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Seems to work for our purposes. We attach monitor mounts to it when necessary. The adjustable base is built like a tank.

http://www.ergotron.com/Produc...

At $700 it's not cheap, but a good sitting desk can run that much.

Get something like one of these - dual-arm Ergotron mounting system or equivalent. That one comes with a laptop platform in case you don't have two monitors, and the arms have cable channels, so you should be able to move things around frequently without too much effort or risk of tangling the cables. The screen bracket is on a swivel, so you don't have to stick with the portrait/landscape orientation.

Only downside is that when switching between orientations, I didn't get a monitor with an accelerometer, so the orientation switch requires a manual change to the display settings. Which is unfortunate if the monitor is the primary one and you don't have a hotkey to swap the orientation.

Also, it would be nice if the height delta was a little greater, to allow switching between standing/sitting postures, but you can reduce the need for that with a higher desk/chair combo to raise the sitting level closer to the standing level, I guess.

I have a pair of 22" monitors mounted in a vertical configuration using the DS-100 Vertical. It's a bit pricey (I did get it on sale at NewEgg), but it's ridiculously strong and sturdy. You can just install one of the monitor brackets at the top of the pole and have plenty of room for a laptop below. As an alternative, you can try their cheaper single monitor arms.

I have a pair of 22" monitors mounted in a vertical configuration using the DS-100 Vertical. It's a bit pricey (I did get it on sale at NewEgg), but it's ridiculously strong and sturdy. You can just install one of the monitor brackets at the top of the pole and have plenty of room for a laptop below. As an alternative, you can try their cheaper single monitor arms.

I'm similar. I use a laptop for my main dev environment. Unfortunately it won't do dual external monitors (I specifically found laptops what would do dual monitors when docked and had 1080P 15" screens for on the go at my last employer). My current employer (me) cheaped out. I currently use a 21.5" 1080P external and the 1600x900 laptop screen as a secondary (the lowest resolution I'll ever do on a laptop, 720P is useless). It works quite well.

I have a 24" 1080P monitor as well but the gama is weird on it and it looks horrible from an angle (LG flattron TN panel led). Worst monitor I have ever used and it wasn't even cheap for a TN. Next monitor will be a good IPS panel and preferably higher resolution and 16:10 rather than 16:9. I had two 22" 16:10 on an Ergotron neo-flex stand and it was great. Great stand that is quite reasonable (just over $100). I love how you can adjust the height with one finger. I'm now considering one of their sit stand solutions so I can stand while I work. Pretty much everyone at my previous job ended up with one of their dual stands. Running a 22" portrait was a bit of a stretch (basically it'd be stuck at one height), but it was doable.

Anyhow the disparate screen sizes works for me. Back in university had a 19" 1440x900 and a 15" lcd (forget if it was 4:3 or 5:4). Worked quite well though I would have killed for two 19" 5:4 monitors.

Agreed that is more "efficient" to just buy 2 cheap monitors and use the extra cash to buy something like the "Neo-Flex Dual LCD Lift Stand" that will rotate any monitor 360 degrees. :-)
http://www.ergotron.com/Products/tabid/65/PRDID/241/Language/en-US/Default.aspx

  Both nVidia and ATI drivers have native monitor rotation built-in but just in case you can't activate it for Windows there is an useful utility: "iRotate", which is only 110K.
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/irotate.shtm

I've been a keyboard jockey for many years. It's been my experience that holding any single position for hours at a stretch hurts something -- back, shoulders, wrist, spine, or all of the above. The "best position" is usually "something other than the one I've been in for the past 60 minutes".

To address this, I recently got a sit-stand workstation. I love being able to stand up occasionally while I work. Standing relieves the pressure from my sit bones and legs, and since standing takes more energy I feel more awake and alive. I find I stand for an hour or two of every eight hour day. I don't like to sit all day, and I can't imagine standing all day.

The particular product I linked to above has its drawbacks. I love the ease of the transition between sitting and standing. I hate the mouse tray. It's too small for a regular mouse so I switched to a trackball. But regardless of which I use, my arm receives no support while using it. Holding my arm in the air so much stresses my shoulder. The only time I'm completely comfortable using a mouse is when all of my arm from the elbow forward is resting on a flat surface. The mouse tray on this product demands the exact opposite. My shoulder hurts enough that I know I can't continue using this, but I plan to work out something so that I can easily swap between sitting and standing. They offer similar products that might work better for me.

I'm also lucky enough to work from home, so I have six positions in which I regularly work: 1) sitting at the desk, 2) standing at the desk, 3) sitting at the kitchen table, 4) sitting in the living room, 5) sitting on the table on the porch, and 6) here in the hammock. (I have a Mayan style hammock hung on my screened-in porch.) I spend most of my time at 1, 2, and 6. When I'm away from the desk, I have to use the laptop keyboard which isn't great for my wrists. But the tradeoff is worth it. The hammock supports my back beautifully.

