Have you ever wished that Santa would bring you something other than a hefty lump of coal, maybe a high-resolution monitor, perhaps? Well, since Santa has been unreliable imprisoned for B&E, Avatron has given us the Air Display for Mac, which gives you that beautiful monitor that you never had. How does it do this? A spare computer, a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, and some awesome technology.
Air Display for Mac App Review
Prior to releasing the Air Display for Mac application, they had given us a similar software that allowed you to use an iPhone, iPod, or iPad as a second monitor for your computer. As a sequel to this home-run hit, they have the Air Display for Mac app, which is $19.99 on the Mac App Store. $20 may seem like a rather expensive app price, but keep in mind that buying another monitor and a video output cord will put a much larger dent in your wallet. More like a gaping hole of darkness and death. But, as we all know, duct tape has the power to patch up endless voids rather effectively, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
The feature that I found amusing (and useful) to no end was the ability to drag applications between monitors. This is all done in real time, so you see the right half of the program showing up on the second monitor as you drag the window to the right. For me, since I’m a blogger, I can use this second monitor to keep a live Twitter feed, Google+ stream, E-mail window, and things like this. While Air Display does allow for video playback and activities of this nature, I would rather just play the video on my main computer and avoid any lag/pixelated images. Though it does, in fact, play video on the connected computer, I would rather just stick to the basics on my extra monitor.
One thing that’s unfortunate about the Air Display, but definitely don’t affect the app’s productivity, is the inability to host a Windows computer on a Mac. In other words, I can’t use a Windows computer as an extra monitor for my Mac. I can, however, use a Mac as an extra monitor for my Windows computer. Why? Because Mac is superior. “That’s not true.” You can’t handle the truth! “You just contradicted yourself.” Be quiet – I win because I quoted a Tom Cruise movie. That’s how it works.
One other thing that makes the Air Display for Mac application amazing is that it takes up a minute amount of “space” on your computer, reducing visual clutter. You can control the entire program from a small icon, a picture of two computers, that is installed into your menu bar at the top of your screen. From here, you can select a device to connect to, enable/disable auto-connect, and much more!
Air Display for Mac gives you the monitor you never had, and allows you to increase productivity by giving you more room to work with. It’s extremely useful for bloggers like me who like to keep a couple of basic programs open in the background, such as e-mail and Twitter. Overall, a wonderful app that, unfortunately, doesn’t protect against the imminent zombie apocalypse. Don’t worry, we have a Zombie Apocalypse Hoodie and the Zombie Streetview Game. Looking for more relevant topics? Check out the Mac Oven Macbook Mod and the Guide to Upgrading To Lion in The Apple Store.
Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a site for Geeks who love to learn and laugh until their brains and lungs (respecitvely) explode. The graphic description doesn’t come close to accurately depicting the awesomeness.
