Screen Spanning Doctor — Must Have!

 

Okay, so I posted as one of my main points of upgrade to a Macbook Pro was the fact that you could have extended desktops while you can’t have this feature on an iBook (even though they both use the same graphic chips basically). Someone was very kind enough to post this link to an AppleScript that adds this functionality to certain models, including some iMacs, eMac, and iBooks.

So, I was able to install this very easily, then all I had to do was restart my computer and plug in a monitor. Voila! After unchecking a box that said something like “Mirror Desktops” I was able to drag around my displays to get them setup the way I wanted (external on left) etc, just like it was from the factory! Best of all, I’m hooked up to a 17″ CRT right now (one I had lying around) that supports 1280X1024, so I have a very cool resolution on that monitor, while I still have my stock 1024X768 on my main iBook screen. Very, very nice!

Expose is just a tad sluggish with this setup, but it works none the less. Supposedly this script also enabled a “clamshell mode” so that you can shut your main display, wake the computer with the lid still shut, and then use the external that way. Although, it warns you several times that it won’t vent properly and may overheat, so I don’t think that I’ll be trying this feature out for long periods of time.

However, I can’t thank the person enough who submitted the link for this script, I will be playing with this for awhile now!

You can grab the AppleScript that enables this wonderful feature for iBooks and more Mac computers here.

Comments (2) Leave a Comment
  1. Zauber May 9th, 2006 at 08:31 | #1

    “However, I can’t thank the person enough who submitted the link for this script, I will be playing with this for awhile now!”

    You’re welcome! Have fun! Be careful about pulling out or putting in usb-devices when the lid is down though. If you’re in a hurry, you might not notice that the computer wakes up, and as you said, runs the risk of overheating. I’ve come close a couple of times, which is why I mention it.

  2. Matt May 9th, 2006 at 09:30 | #2

    I will certainly keep that in mind, but I don’t plan on using that feature a lot, just because it sounds so risky. I want the extra screenspace and don’t have another keyboard or mouse, so I have to use my laptop at the same time. Only time I can think this would be nice is if you were watching a DVD hooked up to a TV, or something of the like.

Allowed tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> <pre lang="" line="" escaped="" highlight="">
  1. May 13th, 2006 at 17:52 | #1

    [...] Doctor — Must Have! – 2 commentsCool Keyboard Shortcut – 2 commentsDaylite 3 Review – 1 commentsNew Monitor and Network Drive Arrive – 1comments [...]