'Why do you have six monitors?'......

……Someone asked the author Terry Pratchett. His reply: “Because I don’t have enough space for eight”.

Well, I am not sure I want or need six monitors, but it is certainly an improvement having two.

The one on the right is my brand new 24" Apple LCD monitor. The one on my left is my brand new 23" piece of crap Samsung monitor (the previous 25" Samsung is part of the “get the Xbox running on the old modelling table and then play games endlessly” project).

Here is what is wrong with the Samsung monitor:

1. It’s crap.

Here is what is right with the Samsung monitor:

1. It’s cheap.

Here is what is wrong with the Apple monitor:

1. You need the stupid little Apple plug to connect it, which means it only works with recent Apple laptops and certain Mac Pros.
2. The cable between the stupid little plug and the monitor is too short.
3. It’s got a camera and microphone and speakers and I don’t need any of those.
4. It hasn’t got an HDMI socket and I might need that.
5. It is insanely expensive.

Here is what is right with the Apple monitor:

1. None of the above negative points matter because this thing is utterly, utterly gorgeous.

When it is turned off it is an orgasm of brushed metal and glass. When it is turned on, well, everything just looks so damn good, and they look equally damn good from any angle, unlike the Samsung which looks varying colours of crap depending on the viewing angle. Photos pop out of the screen in a way that had she who must be obeyed actually praising some of my shots. Then we tried a movie; stunning. Yes, it is glossy and if the screen is displaying a substantial percentage of black you can use it as a mirror to squeeze your spots (it wipes down easily). But in practice you don’t notice the reflections.

Fabulous monitor, I just wish I had two of them, or maybe six.

Comments 🔗

2009-11-30 | bart says

How much?

2009-11-30 | Spike says

Your local Apple on-line store would be happy to tell you.

2009-11-30 | Billy says

ok, lets get this right, the one on the left is a 23" Samsung and the one on the right is a 24" Apple.

Leaving aside considerations of image quality, you seem to get a lot more for your Dell inches than your Apple inches.

2009-12-01 | Spike says

As an owner of an LX3 you may have noticed that there is significant distortion at the edge of the image at the widest lens setting….. The Apple is actually wider by, hardly surprisingly, about 1 inch. And taller.

2009-12-01 | Billy says

That is quite some distortion as the Samsung looks much wider than the Apple …. the camera never lies ….except …..

2009-12-02 | todd says

i run 4 monitors, i’d run 6 but then i’d need a matrox adapter which doesn’t play well with with intense video apps on vista / 7.

2009-12-02 | Spike says

I’m sure we’d all like to know why you have four monitors. I would certainly like to know, maybe help me justify some more.

2009-12-02 | Billy says

I can confirm that three is not enough.

2009-12-03 | todd says

from left to right

left: email / browser left center: photoshop right center: dreamweaver / other coding apps right: tv / movies while working / other

3 were ok, but 4 is worth it, considering there’s no extra video card requirement, just an extra monitor, might as well go plug one in.

i run 4x19 samsungs, i’d like to up them to 4x24 or something, but i’m really trying to spend less time infront of the pc and more outside.

2009-12-03 | todd says

i’d like 6 so i could use the extra - one for server monitoring / console screen, other for additional browser for things i’m tracking. but i can live without.

2009-12-03 | Billy says

Todd, you should really get someone to demonstrate the really cool and useful thing they have these days called a “Window” … you can think of it as a virtual monitor if it helps; to switch between theses “monitors” you don’t even have to move your head, just hit a couple of keys at the same time!!

Might save you a monitor or two :-)

2009-12-03 | wenthworth says

Seriously how much p0rn could you watch at once?

2009-12-03 | Spike says

I’m with Todd. It’s great to be “working” on one monitor and have a full screen movie running on the other. I find it easier to move my head than hit a couple of keys.

Wenthworth, perhaps you could start the ball rolling in the discussion by telling us how much porn you watch at once?

2009-12-03 | wenthworth says

Only one since the fire, bloody Samsungs.