“You can never be too rich or too thin.” Or have too much computer screen real estate.
In the office, my Vaio notebook sits in a docking station and connects to a 19″ external LCD monitor. I “virtualize” the notebook and external monitor, so that I can use both screens. This means I can move the mouse cursor across both screens as if they were one (a standard Windows XP feature).
Two screens are a huge productivity booster. I tile my open applications so that I can access each with a single mouse click. I tend to keep my calendar open on the small screen because I reference it constantly. For Webinars, I view on one screen and take notes on the other (or sneak looks at my inbox). Two screens mean I can view more information and easily cut and paste across apps (and screens). On the road, I miss my acres of screen (and my external full-size keyboard.)
Anecdotally, I do not recall seeing many large firm lawyers who virtualize their displays. The physical set up and training for this is an issue, but I think the payback is worthwhile. Alternatively, a 21″ monitor would provide similar benefits.
Query to Readers: After I undock and then re-dock, I have to move all apps back to the external monitor manually. Anyone know a way to automate this, specifically to cause Windows to “remember” the position and size of each app??