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Windows Vista multiple monitor restriction
I've been a multiple-monitor nutjob since Windows 98 (first edition), when only a small number of video cards were even supported for a multiple monitor configuration. As time has gone on, Microsoft has made Windows better at dealing with multiple video cards driving multiple monitors. I'm sure part of this has been Microsoft guiding the video card companies to support certain standards, allowing Windows to get some consistency. I hadn't really even considered the multiple monitor situation with respect to Windows Vista, because since Windows XP, it just really hasn't been much of an issue. Need another monitor? Slap in another video card, and away you go.
Now, it turns out, if you want to run the new Aero interface, you'll need to be using the same video driver to drive all of your monitors. Now, since Aero (in my opinion) is one of the only reasons to run Vista, obviously not running Aero isn't going to be an option. Hopefully this means that different cards within the same families that run on the same drivers, for example ATI's Catalyst drivers, will be supported. But if it turns out that Microsoft is requiring identical cards for each additional monitor, they've taken a big step backwards.
After spending the better part of an hour on 