Most modern laptop LCDs and desktop monitors are extremely wide, which doesn't make sense when you consider that most Web pages are narrow and intended for portrait-style viewing. Indeed, if you look at this very page, you may notice some unused white space on either side.
Of course, you can always keep a browser open in one window and something else in another: Windows makes it easy to split them into two equal halves.
NiftySplit is a browser extension that brings that idea to Google Chrome--but with an incredibly useful twist. The best way to explain it is to show you how it works.
After installing NiftySplit, head to a site like, oh, PC World. Find a story you want to read, then right-click the link and choose Open as NiftySplit window.
NiftySplit will immediately divide Chrome into two windows: the original on the left and the linked page on the right.
What's more, links in the original window now work dynamically: click any other link and you'll immediately see that page open in the right-hand window.
This can save you a ton of back-and-forth page hopping. Sure, you can open any link in a new tab by holding down the Ctrl key when you click it, but that's not quite the same thing.
Indeed, I think once you give NiftySplit a try, you'll find it an invaluable addition to your browser. It definitely works best if you have a large, high-resolution display (otherwise you may end up doing a lot of horizontal scrolling), but either way it's worth a look.
Contributing Editor Rick Broida writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com. Sign up to have the Hassle-Free PC newsletter (which is included in the Power Tips newsletter) e-mailed to you each week.
