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  Well there are several scenarios that had come across, 2 were under NDA's so I can't talk about those,
  But let's take the situation of Multiheaded displays.

  You can put 4 to even 16 screens on One PC. Or even one really massive high res big screen.
    Think ultimate extreme programming or gaming.

  One user has a screen, another user has their own, but either could just move the mouse off of one screen onto the others display and start using the apps there, Copy and paste, and come back to their screen. Or even grab a whole window and drag it back to his screen. Now take this to the next level and do this between separate networked PC's.....

  Lets say, I am working on a document, I can just drag it over to another screen right now just fine, but what if I wanted my friend to started editing on it.
  I'd have to save, quit, copy (or shared net drive), then they would have to re-open and find where I was in that document before they could resume edits in the same place. Usually it's much easier to just get up from you chair and let them take your keyboard and mouse.
  But with what I am proposing you could just drag it over to their side of the screen or over their screen and let them take over the focus on that app, then you could just go onto something else without giving up what else your doing.

  It would allow several people to collaborate very tightly.

  Since I have come up with this idea Microsoft did something a little similar, but far less ambitious. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/06/166231 Microsoft Invents Split Screen PC

  Until you have worked in some similar situations it's hard to imaging it's value, but it's that multi-person interaction that I think makes things like second life so popular.

  With some hacking/coding with teams working very closely, ether in the same room, or remotely with skype and IM,
  Right now the closest I have come is with VNC or gotomypc where, I am helping another programmer, and can take over his editor, fix something and let him resume, all on the same desktop and window.

  Also another entirely different thing is look at Multitouch screen where they grab an object with to pointers in the video demo it was 2 finger and can rotate and scale an image at the same time, see advancedgui.com

  But having several people operating on one large virtual desktop would really increase productivity.
  http://www.panoramtech.com/ for an example. Large control center screens that look like Apollo Mission control.
http://www.michaelp.org/photos/kennedy_space_cente r/apollo_mission_control_center_2.jpg with large screens that wrap around a whole room.

  Anyhow now that I have explained it here on slashdot, I wonder how long before it shows up on Ubuntu. I'd love to see it.

  I have this sort of whole Ted Nelson-ish vision I call Amorphous OS, http://www.dnull.com/os/ that would make Linux, Apple and Microsoft's current GUI implementations look as obsolete as the old DOS command lines.
  Sorry my online document doesn't go into nearly as clear and deep details as I'd like.

Box:
For the Plattform independent stuff you're doing you'll want anything that's powerfull and quiet. If you don't hate towers you'll want a PC in the Zalman TN 500a Towercase, a complete fanless case for PCs. The entire case is one big heatsink with countless heatpipes, coolers and HDD coolcasings inside. The only way to go for a PC box you're going to sit at all day. The case cost 950 Euros, but I'd say it's worth it. Put anything inside thats big and fast. Some multi opteron setup (cooling noise isn't an issue, remember?) with 8 GB of fast RAM. Consider adding a Rocketdrive or solid state HDD. 60 nanoseconds access to your drive have something going for it when you're doing Java and Server Side Web stuff. Linux (custom Kernel Debian or Gentoo) plus Win2k running on VMWare should do it for the OS. Consider a WM instead of a desktop. It's less distraction from work. Allthough current KDE is cool, I still like to use Windowmaker, E or Fluxbox. Try those out.

The cheaper alternative for long hours of programming is a 20" iMac. Minimum noise, minimum space, top level working enviroment. OS X is good. It's not as good and fitting than a well configured and installed Linux/VM+Win2k setup on a box like the one I described above, but therefore it's like 6 times cheaper.

Screen:
If you're getting the PC take the 23" Apple display with it. If you want multi screen, take a Panoramtech, they are the ticket. Pricey, but the only real way to go for multicreen.

Chair:
You're sitting at it all day, so pay. The german Swopper is the Mercedes Benz of desk stools and ideal for computer desk jobs. Don't get the one with the pointless backrest though, that's just a gimmick. If the swopper isn't for you, I recommend something from the Stokke line of chairs. The Actulum or Pendulum look fitting for desk jobs and still are flexible enough for keeping your back alive.

