[IxDA Discuss] What's the best Computer for Designers?

[James Melzer]

To be fair, the Windows ecosystem isn't dual-monitor nirvana either.

MS Office applications routinely throw newly opened toolbars and  
dialog boxes into the primary monitor's view despite the location of  
their corresponding application elsewhere. And Windows arbitrarily  
scatters my desktop icons whenever I add a new one and then undock.

I use a PC at work because I have to, and I curse it nearly every day.  
I use a Mac at home because I enjoy it.

~ James

==  James Melzer  =======
http://www.jamesmelzer.com
http://del.icio.us/jamesmelzer
== Sent on my iPhone ====

On Sep 4, 2007, at 10:51 AM, "David Malouf" <dave at ixda.org> wrote:

> Hi Todd,
>
> Unfortunately, its been a long while since I've been on my MacBook,
> but I have remember having a lot of expectations about how
> dual-monitor should and could work and they didn't happen. I think in
> my "Shift" article on Ok-Cancel I outlined some issues.
>
> The ones I'm scraping my cranium to remember include:
> 1. Menus are always in the main monitor and not associated with the
> application canvas I'm actually working in.
> 2. Often I would have palettes in the 2ndary window, but when values
> had to be set their dropdowns (or other reveal widgets) would appear
> in the primary window. (This had a positive effect of me relying on
> keyboard commands more.)
> 3. Moving from dual to single monitor mode often left some application
> windows stuck out of the monitor view never to be grabable or viewable
> again.
>
> In the end though I felt that less Mac applications (so this isn't
> about the OS but about the eco-system of the OS) didn't consider
> dual-monitor support at all in their design.
>
> I think there was an issue with maximizing of windows in the 2nd
> window not working many times.
>
> Now that being said there are a ton of issues (some similar some
> different) with dual monitor support in Windows.
>
> That said, PPT and Keynote on the Mac take much better advantage of
> dual monitors than any equivalent Windows version of those
> applications.
>
> -- dave
>
>
> On 9/4/07, Todd Zaki Warfel <lists at toddwarfel.com> wrote:
>> Hey Dave, can you give some more detail on this? I've been using dual
>> monitors on a Mac for a number of years wi/o too many problems.  
>> Admittedly,
>> there's that rare occasion where it goes into mirror mode when  
>> hooking up to
>> a foreign display (typically an old projector that doesn't support  
>> 1024 or
>> higher). So, I can't say it's flawless, but it works far better for  
>> me than
>> the Windows users I've seen hook into other monitors and projects  
>> as it
>> automatically detects the 2nd screen and adjusts accordingly.
>>
>> Mac OS sees the 2nd monitor as an extension of the desktop. How  
>> does this
>> differ from your expectation, desire, or need?
>>
>>
>> On Aug 30, 2007, at 8:27 PM, David Malouf wrote:
>>
>>
>> One reason to use Windows is that Windows (believe it or not) is FAR
>> superior for multi-monitor support. I LOATHE mac support (or lack  
>> there of)
>> for multiple monitors. The OS just doesn't really consider the 2nd  
>> monitor
>> as anything as the video output screen or the tools palette's area.
>> Stationary menu at the top is not a model that works in multiple or  
>> even
>> high resolution monitors ... Just ask Fitz!
>>
>>
>> Cheers!
>>
>> Todd Zaki Warfel
>> President, Design Researcher
>> Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully.
>> ----------------------------------
>> Contact Info
>> Voice: (215) 825-7423
>> Email: todd at messagefirst.com
>> AIM: twarfel at mac.com
>> Blog: http://toddwarfel.com
>> ----------------------------------
>> In theory, theory and practice are the same.
>> In practice, they are not.
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> -- 
> David Malouf
> http://synapticburn.com/
> http://ixda.org/
> http://motorola.com/
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