Maximizing Widescreen Monitor Vertical Real Estate

With widescreen monitors, which are pretty much the standard these days, there is always plenty of horizontal space, it's the vertical space that is at more of a premium. To take advantage of this I've done 2 things - First, I moved my taskbar to the left side of the screen, this gives me that much more vertical space in all programs.

The second thing is program-specific. I use Firefox and I certainly spend more time in it than any other program. I've installed 2 two add-ons, Vertical Bookmarks Toolbar and Compact Menu. They do just what their names imply - the first places my bookmarks toolbar to the left (or right, if you prefer) of the screen, the second compacts my entire Menu toolbar to a small icon that sits in the upper-left corner of the address bar. Getting rid of these 2 horz menu bars gives one a nice little chunk of additional real estate. It takes a bit getting used to, but once you do, it's great.