Desk and room:
Don't have anything special for this. Apply common sense and a sense for quality. For your working room you want to consider setting it up by some Feng Shui principles. Feng Shui isn't all legend and has some interessting insights that help you set up your living space. I followed some Feng Shui rules in my room, and it feels good and enables me to work more concentrated. For instance I'm sitting in the opposite corner from the door with the door at 2:30. I can handle my daughter or my spouse interrupting my work much better that way.

did this a long time ago. See their corporate website: http://www.panoramtech.com/products/index.html. I was first set on to them in 2000, 3 years before DoubleSight was founded (http://www.doublesight.com/idx_about.htm). It's nice that other companies are doing this, but it's not new.

If you like panoramic displays, check out the products from Elumens and Panoram Technologies.

Ok, I'm not as religous a microsoft hater as many here, but is there ANY good reason to have this run on XP?

You'll find a lot of exotic computer gadgets you find on the net tend to use Windows. I presume it's simply because it's probably cheaper to develop for just one platform, and they choose to use the most common one. Here are some examples of fancy displays and input devices I've found on the net...

• Autostereo displays
• Panoram Technologies
• Elumens Corporation
• Actuality Systems (site seems like it's down at the moment)
• Sensable Technologies
• Polhemus.com
• Ascension Technologies

Some of their products may be compatible with other operating systems, but most I looked at have a Windows bias.

Go-L doesn't actually make that huge monitor, and are most likely a bunch of frauds. Check out ViewSonic's, Panoram Tech's and 9XMedia's models.

You may be interested then in multi-head displays from PanoramTech. We tried their 3 headed displays for a demo environment and it was well received by analyst who typically leave their main application up on one, a web search on the second, and email, reporting tools,and other apps on the last screen. While not practical for all users, multiple screens have their use.

I looked at a link at Panoram Technologies for the WNBC newsroom backdrop. After reading about a $450,000 system to put a 26 foot screen behind the news desk I was left wondering why didn't they just use a high quality chromakey or bluescreen system? They are getting much better at it now: almost completely seamless and it would be much more flexible.

Check out Panoram Technologies for established systems. I'm pretty sure they cater to military applications.

Check out Panoram Technologies for established systems. I'm pretty sure they cater to military applications.

Check out Panoram Technologies for established systems. I'm pretty sure they cater to military applications.

The device is rather expensive ($8K) and you'll need high-end graphics cards, but they produce nice results. A company produced a solution that used 4 Dell PCs, 3 of these panels (driven by 3 of the Dells), and one plasma screen (driven by 1 Dell and it combined the results of the 3 panels to show an overview) to create a cockpit for fly through scenes. Quite an impressive demo, but very expensive.

We also used a couple of these as the second head to a dual head workstation setup for geospatial demonstrations. Using it as a second display can be tricky, moving windows from screen to screen. Applications also seemed to perform slowly on that screen (video card wasn't quite ready for this level, but was the one recommended by IBM staff).

Personally, until these come down in price and graphics cards adequately handle all applications, I'll go for several panel displays (see this interesting one from Panoramtech for a "cockpit" like display).

This company has some products that will REALLY impress the suites. Round the setup out with a few 1337 dvorak gesture keyboards, comfortable chairs, and a network camera outside the door. Did I miss anything?

This company has some products that will REALLY impress the suites. Round the setup out with a few 1337 dvorak gesture keyboards, comfortable chairs, and a network camera outside the door. Did I miss anything?

This company has some products that will REALLY impress the suites. Round the setup out with a few 1337 dvorak gesture keyboards, comfortable chairs, and a network camera outside the door. Did I miss anything?

Notice the 9X link!

Taken from the plex.us site:

Monitors

Fake Link: http://www.go-l.com/monitors/index.htm

Real Links: 9XMedia -- Panoram Tech -- ViewSonic

Seems real enough to me...

Panoramtech good quality gear

You might be interested in something from Panoram Technologies.

A really nice setup, a very narrow seam, and the ability to handle twelve different sources - one VGA, DVI, S-Video & Composite per screen. You could have one three-screen, one two-screen, and one single-screen computer, as well as random video feeds. Of course, the pricetag is a bit higher than three of most LCD screens.

You might be interested in something from Panoram Technologies.

A really nice setup, a very narrow seam, and the ability to handle twelve different sources - one VGA, DVI, S-Video & Composite per screen. You could have one three-screen, one two-screen, and one single-screen computer, as well as random video feeds. Of course, the pricetag is a bit higher than three of most LCD screens.

It looks to me like they may have used one of the desktop models from Panoram Technologies.

It looks to me like they may have used one of the desktop models from Panoram Technologies.

PanoramTech

Need I say anymore? YES!!

Desktop Display Systems
Workgroup Systems

ScottKin

PanoramTech

Need I say anymore? YES!!

