A question from a reader:

Hi Tony, This is totally random, but I stumbled onto an article you wrote for a Microsoft blog like six years ago about how to run multiple monitors off of a laptop. Are you aware of any easier solutions available since that article came out? I bought this thing below, but it only allows for two monitors to display the same thing, rather than spreading the desktop across three screens (which is what I’d like to do.)

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3521446

And my reply:

At the time I wrote my article, USB video cards only supported resolutions up to 1280×1024, which was too low for a decently-sized external monitor. They’ve gotten better since:

http://www.coolgear.com/usbgear/USB-Video-Card.html

Here’s a well reviewed adapter that supports 1600×1200, which is good for most non-widescreen monitors up to 21″:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-100-U2-UV16-A1-Supporting-1600×1200-Resolution/dp/B00191GZ8U/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1279567417&sr=8-8

If you need a widescreen resolution, this might work better for you:

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Adapter-Multiple-Displays-2048×1152/dp/B0038P1TP4/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1279567600&sr=1-4

Well, check the resolution of your monitors, then shop around for “usb video adapter”, “usb video card”, or “usb display adapter” and let me know what you find. Good luck!