Let's face it, a multiple monitor setup is the only way to go for a software developer, or any other computer professional these days. If you are still using only a single monitor, you are not working at your full potential. Here is a quote taken from lifehacker.com.

Survey after survey shows that whether you measure your productivity in facts researched, alien spaceships vaporized, or articles written, adding an extra monitor will give your output a considerable boost -- 20 percent to 30 percent, according to a survey by Jon Peddie Research.

Personally, I feel my productivity increases even more than that, and at minimal my development experience increases ten fold. I do not enjoy switching from layer upon layer of windows searching for the data I need in the proceeding window. Even Microsoft Research states this on their web sites:

You arrive at your office in the morning, sit down, look at your to do list and wonder how you're going to get it all done. If only you had a tool, a genie in a bottle, anything that would help you get more done in less time. And caffeine is out; you gave that up last week.

Microsoft researchers haven't perfected the genie, but they've found a tool that can increase your productivity by 9 to 50 percent and make your work day easier. And you can begin using it right away.

The researchers conducted user studies that proved the effectiveness of adding a second or even third monitor to your workstation, creating a wide-screen effect.

My setup at home consists of two Acer AL2216Wbd 22" Widescreen LCD monitors powered by a single Dualhead GeForce 8600GTS video card. I purchased the three of these for less than 6 hundred dollars from newegg. The cables that came with the two monitors were not long enough reach my computer, so I ordered a couple DVI cables from monoprice.com for less than $15.00 a piece. Previous, I had a much more expense 20.1" gateway monitor, but it recently bit the bucket so it was replaced with my current setup cheaper and I am loving it.  Here is a screen shot of my home workstation as it sits today. Notice that the background stretches across both monitors.

Windows does not do this by default, and you will need a third party program to get this effect. I use a free program called DisplayFusion from Binary Fortress Software.  It will let you adjust the images in case your two monitors run at different resolutions. This is handy if you use an LCD as a second monitor for you laptop.

If you need some good backgrounds, gamewallpapers is a good place to start. They have a wide assortment of some very cool backgrounds for your desktop. Another site with some nice backgrounds is dual-display and a third can be found here.

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