Desiring lower cost over Windows 8 compatibility, I purchased the Viewsonics knowing the screen edges were raised due to the technology used, essentially detection devices built into the sides. This means you can't easily swipe from outside-in.
I used Windows 7 for a while and then decided to upgrade my work computer to Windows 8 to try out the differences. It wasn't long before I wanted to attempt to experience how Windows 8 was designed in the first place, i.e., with swipe from outside in mind. I soon found out that with my monitors, if I place a fingernail on the edge of the screen, I could swipe in and cause the Charms bar to appear, for example. However this wasn't very natural and at the same time it took a few tries to get it right.
The solution I stumbled upon was to reduce the effective resolution of the monitors. Both are 1920x1080 (1080p in TV parlance) - if I could reduce the resolution without scaling, it would give me some edges to the monitors that would allow me to swipe, while keeping the display from looking fuzzy. Essentially I wanted Windows to output, centered, 1880x1020 or so.
Diagram of my monitor and new swipe area
Luckily my graphics card, an ATI, supported this. Using their Catalyst software, I was able to set both monitors to "1000p" by going to Desktop Management > Desktop Properties. The resulting display has a few less pixels but allows me to swipe. (I have been trying to find a generic utility that will do this and allow me to control the final size but have not found one yet.)
There is a big difference in using Windows 8 with the swipe ability. I know I can press Windows-C to open the charms bar, but when you are touching the screen, it's much more naturally to swipe in the Charms bar than it is to move your hands back to the keyboard. Also, closing "new UI" windows by dragging from top to bottom is great, something I kind of used to do with a Windows 7 "swipe".
