2Nd Monitor For A Mac Laptop

[MisterMan]

Hi I have no idea about monitors but increasingly see that having a 2nd monitor giving me extra space is crucial instead of going back and forth through applications.

I have a TV and apple TV so don't need it to watch movies. Just want to have a spread sheet open or wepage while I am in another app. I dont do anything major with graphics and never game. I love mail order and would prefer to mail order then actually have to drive to powerbuys even if it is a few hund baht more.

Don't need it to big and want to spend under 5k, ideally 3k range. I do like good design ..

and yes apple monitors are stunning but seem unnecessary for my purpose. But there seems to be such a big range so not sure how to pick, what criteria etc.

Thanking you in advance.

[Gone]

If you have a McBook why would you need to slide through apps? Thats what the "Mission Control" tab is for on your dock. Also on your function keys " F3"

Or just simply slide on your trackpad using the 2 finger or 3 finger function the same way you can slide open apps on an iPhone screen

You might want to read your user manual again online and see what it can do. No need for a second screen unless you just like to see your computers screen large.

[mjnaus]

If you have a McBook why would you need to slide through apps? Thats what the "Mission Control" tab is for on your dock. Also on your function keys " F3"

Or just simply slide on your trackpad using the 2 finger or 3 finger function the same way you can slide open apps on an iPhone screen

You might want to read your user manual again online and see what it can do. No need for a second screen unless you just like to see your computers screen large.

Not true. Having a secundary monitor, you can use them both next to eachother and thus increase your screen real estate by the amount of pixels on the secundary screen. I have been doing this for years and it's a huge improvement compared to using only the smaller laptop screen. I bought a Samsung SyncMaster 2233 (23 inch), costed me around 7.000 baht at the time. The smaller screens are obviously cheaper, i would go with eiher a Samsung or an Acer, however the HP's might be ok as well.

[MisterMan]

Real estate. That is what I need. I dont want to go back and forth. I need to see info on my admin page of my ecommerce store and I need a spread sheet open at the same time. Or perhaps watch You tube and work on a spread sheet or?

I am anti HP but what spec would I need for a monitor.

Thanks MJNaus, I think it will speed up my work flow to have 2 monitors.

and what is the advantage of a wide screen over a square one?

Edited February 25, 2012 by MisterMan

[GooEng]

If you have a tv that will take hdmi input get the thunderbolt/HDMI lead - it in and there you go - additional desktop. Ive just done same.

Edited February 25, 2012 by GooEng

[MisterMan]

If you have a tv that will take hdmi input get the thunderbolt/HDMI lead - it in and there you go - additional desktop. Ive just done same.

Yes I have an HDMI TV but the TV is not situated conveintly to my office laptop.

Upon further reasearch..

I want a monitor with HDMI ..

If i buy this one

http://www.invadeit.co.th/product/monitors/samsung/syncmaster-sa350b-23inch-led-monitor-1920x1080-12m1-5ms-d-sub-hdmi-incl-dvi-cable-s23a350b-p006114/

and I have apple TV (connects via HDMI) which means i can connect the apple TV to it but it has no speakers so how would i Get sound if I decide to watch a movie in the office ?

Thanks. ( I am actually not a man and do my best to be tech savvy!! ) And having a "male" moniker suites me well in most cases on Thai Visa.

[rakman]

If you have a tv that will take hdmi input get the thunderbolt/HDMI lead - it in and there you go - additional desktop. Ive just done same.

Yes I have an HDMI TV but the TV is not situated conveintly to my office laptop.

Upon further reasearch..

I want a monitor with HDMI ..

If i buy this one

http://www.invadeit....3a350b-p006114/

and I have apple TV (connects via HDMI) which means i can connect the apple TV to it but it has no speakers so how would i Get sound if I decide to watch a movie in the office ?

Thanks. ( I am actually not a man and do my best to be tech savvy!! ) And having a "male" moniker suites me well in most cases on Thai Visa.

Apple TV has optical audio output. To get your sound, you'll need speakers with optical in (and built in amp) or feed the optical output to an amplifer with optical input and external speakers.

Fortunately, there are both, it is then a personal choice of how good you want to audio to sound.

[smiling mantis]

Be aware that the most recent version of Mac OS X effectively disables the use of a second monitor if you are planning to use either in full-screen mode.

I made this mistake. I bought a cinema display and Lion at the same time, only to discover that it was a huge waste of money since I'm not able to run two apps simultaneously in full-screen mode. I now use the big screen on my Windows box, and am formatting over Lion and installing Linux.

And this is the last time they make a fool of me for buying their products.

[Gone]

I'm just not getting it here. The OP wants to have another monitor/TV so he can have a spread-sheet open on the external monitor while he has a different display on his MacBook. That is not possible I think.

You can only run "clone" as an extra TV or monitor right? (on MacBook)

So whatever screen you have on your Mac will just be cloned on your external monitor right? So how could you have 2 different displays running at the same time? I mean you can't have a spread-sheet open on your external monitor/TV and have a different app running on your mac screen.

[MisterMan]

I'm just not getting it here. The OP wants to have another monitor/TV so he can have a spread-sheet open on the external monitor while he has a different display on his MacBook. That is not possible I think.

You can only run "clone" as an extra TV or monitor right? (on MacBook)

So whatever screen you have on your Mac will just be cloned on your external monitor right? So how could you have 2 different displays running at the same time? I mean you can't have a spread-sheet open on your external monitor/TV and have a different app running on your mac screen.

I did it before when I hooked up my TV to my mac.. just a bigger desk top space.. I can move the spreadsheet from my lap top screen all the way to the left or I would watch a movie and move quick time all the way to the left to the new screen. and have my document on my lap top screen.

