This web site was initially launched in 1997 just as Microsoft was introducing Windows 98 which included a new feature called multiple monitor (multimon) support. Apple operating systems had in fact supported multiple monitors years before, but for the large market share of people using Microsoft products this was a novel new concept. The initial DONZ web site attempted to promote the concept of multiple monitors, with configuration tips, and contained a mixture of both CRT monitors and the new LCD monitor technology - which held great promise for implementing the multiple monitor concept.

The early LCD monitors were designed with large plastic bezels, which were an annoyance for multiple monitor applications, so starting in 1999 DONZ designed and developed an integrated display system which removed the large bezels. With this design, DONZ renamed itself as "DONZ multi-screen" and launched a new web site in 2002 attempting to sell this as a product. That same year, numerous LCD monitor manufacturers started offering off-the-shelf LCD monitors with "narrow bezels". The DONZ integrated display was a failure as a product, but did provide us with some valuable design experience and provided us with a platform for further experimentation.

In 2003 DONZ coordinated a study performed by the University of Utah and funded by ATI and NEC-Mitsubishi called "Productivity and Multi-Screen Displays". This study found up to a 29% increase in productivity using multiple monitors! Unfortunately, the sponsors of the study retained all publishing rights, so its findings were not as widely distributed as originally hoped.

By this writing in 2006, LCD monitors compete with older CRTs on price, graphics cards commonly support dual-head output, and it is common for laptops to support multiple monitors. The multiple monitor concept has been accepted, the technical hurdles have been overcome, and now implementation is driven based primarily on perceived need - and/or combined with elements of prestige and status.

GAMES ON MULTIPLE MONITOR

However, the current state of multiple monitors implies JUST 2D OPERATIONS - that is, basic 2D expanded desktop window operations - and playing games using a multiple monitor configuration is less than optimal.

When a game is run that attempts to capture an entire screen (full screen mode), the game usually appears only on the "primary" screen, no alternate screens can be selected, and the other screens may go blank. Most graphics card manufacturers have now addressed this blanking problem, but this indicates an important trend: Multiple monitor 2D windowing issues are addressed first, followed by game related issues.

And, this trend may be extended further by saying: ...and 3D acceleration issues are the last to be addressed.

For example, using basic multiple monitor technologies, if we attempt to extend the window of a 3D hardware accelerated game across multiple screens, the result depends on a wide number of different variables. In some cases the machine will crash, in some cases the game will run but hardware acceleration will be disabled, in some cases an accelerated game window will extend to a second screen but not a third, and rarely will a 3D game ever extend past three monitors in 3D hardware accelerated mode.

NEW EMPHASIS

So, with this new web site, introduced in the summer of 2006, we are shifting our emphasis yet again - now looking at ways to help solve these 3D acceleration issues - usually by utilizing multiple GPUs on multiple graphics cards - to help do-it-yourself hard core gamers to build their own multiple monitor immersive virtual reality systems (DONZ "Wrap Screen" configurations) for running existing 3D games.

FEEDBACK - FORUM or WIKI

For such a site, a "forum" would be the expected norm, but forums tend to be less directed, less structured, and more difficult to find full-fledged all-inclusive well-edited "solutions". Forums tend to be problem/solution driven - and sometimes they even include MIS-information which is difficult to edit-out without affecting the conversational flow.

So, rather than a forum, we are considering a WIKI with talk-back enabled. The intent here is that the main wiki pages, with a precise table of contents, will provide the reader with the latest-and-greatest on each topic without having to read through the various threads of conversation that occur behind the scenes.

Please send your thoughts to:

feedback@donz.com