Get More Screens
You probably read the article about how Bill Gates works with 3 screens in front of him… And now LifeHacker is talking about increasing productivity with more screens.
Something I discovered, though - which I think Mac users figured out long ago - is that if you decrease the size (width-wise at least) of your windows… you can essentially have 1.5 screens without spending a dime.
Of course, this is a lot easier if you have a higher resolution screen (it works well for my laptop set at: 1400 x 1050). Most websites (which is where we spend most of our time anyway, right?) are configured for 1024 x 768, so if you can set your monitor to a higher resolution, you can reduce the width of your browser to about 800, and have about 300 pixels left over to look at things in the background. It may not seem like much, but trust me it helps. Especially once you get your most used applications in the right places.
Someone said in the LifeHacker comments:
For me, it simply allows me to, if nothing else, have two maximized applications going on at once, whether that be Firefox and some Office app, or doing some development work and having Word open on the other monitor for notes or something.
And sure, that’s nice if you can afford it… but I work from home sometimes, from the office sometimes… you think I want to buy 2 extra monitors so I can have an extra screen at all times? And don’t think that work will want to buy another one for me… maybe in another couple years when I’ve provided some more value.
In the mean time, I just don’t use as many maximized windows, and make more effecient use of my screen’s real estate.
