You should consider a second monitor. XFree86 has the option "Xinerama" for extending your screen onto two or more monitors. You don't need a two or more "head" video card, just a second or third PCI video card plugged into your home system.

I've extended my 1024x768 17" monitor onto another 1024x768 17" monitor, and I'm considering building a shelf to add a third monitor pyramid-style. Its really handy for the multiple working windows, especially when you're doing something with GIMP and you want to move your tool windows over onto the second monitor.

I'm building another machine as well and I'm looking into adding lots of monitors to it with a shelf set (try http://webgiant.sdf1.org/thriftycomputer/ for local KC thrift stores carrying sub-$10 monitors for that extra monitor).

--- "Kelsay, Brian - Kansas City, MO" brian.kelsay@kcc.usda.gov wrote:

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-----Original Message-----

Something that's been skirted in this discussion is the idea that the whole point of a windowing environment is that no one application takes all of the resources - they share the screen, so whatever the screen's maximum resolution is, any given app should take _less_ than that for it's standard resolution.

That's been something that's frustrated me. We have this ideal of multiple working windows, but unless you're on some super-pricey graphics workstation you're usually reduced to maximizing each application in turn to make the most of your resources.

I have to put my home monitor on 1200x1600 so that I can get a decent workspace w/ several apps open at the same time and them all be usable.

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