Yes you can and you don’t need anything else, just another screen, once it is hooked up, then all you have to do is enable it in setup.

Heres a nice link to guide you.

I believe most laptops will only mirror the laptop screen onto the LCD attached. If that is what you are after then you are golden. But if you are after a “second” desktop space then you will need some additional equipment. I have had pretty good success with some of the USB video adapters for providing additional desktop space to laptop users.

What kind and model laptop do you have?

All of the latest Apple notebooks span, mirror, and will operate external only with the lid closed.

I have a Dell Latitude D620.

yeah you can, looks like you have a VGA out. but make sure the driver software for your video card has the options to clone or span the desktop onto the 2nd monitor.

@glial: strictly speaking, only the macbook pro’s span. the macbook only mirrors.

Again, both the MacBook Pro and MacBook span, mirror, and work with the lid closed…i promise it does.

I have both and both span to 24” and 22” monitor respectively. Which is nice to have say, Mail, running on the laptop monitor and say, Photoshop, open on the larger external.

my bad… when did apple start supporting spanning on macbooks?

You’ll need to make sure that your laptop has a free video-out port of some sort. Most laptops have these, and the most common ports are DVI Ports and SVGA Ports. Make sure you get the right cable for your needs and, if necessary, an adapter to convert from they cable type your laptop’s video card uses and the cable type your monitor uses. As other users have mentioned, Most Mac laptops come with these adapters for “free.”

http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html

no cables! dual screen over wifi!