multiple monitors

How to power four simultaneous screens with the Retina MacBook Pro

The new MacBook Pro with Retina display has many noteworthy features, from a unique 2,880x1,800-pixel screen to new Nvidia graphics to large SSD storage options. But, the most surprising may be the multiple video outputs -- something not seen on a MacBook before now.

The last several generations of MacBook have had either a mini-DisplayPort or combo Thunderbolt/DisplayPort jack. HDMI has been on our most-wished-for lists for years, so Apple finally adding HDMI (which is found on pretty every other current laptop) is a big move, especially when combined with a second Thunderbolt port.

The initial review of the Retina Pro … Read more

E3 2011: Will 2012 be the year of the second screen?

Among all the myriad events and announcements of E3 2011--some bombastic, some evolutionary--the unveiling of the Wii U was one that, no matter who you asked, generated some degree of mixed feelings. As gaming press and players, what we saw from Nintendo's future console controller produced sensations of excitement, skepticism, ambivalence, and intrigue.

That might be due partly to the expectations that Nintendo set for itself. The Wii was a new experience, a new idea. It also might be due in part to Sony's PSVita stealing some of the spotlight a day before; the handheld device actually has … Read more

Managing missing windows after using multiple displays

A few people have had problems with their Macs when using multiple monitors, where windows that were put on secondary displays seem to disappear when the display is disconnected. The problem may happen more prevalently in certain setups where the computer is put to sleep and then the monitor is disconnected, but may also happen in other situations as well. Applications should reset their window placement when they are relaunched or when a display configuration is changed, but this may not always automatically occur. However, there are several things you can do to reposition missing windows.

One MacFixIt reader "… Read more

Use your laptop as a second monitor

If you ever get envious of those cool graphic design guys with multiple monitors, ask yourself, "Do I have a laptop?" If you do, you can run a multimonitor setup of your own. Watch our video version of this Insider Secret, then come back for the written details.

I must credit my co-worker Rafe Needleman for this idea. He saw me pecking away with my laptop monitor up one day and said, "Why don't you use that as a second monitor?" After I told him to frack off, I realized it wasn't a bad … Read more

Dongle connects second display to PC

If you hate having to change the video card in your PC to support multiple displays, here's a way that can help save the hassle. The Logitec LDE-SX010U, which is expected to be released in Japan in mid-March, is a USB-to-DVI dongle that lets you connect additional monitors to your computer via the USB 2.0 port.

The Logitec dongle supports a maximum 1,400x1,050 pixels, which is the standard native resolution for most 19-inch panels. Up to six displays can be connected to one PC, according to Akihabara News, though a more powerful computer is recommended as … Read more