I have an unnatural fixation with pixels.

For two years I was a stalwart supporter of the 17-inch PowerBook/MacBook Pro. My argument was simple and ignorant: “You need as many pixels as possible because you need to be able to see as much as possible.”

This pixel fundamentalism blinded me to the simple fact that the 17-inch was just too big and heavy. Yes, 17 inches is bigger than 15 inches, but the primary use case for a portable computer is mobility, and lugging around a 6.8 pound gorgeous piece of aluminum is a total mobility buzz kill. A creative tool should never be an anchor.

Yes, when I finally switched to a 15-inch, I was instantly happier. The weight and size elegantly integrated better with my travel habits and I didn’t miss the lack of roughly half a million pixels for a moment.

Besides, NOW WE’VE GOT SPACES AND UNLIMITED PIXELS WOOOOOOOOO! Ok, no, Spaces isn’t the right pixel solution, but that’s a different article.

Now, my desktop computing solutions don’t have the mobility requirement, which means, as frequent readers know, I continue to lose my pixel mind when it comes to screen real estate. What started as a treatise to justify the necessity of 30-inch flat panels has slowly twisted and turned into a seemingly insatiable need for more pixels.

Seriously. One of my current background drive-to-work soak projects is a justification for a second 23″ flat panel turned on its side… and you can help.

I’ve created a Flickr group called Pixel Rigs where I’m dying to see your pixel rig. Go grab your favorite camera, take a shot of your desktop, and post it to Flickr. Unlike prior excursions, stage your desktop a bit. Let us see how you’re managing pixels. Go crazy with Flickr’s notes features… like this:

Windows, Mac, Linux, whatever… explain to everyone how you’ve tamed your personal pixel fixation.