I needed to buy a new monitor for my wife’s laptop (she is dying for a big external monitor) and so I went to Costco - I’d purchased the nice looking Viewsonic 22" monitor there a couple months ago for myself and I’m really happy with it.
Well, now I see there is another Viewsonic there, the vx2245 - same size, but $50 more. It adds extra crap like:
iPod dock
integrated microphone
subwoofer
USB ports
… none of which are really that important…
… but I’m such a sucker, I decided to get it anyway. The thought of not having to drag my microphone back and forth on the desk… having a few extra USB ports… subwoofer… iPod docking… mmmmm… so, uh, my wife is getting a hand-me-down monitor, and I’m getting a new monitor!
… yeah, I’ll admit it - I have no willpower (or money). But I do have a shiny new monitor.
Hey, this is a nice monitor, viral marketing or no. Hooked it all up and it works great - the only minor annoyance is that I can’t use the supplied iPod Nano adaptor for my iPod - when I use the adaptor and plug in the iPod, my system says something about “an unknown USB device was installed” and iTunes doesn’t recognize it, whereas if I take the adaptor off and plug the iPod in, it works great. So I just have to be a bit careful when docking my iPod.
The built-in mic works great, the USB hub works great, subwoofer is noticable, and the monitor is nice and shiny, it works great. Heck, I can even play the iPod and have the audio piped thru the speakers (not sure there’s a big demand for that, but it does work).
The only downside was noted from my wife. As mentioned above, I gave my old monitor to her. When I proudly led her to her computer to see it, the first thing she said was “it’s a new monitor? It’s all dusty!” So if anyone is doing the old “hand me down” trick… dust first.
