Having run LInux (and X more specifically) on desktops and laptops for a long time, I have tried a lot of different configurations and setups. Recently however I found myself with a need for two workstations and while I had two sets of keyboards, 2 mice, and two monitors, I had only one PC (running Debian unstable). It took some trial and error but running multiple desktops from one not-so-new PC is both relatively easy to configure and surprisingly usable once set up.

    In a perfect world a laptop with both DVI and VGA outputs can power two separate monitors. There would also be less of what appears to be an internationally organized effort to convince me to "impr0ve my manliness" via a constant stream of email. But back in the real world my Inbox is full of spam and my laptop (DELL Inspiron 9400) is limited to one connected monitor on either the DVI or the VGA output. Having convinced myself that a desktop split between the laptop's 1920x1200 17" LCD and a Samsung 21" 1680x1050 monitor is far to small a workspace to get anything done, I set out to see if it was possible to add another display to my setup. It just so happens I have a 21 " Westinghouse LCD that would be a perfect 3rd monitor, currently part of a dual workstation connected to an aging Gateway PC running Debian unstable. While I can't make this 3rd screen an actual part of my main desktop, I can gain control of the window manager running on it almost as if it was, giving me a 3 screen desktop, sort of. All it takes is some xorg configuration changes, a network connection between the two machines, and a nifty tool called x2x.