As others have said.. use Display Fusion. Look at my screen grabs... you'll see the task bar spreads across both screens, with a clock, start button and systray on each screen.
I have a Samsung SM2232BW on the left and a Samsung SM2233 on the right. Using DisplayFusion for the taskbars of course. I usually have my main programs (browser, IDE, game) on the left one while the right one is for background stuff like instant messaging, IRC and downloads. Generally the software setup is quite flexible and if I'm working on something that could use both screens, I do use them. Sometimes I feel like I'd need a third screen, probably for the same reason why I sometimes run out of RAM...
Ace. I'll be looking into those then. Last time I saw one it was halfbaked as your taskbar was essentially duplicated on either screen. Which sort of defeated the point for me.
You can set it to to be duplicated or only relevant windows are shown on each task bar.... so if I have a browser running on my main screen and minimise it, it will only be on my main screen task bar, not secondary etc. Each task bar has it's own clock and systray, which is actually a good thing. Display Fusion has loads of options.
I have three screens at the moment. My ACER LED LCD 27" is my main monitor which is whatever I am doing at the time. I also have a 17" Planar LCD that my iTunes runs on. Then I have a Samsung 22" LCD that runs various other apps that I run. Its great for running multiple editing apps. I also have a 24" Asus LCD sitting on my floor and I am wondering, do I hook it up too for shits and giggles....probably not, off to eBay it goes. By the way, I have been using dual monitors since before LCDs came out and will never go back to a single monitor again.
My main 30" is used for everything, and the 20" is only used when image or video editing as I like a clean working area on the main image or timeline, and all tools on a separate screen (see my images on page 1). It's sometimes on when I needs more than one word doc open for something, and has also been useful to have a web page running while playing MORPGs. Usually though, it's just the big Eizo as a 30" had enough space to work with.
Yes... I've been wondering this myself. I take it the resolution is big enough that it doesn't seem so cramped to just make your windows a custom size rather than just full screen over a couple. I'm down to one monitor now, so maybe I could sell this one and buy a larger screen instead?
For general use, a 30" (2560x1600) is plenty large enough for most things, yes. When it comes to Photoshop though, there's nothing better than having just a 30" with nothing but the image on it, and all your tools on a separate screen. If I had to have one screen, it would have to be at least 2560x1440.
