Increasing Productivity

• Dual Monitors
  Increase your desktop area.
• Sixthsense
  The future of Computing by Pranav Mistry

Dual Monitors

scottkuperus Computers used to be limited by a single monitor, however, since Windows XP there is built-in support for multiple monitors given the right video card. There are a couple issues to consider when upgrading to a dual monitor setup. A.) Cost to benefit ratio B.) Technical knowledge in hardware installation First off to determine your cost benefit you have several factors. How much you work on a computer in a given day is probably the biggest factor to consider. If you are a casual user having dual monitors might be more of a luxury than a benefit. Another big factor to consider is how multi-task orientated you are, do you work in one program at a time or do you use at least 2-3 programs at once. And finally, you should consider what types of programs you use, if you use 2 programs that work together like reading from documents and typing into another program for it you would definitely benefit from dual monitors. The real numbers. This is where issue B becomes a key factor. If you don't know how to upgrade your computers graphics card you might consider hiring a computer nerd to set it up for you(cost ranges). A video card ranges from $25 and up depending on type of slot (pci, AGP or pci-X) and whether you are buying one card that has slots for 2 monitors or buying an additional card for your system. The most expensive part is probably buying the second monitor, but you can find some lcd's for as little as $100. Figure on spending $80 on a decent video card and $250-$350 for a decent monitor. Installing and setting up a video card shouldn't take more than a 1/2 hour provided there is no complication in the process, so cost should be 1hr of labor.