[iBook] Re: external monitor on iBook

[Dave Wyman]

After some good advice here a few months back, I finally purchased an 
external monitor through tigerdirect.com. Great price and the monitor 
looks terrific. Absolutely plug and play.

If you're friend wants an external monitor and it's not an Apple, don't 
expect the Mac genius to have much information, intelligible or 
otherwise, to impart to your friend - Apple wants your friend to 
purchase one of their beautiful, but expensive monitors, not a monitor 
from another manufacturer.

If your friend just wants an inexpensive monitor, check out tiger or 
newegg.com, etc. There are lot of choices, and prices are down on  17" 
and 19" monitors - I see tiger.com is offering a monitor for $20 less 
than I paid two weeks ago. Yes, there are a bewildering array of 
choices, I went for the DCL 19" monitor, it had specs as good as any of 
the other lower-priced models, lots of positive reviews. Most 
lower-priced models are around $250 (w/rebate), and they go up in price 
from there, particularly with the better known brands.

Two possible problems with the iBook and an external monitor:

1) Screen resolution will be limited to what your friend has on her 
monitor, and external monitors usually have higher (i.e. getter 
looking) resolution - the image won't be quite as sharp as it is on 
your iBook. But it won't be a poor image.

2) As mentioned before, the iBook only works in mirror mode - that is, 
what you see on the screen of the iBook will appear on the external 
monitor. It won't be possible to put windows from one or more programs 
up at the same time, in each of the monitors - for example, your e-mail 
visible on one monitor, while an Appleworks datebase is visible in the 
other monitor.

However, these are minor drawbacks. Your friend should purchase the 
external monitor, plug in with the VGA adapter, and have fun.

A little piece of software, Screen Spanning Doctor, will unlock the 
higher resolution the external monitor is capable of providing, and it 
will also allow for dual monitor mode. Using dual monitor mode is bit 
complicated to set up and understand the first time or two, and I 
understand using the software that allows this in theory can void the 
warranty - on the other hand, the software can be removed. I installed 
the software for my monitor, it was easy and I have the functionality 
of a PowerBook with my iBook.

Dave

-- 
http://www.davewyman.com
http://www.idrivebackroads.com (Guidebook to Northern California)

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