I don't understand "Be aware that the most recent version of Mac OS X effectively disables the use of a second monitor if you are planning to use either in full-screen mode. " Perhaps I am not familiar with full screen mode?

[ubonrthai]

Hi I have no idea about monitors but increasingly see that having a 2nd monitor giving me extra space is crucial instead of going back and forth through applications.

I have a TV and apple TV so don't need it to watch movies. Just want to have a spread sheet open or wepage while I am in another app. I dont do anything major with graphics and never game. I love mail order and would prefer to mail order then actually have to drive to powerbuys even if it is a few hund baht more.

Don't need it to big and want to spend under 5k, ideally 3k range. I do like good design ..

and yes apple monitors are stunning but seem unnecessary for my purpose. But there seems to be such a big range so not sure how to pick, what criteria etc.

Thanking you in advance.

I bought a pretty basic 24" Samsung monitor 3 years ago for use with my MacBook Pro when I'm at my home desk. It was a fantastic decision. I often need to read one thing while tying in another app and it's helpful not having to resize windows on one screen. I wish I had another! A good place to research is at newegg.com because of so many reviews.

[ubonrthai]

If you have a McBook why would you need to slide through apps? Thats what the "Mission Control" tab is for on your dock. Also on your function keys " F3"

I strongly disagree. That is very handy on one screen for sure. One of the reasons I abandoned PC was quick ability to change to another app. However a 2nd monitor has really helped. I often need to read a PDF, email or spreadsheet and type in another app. Remember those clips that use to swing out from the side of CRT monitors for hanging notes or a piece of paper. It's kind of like that. Or sometimes I have a TV show running on one screen while working on the other.

[rakman]

I'm just not getting it here. The OP wants to have another monitor/TV so he can have a spread-sheet open on the external monitor while he has a different display on his MacBook. That is not possible I think.

You can only run "clone" as an extra TV or monitor right? (on MacBook)

So whatever screen you have on your Mac will just be cloned on your external monitor right? So how could you have 2 different displays running at the same time? I mean you can't have a spread-sheet open on your external monitor/TV and have a different app running on your mac screen.

I did it before when I hooked up my TV to my mac.. just a bigger desk top space.. I can move the spreadsheet from my lap top screen all the way to the left or I would watch a movie and move quick time all the way to the left to the new screen. and have my document on my lap top screen.

I don't understand "Be aware that the most recent version of Mac OS X effectively disables the use of a second monitor if you are planning to use either in full-screen mode. " Perhaps I am not familiar with full screen mode?

In MAC forums, posters are lamenting the "full screen apps" can only run on the primary screen, secondary panes within an app can go to the second monitor. One poster said Divvy was a big help, even on previous versions.

Guesses are that Apple is supporting single screen devices, and not providing options for dual screens.

[MisterMan]

Be aware that the most recent version of Mac OS X effectively disables the use of a second monitor if you are planning to use either in full-screen mode.

I made this mistake. I bought a cinema display and Lion at the same time, only to discover that it was a huge waste of money since I'm not able to run two apps simultaneously in full-screen mode. I now use the big screen on my Windows box, and am formatting over Lion and installing Linux.

And this is the last time they make a fool of me for buying their products.

Oh dear.. I am not on Lion and will keep it like that for now... I did find this though.. although makes no sense to me as I am on SL but might help you. Thanks for the warning about this!!

10.7: Dual Monitor full-screen app trick

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20110908164921875

ubonrthai: Thank you as this is exactly what I mean. Am going to go with the Samsung with the HDMI incase I want to plug in my little apple TV and watch a movie at my desk.

rakman: Will investigate into the cord as I do have a JBL speaker.. never ends does it..

Thanks so much for all the feedback.

Did find the monitor cheaper at

Thanni.com Will invadeit match prices?

[Gone]

Apple comes from the canine family. Just dogs that want to control us and make us spend MAXIMUM money.

Ok so I have an iPad 2 3G + WiFi, a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. haha Yes I love their technology but hate the way they manipulate everything (iTunes, apps etc,) If you want to own original Apple products you pay 10 times the money.

iPhone earphone = 1,500 baht (buy copy for 150 baht)

Charger = 1500 baht (copy 300 baht)

Cables for HDM well I won't even get into all the cable products but they are ridiculous.

Anyways I love Apple products but hate Apple.

Anyways to the OP you might want to look at this ad on craigslist: http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/sys/2834048126.html

Edited February 26, 2012 by Gone

[smiling mantis]

Be aware that the most recent version of Mac OS X effectively disables the use of a second monitor if you are planning to use either in full-screen mode.

I made this mistake. I bought a cinema display and Lion at the same time, only to discover that it was a huge waste of money since I'm not able to run two apps simultaneously in full-screen mode. I now use the big screen on my Windows box, and am formatting over Lion and installing Linux.

And this is the last time they make a fool of me for buying their products.

Oh dear.. I am not on Lion and will keep it like that for now... I did find this though.. although makes no sense to me as I am on SL but might help you. Thanks for the warning about this!!

10.7: Dual Monitor full-screen app trick

http://hints.macworl...110908164921875

Thank you for the link but for my situation it's useless.

I will say that my new Apple Cinema Display is a beautiful match for my new Asus HD7970 GPU, which I bought partly for its inclusion of not one but two mini-DisplayPort ports, and that Windows 7 is lovely on it. I had Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro too at one point, and incredibly, Windows 7 had better support for the two displays than Mac OS X. So it's not a total loss.

If you can, stay with Snow Leopard as long as you can. For some reason I had to apply a firmware update in order to upgrade to Lion and which prevents me from downgrading. Furious is the word I want to convey to you now. Furious.

[MisterMan]

Thanks for the warning! I will heed it! Been debating as I do have Lion in my desk drawer but am fine with the way it is now. Thank you Thank you.