Re: Mackbook experiences ..

Woody <usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

zoara <me18@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[1] One thing I have noticed is that the typical Windows way of managing
windows really doesn't work well with two monitors.

Thats because multi monitor support is a hacked in thing, which means
there are many low level APIs that don't support monitors (just a point
on the screen). There are parts over that that force screens.

However the windows methods all evolved before it was common to use
multiple screens, whereas the mac methods evolved when multiple were
more common on them.

I've been thinking about this a bit more - now that the trend is towards
paned apps on the Mac, we're going the other way; for example, in
(unpaned) Eudora you could have a mailbox on one screen and your mailbox
folders window on another. But in Mail, you can't; the best you can do
is have the mailbox-folders-and-selected-mailbox paned window on one
screen, and the actual messages on another.

It's a strained example, but it does show that the paned approach is
less flexible.


There are some rather irritating games that are for the mac and PC, that
when played on the mac ask you which screen you want, and on the PC
don't. Which is ok if they get the screen right.

Yikes, nasty.


I've just started
using a dual setup (one monitor in portrait, woohoo) and it's amazing
how many apps restrict you to just using one monitor at a time. I'm
using Eclipse at the moment, which would really benefit from having the
code in one screen and all the other bits in another, but I can't get it
to do that.

That is because not only is the windows multi screen API a bit hacked
on, but eclipse is a stinking pile of fetted poo, so in this case it is
windows causing 10% of the problem, and eclipse causing the rest. At
least to be fair, it is a stinking pile on all machines.

Heh. Okay, a different example; opening two Excel spreadsheets, one on
each monitor. I can't work out how to do that on this Windows box.

After playing a bit more, I've realised that this kind of problem only
exists for a minority of applications; those that use an MDI method of
handling documents. My text editor (PSPad) and Excel are the only two I
use often on this machine, but other apps (Word, Firefox etc) that have
each new app in a new parent window let you put two docs on different
monitors. Of course, you then get the problem of the taskbar getting
cluttered with that 'several instances of the app bundled under one
entry' but that's a much more minor issue.


Having said that, I have a feeling that the Mac version of
Eclipse will sufer the same problem. It's a shame, because that seems
one of the most useful advantages of a dual setup.

It does suffer the same problems, for the same reasons. Luckily the user
interface can be improved by pouring mustard in your eyes and nailing
your hands to the table.
ok, not so much improved, but it doesn't make it worse.

I must try that some time.

-zoara-

--
defecation occurs
.