Desktop Display Systems
Workgroup Systems

ScottKin

PanoramTech

Need I say anymore? YES!!

Desktop Display Systems
Workgroup Systems

ScottKin

Perhaps more practical applications for a top-down (or bottom-up) are still reasonable.

Digital Imaging, maps, and other fun things would work well with this. What I'd like to see is something akin to an inset spinning helix that could be projected onto, providing 3D images. This, though, would need a fair amount of under-counter space, as well.

Still, the kitchen projector could be good with a few additions:

1. A simple fabric screen that could slide out of the ceiling or be hidden away to allow you to project onto a surface above the counter if desired (takes away the countertop projection need, though, huh?)

2. As mentioned in the Microsoft article, voice recognition, if only simple voice commands or customizable vocabulary, as well as text-to-speech or voice feedback would be great assistance in this. The counter could be used to see what you need to start, the voice commands to follow steps.

At any rate, it would be fun to throw the iTunes Visualizer on there while you listen to music.

Dude, your getting a Panoramtech TD Series 10'x4' (Team Display)!

The triple-headed desktop is probably the most understated feature of this card. Talk to anyone that deals with graphics day-to-day - 3d animators, video editors, graphic designers, and the extra screen real-estate is a big boost in productivity.

Here's a few triple screenshots from Matrox's site. and I believe that odd three-panel monitor is from Panoram Tech.

D

No on yer nelly matey, are the best ive seen by far.

This is probably what you want. At a mere $22k, it's probably cheaper than the plasma display too. :-)

I believe the monitor in question is
http://www.panoramtech.com/pv290dsk.htm
Its Price $22,750 :(

I'm always wary of buying something with no pictures...

Check this one out. PSP-DLP 1024

Perhaps you didn't notice that among the 12 "discreet" inputs of the PV290 DSK are three standard RGB inputs. No special drivers necessary, just plug the 3 screens into three video cards and go.

More importantly though, you shouldn't give up on the idea just because Panoram Technologies costs too much. Buy three flat screens and a sports car.

My Christmas Wishlist Monitor
Posted by Hemos on Thursday November 04, @10:50AM
from the bigger-then-life dept.
lawn_ornament writes "I found something that will go to the top of my Christmas wishlist. A huge LCD monitor and it can do about 3840 X 1024 resolution. Dimensions are 43.5 " x 11.5" - 478 sq inchs viewable. The monitor looks great and it could be yours for only $27,000. " /me wipes drool off of chin.

--
EFF Member #11254

...in each category.

Low: Everybody needs more memory. Or you can help save a species.
Mid: Put this in your hand, or this under your desk. Either would please.
If you have to ask: One of these would be nice, particularly for Quake, but I NEED one of these. Really. It could solve a fair number of problems.

• Did anyone here remember the big-ass LCD monitor mentioned last month? I'd go for one, assuming the three monitor segments works with standard 15-pin monitor interfaces and does not require specific video cards that I wouldn't use.
• I also want three 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 graphics cards for each one of the three sections of that big-ass monitor. Okay, I'll wait for the Voodoo4/5 stuff to come out...
• A date with Ute Lemper. As long as I can learn something out of hanging out with a woman (which I'll be unable to do on my own without royally screwing up, I'll be fine).
• A hands-on lesson on Linux from a Linux Users Group. Sure I can get the lastest Slackware distro or anything else of the matter, but using it is tough to me. Perhaps some time allocated to learning how to take care of my computer while using Linux will be great! I'd even bring my computer for such a thing.
• Ticket to see my favorite shows: Chicago: The Musical, Contact, Putting it Together, Y2K, and so on.
• An Airsoft (BB gun) replica of the Beretta 93R pistol -- the one modified as the gun used in Robocop. What!? Can't I find how's it like shooting 3 BB's at once?
• A copy of Quake 3 Arena is always cool.
• It's about time I need an optical mouse to play Q3A as well.

The bigger the better. Panoram Technology has a nifty LCD Display that sells for only $27,000. My questions are
A: When are LCD monitors going to become practical (aka cheap)
B: Just out of curiosity, are there any other display technologies in the works besides CRT and LCD? What about holographic displays?

The bigger the better. Panoram Technology has a nifty LCD Display that sells for only $27,000. My questions are
A: When are LCD monitors going to become practical (aka cheap)
B: Just out of curiosity, are there any other display technologies in the works besides CRT and LCD? What about holographic displays?