New MacBook, MacBook AIR, MacBook Pro and cinema displays

So, Apple today had their big notebook announcement, and they released 3 new laptops and a display… To start with, the MacBook and Pro look very much the same. NVidia graphics in them, Core 2 Duos, etc. Check the product pages for more. The AIR gets a speed bump and more SSD (128gb) too, and also NVidia graphics. So, all is well and good. they look nice, have the power, etc, and move to display port, but, 2 things I have been looking for in the last few weeks is missing… Dual external  monitor support and docking stations…

Now, let me explain why. I have my big Mac Pro sitting at home, and its nice and powerful. I also have a couple of servers too, and then my Tiny Laptop also. the Tiny laptop does a very nice job, but I would really like something extra with a bit more power. I have started to use the laptop as my main laptop in work, and I actually have it plugged into my KVM switch so I can use my keyboard, monitor and mouse with it. and for something this small, its actually quite powerful. but I want more.

Visual Studio does run on it, but it takes a fair amount of time to compile some applications. I want a laptop with the following type of specs:

• Dual external monitor support: I have 2 monitors in work and 2 on my desk at home. ideally, I would like to run both of them from one laptop
• Docking station, or similar. when I get into work, to “dock” the laptop, I need to plugin 3 USB cables, power, VGA and Ethernet… yes, I could get this down to 1 USB, power, VGA and go wireless, but Ethernet is faster… and I don't have a USB hub at the moment…
• POWER! the more RAM and processor I have, the happier I would be.

Apple are getting close. the new Cinema Display have 3 cables specific for the MacBooks: Display Port, USB and MagSafe. just take your laptop, plug in 2 connectors and your sorted. if the display port had a splitter feature, I would be laughing all the way till I seen my credit card bill… I would need to get 2 of this 24” cinema displays, at $900 a piece and the laptop… EEK… now, I know I could just use the screen on the laptop and a second external screen, but the problem is that my external screens are all around 20”… the 2 at home are 20” widescreen, and the 2 in work are either 19 or 20” non wide screens. I have gotten use to dual monitors, and moving between resolutions and heights can be annoying…

Methinks that some of the high end Dell Precisions have support for Dual external monitors with their Docking stations, but I am not sure. anyone out there have one or know?

[update] while looking around the dell website, I found IdeaStorm, their support forums. This particular post talks about getting the Precision M2400, M440 and M6400 mobile workstations talking to 30” displays at 2560x1600. but one very interesting note: the comment by the Dell guy, mano_g, mentions that the E-Port Plus port replicator has 2 Display Ports on it, which can run 2 30” displays at the 2560x1600 resolution! so, looking at pricing and everything, i found out that the laptop will set me back a little over 2 grand and the port replicator is about 200$, but i cant find it on the Irish site… but its very much what i am looking for, and will only cost a little more than the MacBook Pro…

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