Do you sometimes wish you had a little extra space on your desktop…your computer desktop that is?  I do, as if dual 24-inch wide screens weren’t enough.  Once you have two monitors, the desire for three or four increases.

I think social networking and instant messaging feed the hunger for more pixels as well.  There is also something satisfying about organizing windows on different monitors.

A couple of companies have announced small auxiliary monitors.  Most are 7″ displays and connect to your computer using a USB connector and do not require external power (they get all they need through the USB port).

I’ve been intreaged with these displays, but they just haven’t been right.  They have goofy stands and aren’t very portable.  Mimo has announced their 710-S, this is the first one that I could live with.  They’ve done a great job creating a small monitor that has a clamshell design and can be used either vertical or horizontal.

The specs are reasonable for a display of this size: 7″ diagonal, 800×480, 350 nits, 400:1 contrast ratio and support for XP, Vista and Mac.  They even support 64-bit Windows.

So, what would you use this small of a display for?  How about TweetDeck, an IM client, stock tracker or a network monitor.  Anything you don’t need a large display for, but you want to keep visible.

The monitor will be available later this month for $149.

Mimo 710-S vertical

Mimo 710-S Horizontal

Mimo 710-S Folding

http://www.mimomonitors.com/products/mimo-710-s

Dell has joind the new netbook arena with their Inspiron Mini 9.  I took a look at their site.  It’s available with Unbutu or Windows XP.  I configured up an Ubuntu machine with every possible accessory I could find and it came up to $524.  The stock machine has an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz), 8.9 inch display (1024×600, LED backlit), WiFi (b/g), 3hr battery.

How many different things can be called ANT? There is a build tool, the insect, a typesetting system, and a wireless protocol.

I was completely unaware of the wireless protocol until recently. ANT is a 2.4 GHz short range system used primarily for telemetry. For example, the Polar heart rate monitors use ANT to get data from the associated chest strap.

They talk about data rates from 1200 to 57,600 baud. Power consumption in micro and milli amp ranges. Each device is addressable and there are broadcasting capabilities.

One merchant (Spectec) has created a miniSD card that has an ANT RF receiver built in. This allows a phone or PDA to receive data from sports sensors.

If you visit their web site (http://www.thisisant.com/) you’ll find complete specs, ready-to-use products and development kits.

I’ve wanted a Tablet PC since Microsoft came out with Windows for Pen Computing. It’s great stuff and I love looking at some of the creative designs that are coming out.

I think I want a tablet style, but there are some interesting convertibles coming out. Acer has a unique hinge that lets the display flip over, but it’s still attached on both sides. Unlike the normal pivot in the middle types.

Lenove has created this design. I don’t know what their plans are for actually releasing it, but it looks great. They’ve designed a machine that is sort of a tablet and sort of a convertible. Is it the best of both worlds, or the worst of both…I don’t know, but they’ve won a Red Dot Design award for it. So, I hope it will be available soon…