Help! My Screen’s Too Big!
For a long time, I have been fettered in my computer usage. For many reasons, I’ve contented myself with mid-range Macs. My previous Mac was a G4 iBook (which I still have, and use for working outside), but until a few days ago, I never had a screen larger than 17″, and that was back when I was working with CRT screens, on older Macs. (I’ve used iBooks for several years, for one simple reason: noise. Most desktop Macs are too noisy for me. Yes, noise is subjective, and I don’t like it. I like silence…)
So, this week, I finally moved up to extra-large: I bought a 20″ iMac. Imagine my surprise seeing the vastness of this new screen, which, taking into account the total resolution, is more than twice as large as my iBook. (The iMac displays a total of 1,764,000 pixels, compared to only 786,432 for the iBook.) Naturally, this is a good thing, but it is taking me some time to adjust. How can one work with so much screen space?Well, here’s the problem: I was used to working with single windows that filled the screen, at least for applications such as Safari, Word, or text editors. This means that no other windows were there to distract me. For me, the advantage of having a 20″ screen – in a wide format, especially – is the ability to put two text windows side by side and see them both. I can now write with my outline on one side and my Word or text editor window on the other. Or my writing window can be on one side and my Safari window on the other, so as I write I can read web sites at the same time, allowing me to research more efficiently.
But, alas, sometimes this multiplicity of windows can be distracting. I’ve started by putting windows for things such as Mail and my text applications on the left, and putting Safari and other Internet applications on the right. Nevertheless, there are times when I want to focus more closely on a text and not be distracted at all. So I use a nifty program designed to provide a background for screenshots, called Screenshot Helper, to create a “layer” between my writing window and the remainder of the display. Here’s what it looks like:
This way, I can easily have just the window(s) I want to see visible on my screen, and have absolutely no distractions. Yes, I could also just hide windows until there is nothing visible but the window I’m working in and the Desktop, but I’d still see icons on the Desktop. (To be fair, another program called Backdrop does the same thing, but I found it a bit buggy on a wide screen.)
So I have found great joy in having all this space in front of my eyes. When I need the space to view many windows, it’s there. When I want focus, it’s there as well. And the screen is beautiful; in fact, it’s just about the best quality image I’ve yet to see. A friend suggested that I’d quickly find the screen too small… We’ll see. I can’t afford a 30″ screen, so I’ll have to make do with this for a while.
How do you deal with a large screen? Feel free to add comments to this article explaining your techniques and tricks.
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Posted: 6/25/2005 by kirk | Filed under: Apple & Mac OS X | 7 Comments »
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The utility DESKTOP MANAGER creates multiple virtual desktops. I keep 3 or
4 virtual desktops active. One is for Safari, RSS and messaging. Another is
for email.
SPIRITED AWAY automatically hides idle applications except the ones on the
exclude list.
KEYBOARD MAESTRO and iKEY are keyboard automators / script writers. I
have F5 to hide other applications and F6 to hide current application.
TINKER TOOL will allow you to deactivate the showing of icons on the
Desktop. The Desktop Folder will still exist. You just don’t see it without a
Finder Window.
This is how I keep a clean desktop.
Thanks for the tip about Desktop Manager. This looks interesting; it could allow
me to have discrete desktops with no clutter… I’m going to try this for a few
days and see if it’s too confusing. :-)
So I’ve been trying out Desktop Manager – this is a brilliant way to organize
things! I really appreciate the tip.
I had tried it in the past, when I had a smaller screen, and didn’t find it
worthwhile. But now, to help keep too many windows from distracting me, this
is really just what I needed.
That is the first time I have time I have heard someone say that their monitor is
"too big", everybody says it is too small. I have two 20in Viewsonic CRT
monitors and it is still not enough desktop! So after mad searching I found an
application that works great for minimizing windows in place. Here is the link
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/12243
The app is called windowshade and it rocks!
Mike
I too am using an iBook G4 for much the same stuff as you do and have
become very averse to noisy computers. I want a 20" iMac and hope to be
able to get one as soon as I can but I’m worried about noise levels. Any
thoughts on those, seeing as you seem sensitive about them?
I can deal with the noise. The frequency of the fan noise is low enough that I
easily forget about it – bear in mind, that for a few years, I have been working
with totally silent computers (iBooks), so this really means a lot.
This said, everything about noise is subjective, so if you do buy one and don’t
like it, don’t blame it on me. :-)
I had to say. I just bought an iMac 20" G5 and I am SO impressed. This is my first Mac by the way, and I really love the OS on it.
Anyways I can agree with you, the screen is GORGEOUS. I love how big it is too. I can work in illustrator, watch a dvd and chat with my friends all at the same time and not having to hide any of those windows.
Yes, it’s a beautiful world.