So I was ready for some other solution to my lust for more screen real estate.

At the conference DisplayLink displayed a USB-to-Monitor connector (UGA – USB Graphics Adapter) that promised to allow for the connection of as many as 16 external monitors. And here I thought that I was being decadent for wanting to connect two external LCDs to my MacBook Pro. The caveat, which I should have remembered from previous MacWorld Expos, was that what the vendors often showed on the floor were closer to “proof-of-concept” status than available-now status. Such was the case with DisplayLink. They had the boxes and LCDs but no mac-ready drivers. Damn. Way to tease, DisplayLink.

So here we are eight months later. In my new place here in Orlando I’ve replaced my two mismatched 19″ LCDs with a single 32″ Vizio HD TV and things are pretty good. Pretty good. But now I have two LCDs just hanging around. And as much as the Vizio is a huge improvement over my former 36″ SD tube TV (which used to be connected to the media-server mac mini) I actually lose some resolution running with the Vizio. So I’ve ordered a connecter from Gefen that’s based on the DisplayLink technology. Long story short, the damn thing works! I’m thinking of buying a second one to either connect a fourth LCD monitor at home (the 2nd extra LCD) or third LCD monitor at work. Ha!. jbb