My Monitor is two-timing on me!

Dick just bought a new PC. I've adopted his old PC, which he's had for about 4 years now . I like to use it to check for platform/browser differences on my web sites, and I also run Quickbooks on it.

I have a HUGE desk, but alas, it is already full of stuff, and I didn't have room for another monitor.

Now, I know that this is old news for all of you uber-geeks, but this is new news to me, so bear with me....

Dick got a cool switch that hooks up one monitor to two computers.

What does it all mean?

You may remember that I have my trusty-rusty Powerbook laptop connected to my 17" monitor. I also have my Powerbook connected to a full-size keyboard and mouse.

This switch allows me to have my 17" monitor connected to my Powerbook, as well as to my new PC. With a flip of the switch, my 17" monitor, keyboard and mouse can go from working with my Mac, to working with my PC!

It's pretty cool.

I was trying to figure out how I was going to fit another monitor onto my desk. Now I won't have to! (and Dick gets to keep his 15" monitor, and use it as a double monitor on his new PC. (along with the super, humungous, Bad Ass 20" monitor he just got).

check it out:
one second it's a second monitor for my Mac, the next, it's a monitor for my PC!



It's pretty cool. The only problem is that when it's switched to my Mac, I have my monitor settings at 1280x1024. When it's in this mode, it shows faint, gray vertical lines in any body of white. (it does not have this issue when it's set to 1024x768.) Kind of annoying. I'm trying to decide if i can live with it or not, or if I should just physically switch out the monitor cables for the times that I use a PC. Kind of a pain, but it might be worth it. It's also possible that if we buy a newer, better switch, that this problem will be remedied.

Does anyone have any input on this?

update
9/25/04

we just bought a newer, smaller, cooler switch. It all works fine now - the monitor resolution problem has been fixed. This newer switch also allows me to use "hotkeys" to switch from computer to computer so I can make the switch without having to reach around and press any buttons on the device.