In short, I find that the best position for me to be in is a new one. We weren't made to work at a keyboard for 6-12 hours/day, and the best way to make your body forgive you while you do this is to spread the abuse around to different body parts. And after work, make it up to your body -- do yoga, go for a swim, run, or ride a bike.

I got an Ergotron adjustable standing workstation earlier this year. I probably stand 4-6 hours a day and sit once my feet get tired. It was cheaper than the next cheapest adjustable standing desk by a factor of 2. I'm loving it. It clamps onto a regular desk and it has some internal counter weight so it glides up and down without fiddly cranks or buttons.

http://www.ergotron.com/Products/tabid/65/PRDID/560/language/en-US/Default.aspx

I got it after hearing that sitting all day, even for people who exercise, is bad for heart health. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20110112/sitting-down-too-long-bad-health

You may be interested in this ...

Hardware - Neo-Flex Dual LCD Lift Stand, $149
http://www.ergotron.com/Products/tabid/65/PRDID/241/Language/en-US/Default.aspx

Software - iRotate - This little util is (tiny 111K) & free, and supports dual screen, if your display driver doesn't let you rotate the image.
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/irotate.shtm

Also consider getting one of these so you can switch from standing to sitting and still get good neck positioning, or just so that you don't have to look at the same spot all day while still seated.

Other adjustable height monitor stands are probably good, too, but I was frankly surprised by what came in the mail, it's probably one of the nicest things I own, not in terms of style or total value, but in terms of quality for what it is. It's built within decent tolerances, comes with all of the advertised options, fits together without forcing, and assembles very quickly. It also seems pretty durable, but I won't know for sure until I've had it a few years.

> I know gamers and drafters really want giant screens at massive resolutions, but besides them who else really wants it?

Coders, Artists, anybody doing reading on a computer, or using programs that have multiple tools.

Plus you can use something like the Neo-Flex Dual LCD, and InRotate (90 degree rotate) to view a 8 1/2" x 11" in "page" layout mode so it is _more_ readable by matching the width & height better.
http://www.ergotron.com/Products/tabid/65/PRDID/241/Language/en-US/Default.aspx

> 2560x2048 resolution doesn't exactly help me see my web pages or documents any better

Maybe you don't spend much time reading on the computer screen.

Ctrl-Mouse Wheel and AA fonts (in FF) for easier reading.

> so why do I need it?

You are not looking far enough ahead. The existing DPI & Resolution SUCKS for text and will continue until we get 300 / 600 dpi. Imagine being able to use your WHOLE WALL as a monitor at 300 dpi.

"i hope this isn't just fud. "

If fud is fear, uncertainty, and doubt, then this is anti-fud.

Finally - a good basis for this: http://ergotron.com/Products/tabid/65/PRDID/196/language/en-CA/default.aspx

Like, get a desk-mounted monitor arm like this one, man.

Ergotron http://www.ergotron.com/tabid/158/language/en-GB/default.aspx make loads of stuff like this - also pole mounts for industrial shop floors, mounts on arms that attach to the wall, etc. They are *not* cheap, but they are very well made.
No affliliation, but I've used them professionally (in a medical setting) and was very happy with them. Bear in mind it wasn't coming out of my budget though...!

I've used crash carts from a company called Ergotron: http://www.ergotron.com/tabid/158/language/en-US/d efault.aspx

At my current and my past company, they work real well. I looked high and low for a good crash cart and nothing seemed to come close to these. Maybe I was just searching the wrong terms(and apparently my vendors were too). They are a bit pricey though, ~$1500 or so to start. I have a Styleview LCD cart at my current job, and had a LCD cart and a laptop cart at my last place (servers were co-located in a ~900 sq foot cage, 8 feet between rows, so plenty of space for the carts).

I also bought a KVM over IP/CAT5 solution from raritan(http://www.raritan.com/), which worked out real well for those situations where a serial console wasn't enough(unless you have fancy out of band management, some do, some don't). I setup tables in the front of the cage, hooked up a couple of the raritan hardware clients. Typically ran one CAT5 cable w/KVM hookup to each rack, so it could be plugged into any system fairly easily. Range of 1000 feet. This was pretty pricey too, with the adapters and all it was about $25k. Though in the grand scheme of things it was cheap at the time. I had cyclades terminal servers in every rack, with serial consoles on all the servers and network gear.

Also I hooked up a temperature sensor board, from Sensatronics(http://www.sensatronics.com/) I think. I think it was a 16 port board, and I bought all 300 foot cables for all of the sensors, and cut them to length. This ended up being about $5k I think(I went way overkill on the cable lengths).

At my current company we use servertech(http://www.servertech.com/) PDUs, their higher end models come with optional temperature/humidity sensors so we use those instead of the senatronics.

Despite it being a co-location, we had 500kW of power going into that cage(standard setup was ~12kW/rack), if the data center had followed their own procedures(AT&T enterprise network services), we would of had to have about a 5,500 sq foot cage, comparable to your data center :) (@ 90 watts/sq foot of cooling). But they did not(at the time, they wised up July of last year and now strictly enforce their cooling capacity at this particular data center).

posting as AC, since I don't have an account. I read slashdot daily but I post maybe once every 2-3 years, so I haven't bothered to make an account.

