As is the norm this weather, two or more monitors is a common place on the majority of developers desktop these days. When developing code, it is a real productivity boost to have multiple views open at the same time without having to flip back and forth.

The problem is though, monitors is a bit like sex - you can never get enough.

I have used up the screen estate with my two monitors and was always on the edge of purchasing another monitor to sit and join the other two.

My problem was that I didn't really want another big monitor taking up real space on my desk, and to be honest with you, adding another monitor was going to cause me some grief as I would have had to add another graphics card are start all that nonsense.

So imagine my delight when I spotted this little USB monitor do the rounds on the Gadget blogs.

At a $129 it wasn't going to be a major gamble if it didn't pay off. But after 1 week of usage, I can proudly say, I love it.

Installation was a breeze, plugging straight into a spare USB2 slot and running up the installation software. It appears in Windows as an extra monitor that can be configured in the usual way. It has a maximum resolution of 800x600 but its colour depth is impressive. Any software that requires DirectX or OpenGL access won't work, which probably means your favourite DVD player software won't output anything on it.

That said, VLC works beautifully on it allowing me to watch movies and what have you with no problems in full screen at the bottom of my big screen.

Its very crisp, and clear. It also powers down nicely with the other monitors when Windows puts everything into energy efficient mode. They produce another model, which includes a built-in webcam and microphone.

But for me, it's Pidgin that has found a home on it. All my tabbed chat windows sits neatly behind my keyboard where I can easily see and not strain my eyes reading. Its like a separate chat monitor, sitting quietly and energy efficient in the background.

If you need another monitor, but don't want the hassle of installing a new graphics card, or messing around with power supplies and drivers, then give this MIMO monitor a try. Its a truly amazing piece of kit.

http://www.mimomonitors.com/