# Something cool to display on my third monitor while I work **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098 "2006-09-25T18:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/1 "2006-09-25T18:04:27Z")
I have three displays on my desk - two laptops, and a 19" LCD. The LCD is attached to a telescoping mount, so it sort of hovers above my desk. I really don’t use it that often, but it seems like a shame to waste it. I’m looking for something cool and graphical that I can display on it when it’s not otherwise in use. Something informational and useful, not just a pretty screensaver. I’ve had a few ideas, but nothing worth bothering with. [Newsmap](http://www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm) is my best one so far, but it doesn’t change that often, and is actually kind of hard to read. A friend suggested a real-time stock market display, but since my working day is generally from 5:00 PM - 2:00 AM, that’s fairly useless. Any other ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Yeeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/96bed5/32.png) [@Yeeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeeter)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/2 "2006-09-25T19:01:08Z")
I think [Digg Swarm](http://labs.digg.com/swarm/) would be cool to leave up. It shows the submitted articles and how many people are digging those stories in real time. Requires Flash to work. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/3 "2006-09-25T19:09:54Z")
You could run SETI data checks. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/4 "2006-10-29T00:37:03Z")
How about a Matrix sreensaver. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![aclubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@aclubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aclubs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/5 "2006-10-29T09:26:00Z")
The Electric Sheep screensaver. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/6 "2006-10-29T09:34:15Z")
Here’s an unusual one - a visual interpretation of a computer playing chess :eek: (It’s not a strong program, but the graphics flow…) [http://turbulence.org/spotlight/thinking/](http://turbulence.org/spotlight/thinking/) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-cool-to-display-on-my-third-monitor-while-i-work/374098/7 "2006-10-29T16:25:13Z")
When I’m not using it for other more productive things, I put Audion’s “visualizer” on my third screen.