Dual Monitors + Powerbook?

L

lionsweb

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We're thinking of getting a new powerbook here at the office to replace one of the NT workstations, and to use for presentations (keynote = big selling point to management)... but I can't find anything about whether it can support dual monitors or not.

Basically we want to have it docked with an external keyboard, external 3 button mouse, and a pair of 17 inch monitors.

Can this be done? And is it supported natively or do we need extra software and/or messing with internal settings?
 
That means you could get a 17 incher and set it by a 17 inch display and get somewhat the same effect... Also with a kb and mouse attached. Killer setup !
 
Ugh. We'd rather hoped to avoid that. That would be incredibly clunky, it's hard to work on two monitors that don't match, and no matter what we did, they wouldn't.

That would also require leaving the powerbook open, which we'd also rather avoid... just want to slip it into a holder, plug in the peripherals, and use it like a workstation when we're not usign it specifically as a laptop.

Anyone know of any way to do that? the dual monitor thing is really important, we're not going to spend thousands just on a laptop to do presentations with, it has to be a replacement for a workstation or it just won't get approved, and we can't cut our lead developer's productivity in half by sticking him with a single monitor and an awkward setup with the laptop stuck open.
 
Lionsweb, I don't think you would be able to do what you wanted anyway, even if you managed to find a splitter which would allow you to use two monitors in external desktop mode (something I would think would be very hard to find.)
The reason this would not be possible is that all Apple Laptops go to sleep when the lid is shut, so to use it as a work station, you would need to have it open anyway. I heard of some hacks which allow you to overide this, but they would almost certainly void your warrenty.
 
Mine wakes up and with just a wiggle of the USB mouse ;) As I remember some older Powerbooks had overheating problems with the lid closed but newer ones are OK with it.

PB 667 Gigabit Ethernet.

-Eric
 
Ah well, shows how much I know ;)
I still think that for a workstation, they would be better off with a proper desktop, seeing as that is what they are designed for.
Laptops are supposed to be used on the go, and then when you want to sit at a desk, they have the provision to have a second monitor connected. I don't see why it would be a problem to use the internal monitor with an external one, unless they are really concerned with looks.
 
Originally posted by dlloyd
Ah well, shows how much I know ;)
I still think that for a workstation, they would be better off with a proper desktop, seeing as that is what they are designed for.
Laptops are supposed to be used on the go, and then when you want to sit at a desk, they have the provision to have a second monitor connected. I don't see why it would be a problem to use the internal monitor with an external one, unless they are really concerned with looks.
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My two cents on that comment is why buy a desktop when you can buy a laptop? I don't see the point in spending a bunch of money on a bulky tower when you can have this tiny powerful machine in front of you. Much much better in my opinion.
 
dlloyd, I guess you've never tried to work like that.

Mirroring is one thing... it doesn't matter, then... in fact, it woudl be decidedly odd mirroring two side-by-side monitors, mirroring is intended for other things... but when you're in dual head mode and trying to do development work, anything more than a fraction of an inch difference in height is very disconcerting. Several inches between the powerbook at desk level and the second monitor would be worse; and then there's the matter of the keyboard, which couldn't be centered unless you used a second one, which would require the powerbook to be pushed very far back to make room for it on the desk....

A powerbook isn't meant just to be 'used on the go' -- it's meant to be a mobile workstation, just like a high end Dell or other PC laptop. If we just needed one for occasional light-duty work and presentations, we'd go for the cheapest ibook.

It seems pointless to spend that much money when you can't dock the blasted thing. If closing the cover knocks it into sleep mode and there's no way to deactivate that, what's the point? I mean, you can hook it up to a plasma screen or to a box light for presentations. Yippee.

This kind of stuff is one of the reasons enterprise level companies don't buy apple. Docking a mobile workstation is a pretty basic thing, and while using a laptop with dual external monitors is less common than doing it with a normal workstation, it's not THAT uncommon, and I'd expect Apple to have been the FIRST ones to offer that kind of functionality.

I DID find one place on the web that seems to sell something that would enable multi-monitor display, sort of (though it still doesn't fix hte sleep mode problem). It's an incredible kludge, though, and would run about a thousand bucks. And the performance hit of two PCI graphics cards running through a PCMCIA slot... doesn't strike me as a good idea.
http://www.magma.com/pci/compatibility/index.html

I dunno. Maybe we'll have to rethink this entirely. Thanks for all your comments, everyone.
 
Originally posted by lionsweb
It seems pointless to spend that much money when you can't dock the blasted thing. If closing the cover knocks it into sleep mode and there's no way to deactivate that, what's the point?
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I answered this fully 12 hours before you posted this! With the case closed all you need to do is wiggle the goofy mouse or hit a key on the keyboard and the thing wakes up. Needless to say these must be external peripherals unless you have Yuri Geller typing powers.


This kind of stuff is one of the reasons enterprise level companies don't buy apple. Docking a mobile workstation is a pretty basic thing, and while using a laptop with dual external monitors is less common than doing it with a normal workstation, it's not THAT uncommon, and I'd expect Apple to have been the FIRST ones to offer that kind of functionality.
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So you are saying that corporate users are not buying Apple because it does not have a feature that no other laptop has! You also answered yourself why this will never be anything but an "accidental feature" on a laptop. Relatively few people need this feature and it uses up expensive space for other ports on the unit. Not all TiBooks have IRDA because there simply was not room.


I DID find one place on the web that seems to sell something that would enable multi-monitor display, sort of (though it still doesn't fix the sleep mode problem). It's an incredible kludge, though, and would run about a thousand bucks. And the performance hit of two PCI graphics cards running through a PCMCIA slot... doesn't strike me as a good idea.
http://www.magma.com/pci/compatibility/index.html

I dunno. Maybe we'll have to rethink this entirely. Thanks for all your comments, everyone.
Click to expand...


Jeez there is no sleep problem. Also I wonder if maybe a better solution would be to get a cinema display instead of a dual headed design. I have run dual headed boxes for years now and I know that I would prefer the single larger workspace.

Just a thought...

-Eric

P.S. If I sound a little irritated I guess I shouldn't answer these things before my morning coffee ;)
 
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