External display that is NOT an extension of the desktop

I have a MacBook Pro running Lion and I use 6 desktops (spaces) to do my work in. I'd like to connect an external monitor and have it be a separate desktop than the six on the laptop. The external monitor would show the same thing all the time. (probably will be my email client)

The only options I see is to have the external monitor be an extension or a mirror of what is on the laptop screen. How can I make it separate from the laptop screen?

Thanks!
Blair

I don't think you can without using a dual head video card which is only available for the Mac Pro. Maybe someone else has an idea of how it could be done, so stick around.

Is the 'Mac Pro' different than the MacBook Pro that I have?

Yes; Macbook Pro is a laptop....Mac Pro is the big honkin aluminum desktop.

nifty950 said:

I have a MacBook Pro running Lion and I use 6 desktops (spaces) to do my work in. I'd like to connect an external monitor and have it be a separate desktop than the six on the laptop. The external monitor would show the same thing all the time. (probably will be my email client)

The only options I see is to have the external monitor be an extension or a mirror of what is on the laptop screen. How can I make it separate from the laptop screen?

Thanks!
Blair

Click to expand...

Bump this thread! I'm very eager to find an answer to this question myself. I have the exact same problem. I posted it on another forum, and was not able to get an answer there either.

cradom said:

Yes; Macbook Pro is a laptop....Mac Pro is the big honkin aluminum desktop.

Click to expand...

Only starting at about $2500... without the second video card. Want independent video output, a couple grands worth of want?

If you simply plug an external monitor into your MacBook pro and move the window for your Mail program over to that monitor it will stay there. Other programs will do likewise or am I misunderstanding something.

One way that I think gets at what you want to do without buying a desktop Mac is to use a usb adapter that an external monitor can connect to. I used this for a while to have two external monitors attached to my MacBook Pro. You can read about my experiences and the limitations in ATPM 15.08 - Review: OWC USB 2.0 Display Adapter. There are several of these devices on the market and I am not sure that they all share the limitations discussed in that article.