A few months ago, I made a big change to my desktop PC workflow, though it had nothing to do with the actual computer or its software.

Instead, the shake-up involved swapping my pair of 24-inch desktop monitors for a single, 35-inch ultrawide display, which stretches much further than a traditional widescreen monitor. My particular monitor, the (oh-so straightforwardly-named) LG 35WN65C-B, has a resolution of 3440x1440, which gives it about 34% more horizontal real estate than a 2560x1440 widescreen monitor.

Ultrawides used to be a luxury in the monitor world, but prices have come down in recent years, and even basic computers like my $300 mini-PC have become powerful enough to push an ultrawide's extra pixels without dedicated graphics cards. I picked one up partly out of curiosity, but also to address some specific annoyances that arose from my old dual-monitor setup.

While I'm happier with the new monitor overall, it's been a bigger change than I expected, and not 100% for the better. If you're similarly curious about living the ultrawide life, here are some things you should know first:

On an ultrawide, apps can get uncomfortable to look at when they're stretched out to cover the whole screen. As such, you need to get used to running apps in smaller windows instead of fully maximizing them. You'll also have to lean on Windows' Snap feature or MacOS Split View to run apps side-by-side, which takes some adjustment coming from a dual-monitor setup.

Additional software can help. In Windows, I've become dependent on the FancyZones feature of Microsoft PowerToys to quickly place windows in a16:9 aspect ratio in the middle of the screen. On MacOS, I use Rectangle for window management. But getting used to those programs takes some extra effort as well.

Many ultrawide monitors have curved screens, both to make gaming more immersive and to make the edges of the screen feel less distant from your eyes. The smaller the curve radius, the tighter the curve.

I'm quite pleased with my LG monitor's 1800R curve radius, which is subtle enough not to get in the way of work, but curved screens still aren't for everyone. (As one poster in a photo editing forum put it, "I'll buy a curved monitor when everyone starts hanging curved paintings and photos on their walls.")

Having just one screen has also nudged me toward doing less side-by-side viewing of apps overall. I'll still invoke Snap when the situation demands it—and the ultrawide format prevents things from feeling cramped—but multitasking has become more of an intentional decision than the default way of doing things. I think that's a good thing.

With two monitors, I would often put my web browser and other reference material on my right-hand screen while writing on the monitor directly in front of my keyboard. This put a lot of strain on my neck and back, as I'd inevitably spend large chunks of time looking off-center instead of moving the browser over to the main monitor.

Solving that problem was a big impetus for switching to an ultrawide setup. I'm more inclined to keep things in the middle of the screen now, and I'm feeling less neck strain as a result.

Whenever I switch from my Windows PC over to my Mac Mini, I'm reminded that MacOS is less accommodating to the ultrawide format, at least at 1440p resolution. While the monitor is plenty sharp, Apple won't let it use all the screen scaling options that are reserved for Retina-quality displays, so everything ends up looking teeny.

The only fix is to use a third-party app called Better Display, which uses screen mirroring trickery to offer more granular scaling options. But this has a trade-off as well: It doesn't support my monitor's silky smooth 100 Hz refresh rates, so I'm stuck at 60 Hz instead. In Windows, everything works exactly as it should.

The difference in total screen width between my old monitors and the ultrawide isn't huge, so I wasn't expecting the latter to help clean up my desk. But with only one monitor stand and one set of bezels around the display, I've reclaimed a surprising amount of room. (The monitor's slight curvature may help as well.)

Also, the ultrawide display's stand runs much taller than my previous monitors, so I've pushed my old wooden risers to the back of the desk where they're helping to hide cables and accessories, further contributing to the cleanup.

Although I recently moved my old desktop PC down to the basement for gaming purposes, it's hard to resist playing games on the ultrawide screen. My little desktop PC isn't powerful enough, so I've been using Nvidia GeForce Now, whose Premium tier can stream the latest games at full 3440x1440 resolution, with every graphics setting maxed out.

After experiencing games this way—with the action extending almost to the edges of my peripheral vision—it's hard going back to anything else. While the ultrawide has changed the way I work, turns out it's had some impact on play as well.

Got questions about going ultrawide? Just send me an email!

Google Photos upgrades: If you pay for a Google One cloud storage plan, you already get a bunch of extra editing features in the Google Photos app. Now, some of those features—but not all of them—are heading to Google Photos' web version. Those include portrait lighting and blur effects, color pop, and dynamic HDR adjustments. Still unavailable: The "Magic Eraser" that removes unwanted objects.

These are all nice, but I'd settle for a web editor that wasn't utterly buggy and unresponsive half the time. (I mostly included this news item just to vent about it.)

Advanced Google smart home skills: In other Google news, the company's throwing a bone to smart home power users with its new Script Editor, which can create powerful automation routines with some lightweight coding. For instance, you can program a motion sensor to turn on nearby lights only during certain evening hours, or turn on a set of fans when temperature and humidity reach a certain level. It may be a response of sorts to Home Assistant, whose deep customization potential has become beloved by tech enthusiasts.

Those who want to dive in can check out Google's tutorial, examples, or documentation. You can then create routines through the Google Home web app, which is worth knowing about whether you're mucking around with code-based automation or not.

Disney voice controls: Amazon has added a second voice assistant to its Echo speakers alongside Alexa, using "Hey Disney" voice commands for talking to Mickey Mouse and pals. Disney's assistant supports basic requests such as timers or the weather, but it can also tell jokes, read stories, and play trivia games, with different characters chiming in depending on the request.

The catch? It costs $6 per year, though it's included with Amazon's Kids+ subscription service at no extra charge. You can give it a shot by saying "Alexa, introduce me to 'Hey Disney.'"

Free money from Google: If you performed at least one Google search between October 2006 and September 2013, you can probably get a handful of dollars as part of a class action lawsuit settlement.

The case involves Google's inclusion of search terms in the "referrer headers" that help websites see where their traffic is coming from. Users sued over this practice in 2010, alleging that it revealed sensitive search data to websites. (Nevermind that measuring inbound search queries is now standard practice on pretty much every website, but maybe I'm missing some of the nuance here. There's also a complicated backstory on why the settlement is just happening now.)

In any event, those who used Google during the offending timeframe can register for a class member ID on the settlement website, then use that ID—which gets sent via email—to submit a claim.

The whole process only takes a minute or two, and after the settlement gets final approval, you'll get an estimated $7.70 for your troubles, payable through a variety of options including PayPal or Venmo. That's at least more than what Google usually pays users for doing what it pleases with their search data.

Pandora, but cooler: Pianobar is a delightful little utility that lets you listen to music from Pandora via a command line interface. You can select stations by number, or hit ? to view all available keyboard commands. It's a fun way to navigate Pandora's streaming service, but the real kicker is that it seems to avoid commercial breaks and song skip limits.

Download the Windows version (found under "Releases"), then extract the ZIP file and run the included EXE. For MacOS or Linux, use the Terminal app and follow these instructions.

More geeky apps: Pianobar is one of many neat apps I've come across while plumbing the depths of GitHub, the software development site that's also a surprisingly great source of software. I wrote all about Github's hidden treasures in this PCWorld story.

If you're looking to get into home automation, smart bulbs are a nice way to get started. Right now, you can get a pair of multicolor BR30 Wi-Fi bulbs for $23 when you clip the on-page coupon. These bulbs from Meross work with every major smart home platform, including Alexa, Apple Home, Google Assistant, and SmartThings, with no hub or bridge required.

Other notable deals:

Got tech questions for me? Just reply to this email to get in touch. You can also hop into the Advisorator chat room on Slack to talk tech with me and other friendly folks!

Until next week,
Jared