Large monitors would have mechanical and safety problems in portrait modes, or would need much heavier and bulkier support.
Windows 7 and KDE (sadly not OSX) automatically resize windows to half-screen-x/full-screen-y if you drag them to left and right. That means you can often use your monitor as two smaller portrait monitors (my 2560x1600 usually has two 1280x1600 windows, or a bit less due to start bar), but when you need full screen for something it’s available.
If the mount swivels, the monitor’s designed for it (e.g. my work one—somehow I snagged the only swivelling monitor in the whole office). Failing that, it can often be remounted vertically with minor screwdriver attention (e.g. my monitors at my previous job). Weight really isn’t that much of an issue with LCDs, particulary compared to CRTs. (Have you ever slung two 19″ Sun monitors (34kg each) about, repeatedly as part of your job? Me neither, we had Windows admins for that sort of thing. Never go into Unix admin without a dodgy back.)
Large monitors would have mechanical and safety problems in portrait modes, or would need much heavier and bulkier support.
Windows 7 and KDE (sadly not OSX) automatically resize windows to half-screen-x/full-screen-y if you drag them to left and right. That means you can often use your monitor as two smaller portrait monitors (my 2560x1600 usually has two 1280x1600 windows, or a bit less due to start bar), but when you need full screen for something it’s available.
If the mount swivels, the monitor’s designed for it (e.g. my work one—somehow I snagged the only swivelling monitor in the whole office). Failing that, it can often be remounted vertically with minor screwdriver attention (e.g. my monitors at my previous job). Weight really isn’t that much of an issue with LCDs, particulary compared to CRTs. (Have you ever slung two 19″ Sun monitors (34kg each) about, repeatedly as part of your job? Me neither, we had Windows admins for that sort of thing. Never go into Unix admin without a dodgy back.)
I don’t follow this at all.
Higher center of gravity, though I don’t have a feeling for how tall a monitor would have to be for this to be a problem.
If it pivots about the center of the screen, wouldn’t it necessarily have the same center of gravity? That’s how my monitor at work works, anyway.
That makes sense—I was thinking about finding a way to stand a landscape-oriented monitor on its edge rather than a sensible built-in feature.
Ah, yeah, that does sound ill-advised. Maybe that’s what the earlier comment was thinking too.