the new wave of LCDs
DISPLAYFUSION
If you’re tired of using third-party photo-editing applications to
get your desktop wallpaper to span multiple displays, you’re in
luck. The 15-day trial of DisplayFusion (www.binaryfortress.com)
allows you to customize every last inch of your desktop, and the
$10 pro version opens up access to Flickr and wallpaper random-
ization modes.ULTRAMON
Consider UltraMon (www.realtimesoft .com) the jack-of-all-trades for your
desktop interface. While it doesn’t off er as much wallpaper functional-
ity as DisplayFusion, it includes a plethora of other desktop features. A
30-day trial lets you try the app out, aft er which you have to pay $40 for
the full version of the program, which includes a year’s worth of updates.DisplayFusion is unique in its ability to pull down images from any Flickr
user and make them into wallpapers. It’s a great feature for the photogra-
phy enthusiast, as you can then use the application to create a rotating slide
show of wallpapers based on everything you upload to your account.
Or you can aim one step higher. Using a series of keywords and group
fi lters, you can turn your wallpaper into an endless stream of new images
centered on your specifi c interests. It’s a perfect solution if you’re tired of
the same ol’, same ol’.One of the more frustrating issues for multi-monitor us-
ers is that it’s impossible to make Windows screensavers
run on more than one display at once. You can certainly
download multi-monitor-friendly screensavers, but the
ones that come packaged with Windows XP work on only
one display—unless you have UltraMon, that is.
The utility not only lets you run separate instances of
your screensaver across all of your displays but also al-
lows you to assign a different screensaver to each display.
Balance out a slide show of your college days with a good
ol’ Windows logo.The program’s main screen is the meat of the application. From here,
you can set up a single wallpaper that spans any number of displays,
or you can individualize each monitor with a different wallpaper:
perhaps a loving portrait of your family alongside your favorite
sports team (or sports team’s cheerleading squad).
Randomizing your desktops’ wallpapers is as easy as clicking a
button. The program will swap your wallpapers in and out up to once
a day. We recommend you not set them to change every minute un-
less you want to turn your desktop into a screensaver of sorts.UltraMon builds a ton of functionality
into its minimal interface. The pro-
gram adds additional buttons to the
top of your windows that allow you
switch a window from one monitor to
another without having to drag it over
yourself. A second button lets you
span your current window across all
of your displays.
You can also assign these
commands—and a host of others—
to individual hotkey combinations
through UltraMon’s extensive options
menu. And you can opt to have Ultra-
Mon regulate your windows’ dimen-
sions when moving between displays
of different resolutions.54 | MAXIMUMPC | OCT 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
Multi-Monitor Mayhem
Like us, you’ve probably found that a single screen doesn’t cut it anymore.
Here are two apps that will help you make the most of your multi-mon setup