The Key to NeXTdimension Configurations
The key to NeXTdimension configurations is simple--don't set the monochrome MegaPixel Display as the default screen if you configure the NeXTdimension system with both monochrome and color displays. This configuration causes the NeXTdimension to run very slowly.

The NeXTdimension can be run either with just a color display, or with both monochrome and color displays simultaneously. For best performance when running with both displays, the color display should be set as the default screen. Make sure that your customers don't configure their systems to default to the monochrome display. This configuration works, but works very slowly.

For example, zooming to 200 percent in Scene while looking at a large TIFF file takes 130 seconds with the slow configuration. With any other NeXTdimension configuration, it takes only about 20 seconds.

How does this happen? With a new NeXTdimension system or upgrade to an existing NeXTcube, the system will power up and, by default, use only the color display. To configure a system with multiple displays, the user must run the Preferences application and use the multiple screens preference item to enable the monochrome screen.

The only way to get into the slow configuration is to drag the loginwindow icon over the monochrome screen to set it as the zero screen. Make sure NeXTdimension customers don't do this.

Returning a Slow Configuration to Normal
Existing customers who may have already set this configuration can set the zero screen back to the color screen by dragging the loginwindow icon over to the color screen.

Until we can revise the user documentation to warn NeXTdimension customers about this problem, please communicate this tip to your customers.