So when I purchased Ten One Design’s Mountie, a clip that attaches an iPad (or smaller device) to the side of a MacBook screen, I thought it was only for convenience. When working on a narrow table in a crowded coffee shop or in a comfy chair, I had nowhere to put the iPad.

This approach caused what seemed like a small problem: I could only set up side-by-side screens when I had enough table space to do so. Two smaller screens aren’t the same as one big screen, of course, and a single large display is generally preferable-but two screens are better for some workflows, especially with Mission Control.

I prefer to run my 13-inch MacBook at 1440-by-900 resolution, and the iPad Air 2 at 1280-by-800 resolution, which gives me roughly the same screen space as the 1920-by-1200 monitor on a 21.5-inch non-Retina iMac. I rely on and recommend Duet Display, while my colleague Julio Ojeda-Zapata recommends the similar hardware-based Luna Display (see “ Luna Display Turns an iPad into a Responsive Mac Screen,” 7 December 2018). More recently, I’ve switched to an iPad as a secondary screen, which is much easier on my shoulders. That had the added “benefit” of making walking with my backpack a solid workout (see “ Build Your Own 23-inch MacBook,” 5 February 2007). I don’t bring iMacs to Starbucks, but there was a time when I used my old 17-inch PowerBook as a second screen for a newer MacBook. Like many TidBITS writers, I’ve long been a proponent of multiple monitors as a productivity tool, but as a mobile MacBook user, it has always been hard to practice what I preach.

#1645: AirPlay iPhone to Mac for remote video, Siri learns to restart iPhones, Apple's Q1 2023 financials.

1646: Security-focused OS updates, Photos Workbench review, Mastodon client wishlist, Apple-related conferences.

1647: Focus-caused notification issues, site-specific browser examples, virtualizing Windows on M-series Macs.

#1648: iPhone passcode thefts, Center Cam improves webcam eye contact, APFS Uncertainty Principle.

#1649: More LastPass breach details and 1Password switch, macOS screen saver problem, tvOS 16.3.3 fixes Siri Remote bug.

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