I got a second monitor for my laptop around new year, and within a few minutes, I was very annoyed about the way Windows handles dual monitors.
If you have 5 apps on each screen, all the apps will be on the same taskbar (one screen). It makes dual-monitoring inefficient, since the taskbar is still very cluttered.
There is an application called UltraMon. It has a lot of features for dual-monitoring:
1. Smart Taskbar: Adds another taskbar to your secondary monitor. No more clutter on your primary screen.
2. Window Buttons: Move to the other monitor or expand the window over both monitors. The windows are resized proportionally if you don’t use same resolution on both screens. The buttons integrate nicely with the vista interface, and of course you can also add shortcuts to these buttons.
3. Desktop Icons: When going from one resolution to another, chances are that the icons on the desktop gets really mixed up. With a few clicks, the positions are restored.
4. Per-app settings: Make apps start on a specific location or monitor, or maybe turn off either screen when a specific app is running.
5. Display Profiles: Easy access to different setups.
6. Dual Screen Savers: Different screen savers on each screen, running smoothly.
This application, especially the smart taskbar, is a must for every dual monitor user. Get a trial, or buy the full version (40 US$) on http://realtimesoft.com/ultramon/