So easy to add second monitor to iMac

When I switched from Windows to a mid-2011 27" iMac two years ago I held off adding a second monitor because it was always a bit fussy on Windows. But I finally went out and bought a Thunderbolt (MiniDisplayPort) to DVI adapter this week and hooked up an HP monitor I had kicking around, turned it on, when to Apple Preferences/Display and poof, there it was. Second monitor. Add that to Mountain Lion's desktops and I have all kinds of handy space now to get to work done. So easy. Just works. Should have done it much, much sooner.

Demapples said:

So easy. Just works. Should have done it much, much sooner.

Click to expand...

I agree. It has always been very easy to add a and monitor to Macintosh computers! Been this way for years & years & years. The only hard part is Apple keeps changing the type of ports used for video...so you almost always need some sort of video adapter.

- Nick

Very easy. Duck Soup as they used to say. I used to setup multimonitor XP and Linux systems and that could be a definite pain - especially if they had different resolutions.

As you say, the monitor plug and use of the Mac is wonderful. My only complaint with it is that OSX doesn't recognize when the secondary monitor is turned off, which I do when I'm not in a heavy programming session and don't need the real estate. Then, since OSX remembers the last position of a program, sometimes I click on an icon then wonder for a while if it is going to open. It has, only it's in the video space of the switched off monitor.

A minor complaint - nothing that will drive me back to winders.

Looks like Mavericks is going to make second monitors even more useful:
Why the Mac Finder took so long to get the new Tabs in OS X Mavericks
and scroll down to Multiple Displays.

The addition of the Menu bar and Dock to every screen is a huge step forward for sure.

Just that makes this version of OS X a must have for everyone using multiple displays.

bobtomay said:

The addition of the Menu bar and Dock to every screen is a huge step forward for sure.

Just that makes this version of OS X a must have for everyone using multiple displays.

Click to expand...

That was my first reaction as well. I was a bit confused at first about whether the second Dock was there all the time or whether you had to put it there on a case by case basis.

The other big change for multi monitors is the change in full screen mode. seems like it will behave as it should have in the first place. In its current state full screen isn't very useful in multi monitor situations.

I've been using my dual 32" Sharp Aquos HDTVs with my Mac Mini since I got it ~4 weeks ago. I've been a multi-Monitor user for about 8 years now and feel very restrained on a single. At one time I was using 2 video cards and 4 17" CRTs... it was crazy...

Anyway, I wanted to tell of something I noticed right away with Mountain lion and the dual monitors, if I switch the input on one of them to use the PC that is still connected, everything that is open on the Mac desktop moves to the single monitor. It happens automatically and moves them all back once the input is switched back to the one the Mac is connected to. Windows never did that!

That's right. Once the Mac thinks that there is no second screen everything moves to the single monitor that is still connected. If I am understanding what you mean correctly that is one of the mice multi-monitor features that has been around for a while.