MBP Screen: No automatic shutdown when switching external monitor

[MBX]

WTF, here we are with SnowLeopard 10.6.x and it still has no automatic shutting off laptop screen (Macbook Pro) when hooking up external monitor????

Why do i have to close the lid, let my laptop go to sleep, wake it up, re-enter password, have my internet shut down and re-activate and all other processes just to shut down my MBP screen when hooked up to my cinema display???

Hell even Windows Vista/ 7 does it automatically when i tested it via Bootcamp, requiring no closing of the lid or halting any processes or the internet.

WTF Apple? I find this really frustrating.

 

[nrajack]

Just do what I do - turn the brightness down on the laptop screen - it doesn't affect an external screen.

 

[MBX]

Just do what I do - turn the brightness down on the laptop screen - it doesn't affect an external screen.

What i'm curious about is if it affects the performance. Does it have to redraw the UI on each screens even if you set the brightness to 0?

 

[viggen61]

WTF, here we are with SnowLeopard 10.6.x and it still has no automatic shutting off laptop screen (Macbook Pro) when hooking up external monitor????

Why do i have to close the lid, let my laptop go to sleep, wake it up, re-enter password, have my internet shut down and re-activate and all other processes just to shut down my MBP screen when hooked up to my cinema display???

Hell even Windows Vista/ 7 does it automatically when i tested it via Bootcamp, requiring no closing of the lid or halting any processes or the internet.

WTF Apple? I find this really frustrating.

Not sure that what you're asking for would be considered a "feature" by most MBP users. I know I wouldn't want that. I love that when I put my MBP on the desk, and hook up all the desk stuff, that my 20" Cinema Display comes right up and becomes the default monitor with the menu bar (moving everything that was on my MBP screen over), and the MBP display becomes the secondary display. All without a reboot.

Macs have been designed for at least 15 years to utilize all monitors connected to them as one continuous desktop. Windows was late to that party, and also most Windows laptops assume you want to switch between internal and external when hooking up an external monitor. From what you say, sounds like Windows in BootCamp works the same way.

And yes, even with the brightness turned down, it'll still be redrawn. But unless you have an MBP with shared video memory, or you're playing a frame-rate intensive game, it's really not that big of a deal. Most MBPs can handle a 30" Cinema display...