For mounting your multiple monitors exactly where you want them this company make some very useful products.

http://www.ergotron.com/tabid/71/ctl/Product/mid/3 96/PRDID/127/Default.aspx

I've been using the dual head version for about three years and have just bought a triple head stand, along with three brand new 21" screens. Very nice ;-)

You need something like the Ergotron Lan Organizer 3000

http://www.ergotron.com/3_products/furniture/lan_o rganizer/default.asp

Plus a big multiscreen LCD like this:

http://www.ergotron.com/4_markets/financial/defaul t.asp

Then you can really impress people, they'll think they're in Enron's fake War Room!

You need something like the Ergotron Lan Organizer 3000

http://www.ergotron.com/3_products/furniture/lan_o rganizer/default.asp

Plus a big multiscreen LCD like this:

http://www.ergotron.com/4_markets/financial/defaul t.asp

Then you can really impress people, they'll think they're in Enron's fake War Room!

That project is pathetic. Cardboard!??!?! You're going to suspend your $3000 Powerbook in the air with cardboard?!?

If you want to do this, you should do it right. Like for example, the Ergotron Laptop Arm.

You can still buy a multi monitor mount. There are adjustable mounts for up to 5 screens in various configurations, and you can pick your own screen - probably some with a smaller border than those beeing slashvertised.

A bunch of companies make dual+ lcd monitor mounts.

http://www.ergotron.com/3_products/flat_panel/mult i.asp
http://www.lcdarms.com/lcd_monitor_arms.php#arcvie w

Unfortunately, they come in at $200+ also, so buying this DualView would be a bit easier, and maybe cheaper.

Hate to follow up a slashvertisement with more advertising, but oh well. I'm sure you can handle it.

You obviously don't have much imagination if you can't think of a use of more than two video cards/monitors.

Since the G5 iMac will support a VESA mount, you can mount it on any floating arm, wall-mount it, etc.
Take a look at Ergotron for instance. You could mount two iMacs side-by-side on the same mount, or mount the iMac on an arm with the keyboard floating underneath.

No matter what chair you get, you'll still be tempted, when something is smaller than a movie screen, to get closer to the screen. And then there is still the keyboard and mouse. If you want your back (which includes your neck bones) supported, you need a zero-G workstation chair. That being said, you'll need something to support the monitor and keyboard so that they are adjustable and slightly above horizontal. If $600 is your limit, I dunno what to say. These days you can hardly buy a standard office chair for that amount. Think of it this way: how many hours do you spend in your car? How many will you spend in your workstation chairs? Consider the ratio of money you are willing to spend on each.

For monitor and keyboard stands, checkout the one at Ergotron on the left. It positions the monitor in an infinite number of positions over you so that you never have to hunch forward.

I got a lower back injury at my last job. That got me "favoring" my lower back in terms of support with me ending up making the curve difference in my upper back and neck. The result: after 5 years my upper back and especially my neck was shot pinching nerves going down both arms. On some days I can't type more than a paragraph and have to avoid the computer all together. Other days I can still operate a trackball and read. Doctors say I'll never work in my prior job again. It became critical when I got as manager who insisted on fixed hours (vs. before where I could take breaks in middle of day to do yoga -- and just work later into the night. It was good (essentially healthy) to break work up with a few hours of stretching and strengthening -- might have gone on for many years that way...but it was not to be. Once it's broken it doesn't go back.

Check out your posture now -- if you stand at a wall, with heels at wall, your body should touch at buttocks mid back and back of head. If your head has to tilt up to touch the wall, you have "kyphosis" (rounding of upper back)...the predecessor to hunch back. And it does become permanent in old age, but is reverseable with yoga or other back therapy. If you can place your hand behind your lower back when against the wall, that indicates lordosis (more common in women), but you can have both which means you are more screwed up than average. But again, you can work on both conditions. Studies published in the JAMA showed improvement in carpal tunnel with yoga, but this was with a specialized yoga practice tailored for such. Yoga Journal has an article on treatment for carpal tunnel and 2 articles for kyphosis (hunch back/rounded
shoulders) here and here. Using the site's search engine you can find articles on other problems as well, but a chair alone isn't going to be a cure because chairs, in general, are not designed to promote good posture and certain were never designed to be sat in 8+ hours a day.

I recommend the Ergotron Paraview stand system over the 9X Media setup. With Ergotron, you can buy your own inexpensive LCD's to make your multi-monitor setup the way you like it. I have been using the 33-095-200 with three Samsung 191T, and really like it. This option is a few thousand less than the 9X setup and works just as well.

and if you are going for ergonomics ergotron has what you need for every situation.

Uh, your $2,000 "high-end" peecee seems to be lacking a 17" digital TFT display and mouting arm. The only other machine with a widescreen TFT display is the Fujitsu C815-T, which lists for $3299. A 4:3 display of like kind and quality, like the Samsung 170T, will run you $700, and a mouting arm from Ergotron will run $300.