Arch Linux

Schneibster

Member

Registered: 2008-12-20

Posts: 32

A Plethora of Riches

OK, so I have this 17" laptop that's been running Arch 64 for a while. It's got a 945GM, and I have Compiz Fusion running and I like it a lot. Now I'm outfitting my office, and I have a 19" monitor I can use right next to it for a dual head setup.

xrandr is causing X to terminate with a SEGV when I try to use any mode but clone.

So I've got some kinda problem going there, but I have a deeper question first:

I tend to use the window wall, 3x4, with one "sort of thing" (fuzzily defined) in each window. So I can touch the upper left corner and choose another window in the wall. What do I want a second monitor for? Am I wasting my time even bothering to try to fix this? "Gold plating" my installation, so to speak?

Share your prejudices with me, too, please; opinions matter sometimes in stuff like this and de gustibus non disputandum. TIA.

peets

Member

From: Montreal

Registered: 2007-01-11

Posts: 936

Website

Re: A Plethora of Riches

I'd say you are wasting money. It's impossible to focus on two monitors at once, might as well just use 2 (or more) virtual desktops. Waste of desk space, waste of energy, waste of money, IMHO.

ngoonee

Forum Fellow

From: Between Thailand and Singapore

Registered: 2009-03-17

Posts: 7,356

Re: A Plethora of Riches

I'd say you are wasting money. It's impossible to focus on two monitors at once, might as well just use 2 (or more) virtual desktops. Waste of desk space, waste of energy, waste of money, IMHO.

The point of multiple monitors is to have more information available without having to make the active choice to seek for it (beyond moving your eyes). Particularly helpful in the following situations for me:-
1. Comparing documents/spreadsheets/any verbose material side-by-side
2. Keeping track of a long process (for example one of those interminable IRC conversations which I'm keeping an eye on) while actually doing some useful work (posting in these forums!) on another monitor
3. Mundane multi-document tasks involving repetitive steps (example, 3 spreadsheets, one for name/address/cheque number, one for address/cheque number/serial number, one for name/contact details which you're filing in simultaneously from written forms).

You don't want to focus on two monitors at once, by that logic most screens nowadays are too large to 'focus' on more than one area of the screen at a time. Turning your head/eyes is more efficient than any keyboard shortcut though.

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Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

mrbig4545

Member

Registered: 2010-05-11

Posts: 4

Website

Re: A Plethora of Riches

as a developer or sysadmin, 2 monitors is invaluable. its one of them things that doesnt seem important until you actually try it.

davidm

Member

Registered: 2009-04-25

Posts: 371

Re: A Plethora of Riches

I'd say you are wasting money. It's impossible to focus on two monitors at once, might as well just use 2 (or more) virtual desktops. Waste of desk space, waste of energy, waste of money, IMHO.

It can be nice for instance if you want to loosely watch a video but also do a little bit of work now and then at the same time.  I actually go a step further keep two separate computers nearby me much of the time.  One desktop and one a laptop.  Believe it or not I find it to increase my productivity because I can unload certain resource intensive tasks (e.g. building) on the one computer yet work at full speed on the other while the job is getting completed.

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Why I support GNU/Linux

thisllub

Member

From: Northern NSW Australia

Registered: 2007-12-28

Posts: 231

Re: A Plethora of Riches

I'd say you are wasting money. It's impossible to focus on two monitors at once, might as well just use 2 (or more) virtual desktops. Waste of desk space, waste of energy, waste of money, IMHO.

Ha.

I have used 3.
Multiple desktops on each.
If you do web design work you can code on one and display on the other.

Recording music benefits even more.

peets

Member

From: Montreal

Registered: 2007-01-11

Posts: 936

Website

Re: A Plethora of Riches

... get a good window manager?

ngoonee

Forum Fellow

From: Between Thailand and Singapore

Registered: 2009-03-17

Posts: 7,356

Re: A Plethora of Riches

... get a good window manager?

No matter how intuitive your WM is, it is no substitute for just having everything you need available instantly instead of requiring some sort of key-strokes to access (and then doing the normal 'so where is it again' visual search).

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Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

AlexS

Member

From: Munich, Germany

Registered: 2009-05-16

Posts: 114

Re: A Plethora of Riches

At work I have 2 screens, which is the minimum - some colleagues have 3 or more - simply because you code, visualize data, etc. You simply need that much screenspace to have a global view on things. I guess one could also get all the information in morse code, but the workflow would not be the same.

At home a notebook screen satisfies my needs.

Schneibster

Member

Registered: 2008-12-20

Posts: 32

Re: A Plethora of Riches

Well, I use dual monitors all the time with Windows and Gnome, what I'm specifically asking is what use it is with Compiz, particularly if one uses the window-wall like I do. It seems uselessly redundant in this environment, in which portability is king.