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Best way to do this?

S

SuperMiguel

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 6, 2010
423
12
So i have an 2011 27" iMac i7, 16gb of ram, SSD+1TB HD. Which i use for gaming and internet browsing. Also i have a MBA 13' which i use for school... I been using my MBA for my electronics lab (basically programming micro-controllers, and alotttttt of programming) but it is getting old, since its kinda small screen and blah blah.

I need to use Linux for all my programming needs, and been using Parallels with a ubuntu install to do this.

Now my question.

So im thinking about getting a monitor to put it on my desk and attached it to my iMac. If i do this, can i attach another wireless mouse/keyboard to it, and run both machines at the same time? like on one screen Ubuntu and on the other OSX? and assign the mouse and keyboard to that specific OS??

Or im better off getting a cheap computer (Running linux+programming can do on a 486) and attach a monitor to it??

Or even? do they sell docking stations for MBA??? i can prob connect an external monitor to it, and do just that?
 
SuperMiguel said:
So im thinking about getting a monitor to put it on my desk and attached it to my iMac. If i do this, can i attach another wireless mouse/keyboard to it, and run both machines at the same time? like on one screen Ubuntu and on the other OSX? and assign the mouse and keyboard to that specific OS??
Click to expand...

Alas, no.

But why do you need to do this in the first place? You can happily use a virtual machine and OS X at the same time. For example, put the full-screen Ubuntu onto a second desktop and switch using mission control.
 
Alas, yes. (Depending on how you define "yes")

Buy that extra monitor, put it on your iMac. Run Parallels in full screen mode (not "Lion Full Screen" -- uncheck that box in Parallels options) on the external monitor. If you use Spaces (multiple Desktops) assign Parallels to all desktops.

You don't need a KVM switch or additional keyboard or mouse. Just move the mouse and click on the screen you want. Works great. I've been doing this for years.
 
talmy said:
Alas, yes. (Depending on how you define "yes")

Buy that extra monitor, put it on your iMac. Run Parallels in full screen mode (not "Lion Full Screen" -- uncheck that box in Parallels options) on the external monitor. If you use Spaces (multiple Desktops) assign Parallels to all desktops.

You don't need a KVM switch or additional keyboard or mouse. Just move the mouse and click on the screen you want. Works great. I've been doing this for years.
Click to expand...

does my imac support 2 external monitors? if yes does parallel support dual monitor???
 
SuperMiguel said:
does my imac support 2 external monitors? if yes does parallel support dual monitor???
Click to expand...

Yes, yours has two Thunderbolt ports, each of which supports a regular monitor, although if you are "loaded" you can connect up 4 27" Apple Thunderbolt monitors.

Parallels give you a choice of full screen on a single monitor or full screen using all monitors. It doesn't appear that you could have it full screen across two of three monitors.
 
talmy said:
Yes, yours has two Thunderbolt ports, each of which supports a regular monitor, although if you are "loaded" you can connect up 4 27" Apple Thunderbolt monitors.

Parallels give you a choice of full screen on a single monitor or full screen using all monitors. It doesn't appear that you could have it full screen across two of three monitors.
Click to expand...

does any virtualizator lets you do that?
 
Perhaps VMWare Fusion, but I've never used that one. I do use VirtualBox for Linux virtual machines (because it is kept up to date better for Linux, the others seem to be more interested in virtualizing Windows), and know that one does not support multiple monitors. If you are concerned with getting enough screen space for a virtual machine, just get a 27" Thunderbolt display to have a second display like the one built into your iMac.
 
talmy said:
Perhaps VMWare Fusion, but I've never used that one. I do use VirtualBox for Linux virtual machines (because it is kept up to date better for Linux, the others seem to be more interested in virtualizing Windows), and know that one does not support multiple monitors. If you are concerned with getting enough screen space for a virtual machine, just get a 27" Thunderbolt display to have a second display like the one built into your iMac.
Click to expand...

dont have that much to spend :( $1000 is alot for me atm.... Was thinking probably 2 of 22"
 
You started the thread talking about just adding one external monitor. I'd sooner have a single good quality IPS external monitor than a pair of crappy TN monitors beside my iMac. The market seems to be flooded with ~22" TN monitors with 1080P resolution. Fine, I guess, for viewing video, but not the best for staring at text all day.
 
talmy said:
You started the thread talking about just adding one external monitor. I'd sooner have a single good quality IPS external monitor than a pair of crappy TN monitors beside my iMac. The market seems to be flooded with ~22" TN monitors with 1080P resolution. Fine, I guess, for viewing video, but not the best for staring at text all day.
Click to expand...

Then i can probably get a single LG IPS235V, they are about $200
 
Just looked it up. Amazing for that price. I'd prefer 16:10 rather than 16:9 to get more vertical pixels but those seem substantially more expensive.
 
To connect the dvi monitor to my iMac can I use a regular mini display port to dvi?? Or I have to get a thunderbolt cable????
 
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