Dual monitors and fullscreen fiasco, is there a work around?

Just installed Mountain Lion, really disappointed. I don't know how they have overlooked multiple fullscreen / monitor solutions. Anyone who defends this current Lion-ML configuration is either ******** or an Apple fanboy. Makese no sense. I am mad. It's stuff like this Apple!! gaaaaah😠

I knew that they weren't advertising this feature on mountain lion but I can't believe that is was implemented. This is the most necesary upgrade to lion an they missed it.

J_biss wrote:

I knew that they weren't advertising this feature on mountain lion but I can't believe that is was implemented. This is the most necesary upgrade to lion an they missed it.

It's difficult for me to consider useable secondary displays as an "upgrade". How it ever even got beyond architectural discussions boggles the mind, let alone written into the design specs and implemented.

Ok so I shouldn't have said upgrade, but rather fix.

I knew it wasn't implented in ML because I have been following this blog. ML is reportedly a polished Lion and if that plays out, at $20 it's a new low bargin rate. Good for Apple.

What puzzles me is why can't we multi-task when using Full Screen mode. Wasn't multi-tasking spun as a feature for iOS? (I know it's not really multi-tasking). But they advertised it as a feature, a good thing. Then it was removed from the computer (which can multi-task) OS? Huh?

My thoughts..

"Full Screen" mode is really "Single Application" mode. When did we (the computer community) decide to go back to single application operation of our computers? I thought we left that behind with DOS.

Please, Apple, tell me, what sense does it make to build computers that can drive multiple monitors at the the most advanced resolution in the world (Retina) but then the OS Blanks out all but one when selecting "Full Screen"?

LOL, Apple half fixed the issue. This was one of my discontentments about Lion. I couldn't play any full screen videos on my projector in class whilst doing some work on my Mac, checking mails, etc. Mountain Lion fixes it, at least half on my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2010 17" model, but now I'm left with a blank screen on my laptop. Doh!

So, will we ever get the full screen plus the desktop or do we have to have a New MacBook Pro with thunderbolt?

I guess the "upgrade" engines are being engaged by the Apple consumer machine hard at work. I don't mind but I feel that every update cuts out or adds a feature that people loved and the only way to get it back is to upgrade. It seems to be happening too close between updates.

marcomarchant wrote:

So, will we ever get the full screen plus the desktop or do we have to have a New MacBook Pro with thunderbolt?

A new MacBook Pro with a Thunderbolt display would just be a newer, more expensive variation on blank screens. Newer/different hardware would not make any difference other than being a faster way to experience the same problem.

I'm just wondering...nevertheless the dual ports would allow a projector screen to run a video whilst you might be working on your own laptop screen. Isn't that the purpose of the two ports?

marcomarchant wrote:

I'm just wondering...nevertheless the dual ports would allow a projector screen to run a video whilst you might be working on your own laptop screen. Isn't that the purpose of the two ports?

Yes, and it works fine that way right up until you press the full-screen mode button for an application. If you have just windowed applications, even maximized, you get an extended desktop with different apps running on different screens. Go full-screen mode and whichever screen isn't running the full-screen app is blanked out.

Some applications use their own, proprietary full-screen mode. These tend to work fine. That said, even Firefox 14 apparently has adopted OS X's native full-screen mode, which means that Firefox users get to enjoy their screens being blanked now, too.

This is a good point. I would pay $40 for a "pro" version of ML (AKA I'm not a child or a senior citizen). Give me the ability to "think different" and configure my operating system the way I please. I have loved Apple for many years because the Mac OS presented both symplicity and configurability. Now I'm beginning to hate Apple because it's taking away choice and replacing it with whatever it thinks is for the greater good. This keeps things simple for kids and senior citizens, but alienates your loyal power users. (*No offense intended for kids or senior citizens who are also power users, just using you as a generalization).

Sorry for the repost, but apparently Apple made the decision that I can't edit a post now either and my reply needed context.

LOL, Apple half fixed the issue. This was one of my discontentments about Lion. I couldn't play any full screen videos on my projector in class whilst doing some work on my Mac, checking mails, etc. Mountain Lion fixes it, at least half on my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2010 17" model, but now I'm left with a blank screen on my laptop. Doh!

So, will we ever get the full screen plus the desktop or do we have to have a New MacBook Pro with thunderbolt?

I guess the "upgrade" engines are being engaged by the Apple consumer machine hard at work. I don't mind but I feel that every update cuts out or adds a feature that people loved and the only way to get it back is to upgrade. It seems to be happening too close between updates.

This is a good point. I would pay $40 for a "pro" version of ML (AKA I'm not a child or a senior citizen). Give me the ability to "think different" and configure my operating system the way I please. I have loved Apple for many years because the Mac OS presented both symplicity and configurability. Now I'm beginning to hate Apple because it's taking away choice and replacing it with whatever it thinks is for the greater good. This keeps things simple for kids and senior citizens, but alienates your loyal power users. (*No offense intended for kids or senior citizens who are also power users, just using you as a generalization).

Does anyone have any clue as to why Apple made this design decision in the first place? It's been a year, and I have not read, heard, or even invented one single benefit to handling making the full screen button double as a monitor's power button. Seriously, If want my monitor powered off or want to throw a towel over it, I'll do that. It's right here, just a few feet in front of me, so it's really easy for me to just handle it. Seriously.

I keep thinking, what are the chances that not a single person working down in Cupertino uses two or more monitors? I mean, as a minimum the development and graphics people I know can't live without at least two.

The whole thing makes no sense, and I really want my monitor back-- and I'd rather not roll back to Snow Leopard to get it.

Doesn't make any sense to me either and I don't see how it is related to having the same experience as on an iPad or iPhone. They don't dual screen. I think I've said this before somewhere, but customer experience matters too. We all know Steve said that people don't know what they want until you show them. Sudden changes to user experience cause the users to get a little agro. New users would probably never know about this issue but loyal Apple customers do and they should honour this.

I found the answer!!!

here are the steps:

1. Click video you would like to play
2. secondary click on playing video
3. "play in secondary window"
4. drag to display you want to watch video on
5. click "+" to maximize sceen

WALLA!!!!

Hallo - I still do not understand what the issue is :-) but I really want to understand. I have a MBP, 2012, Mountain Lion.

When I want to play a video, usually, I use the MPlayer and the behavior is :

1. Open Video

2. Drag to secondary display ( e.g. bigger screen )

3. FullScreen Mode ( upper right corner)

4. Primary Display is still usable, means as working environment

The Quicktime Player, yes, if I drag it to the second display and Full Screen, then the primary display becomes black. Guess, that is what is your concern.

Again, and I do not want to judge if good or bad, the meaning of that Full Screen Mode was to focus on that particular mode. And so, logically, it is blanking off the secondary - you wanna watch a video in Full Screen Mode.

But even with Quicktime Player, if you instead use the GREEN button for Maximize, it will use the secondardy in Full Screen Mode and the secondary is available as working desk and NOT blanked off. This is what

So, that is why I do not understand the concerns mentioned here. I alway find a solution with to buy extra software. Sometimes, I need to look, how to do it but that is not a real challenge.

Again, there is the Full Screen Mode and the Maximize button in all applications.

So what is the issue?

Ronald