Do you just use a single screen? I've noticed a trend that people seem to be moving to one giant screen (and now apparently one small one), instead of dual monitors. I don't think it should be forgotten what an enormous productivity boost multiple monitors are, whatever the resolution.
> I don't think it should be forgotten what an enormous productivity boost multiple monitors are, whatever the resolution.
Or tiling window managers with virtual workspaces. When most applications I use are two keystrokes away, the need for more than one screen seriously lessens. Besides, looking at a screen on the side hurts my neck.
I'm using a 24" (4K, I wanted the DPI). I don't even use the laptop screen (either clamshell mode or I just turn it off). It's enough for having two windows side by side (docs + code). Anything else is a context switch, so I don't mind Alt|Command+tab or using virtual desktop (when I need to preserve the context).
>"I've noticed a trend that people seem to be moving to one giant screen"
I've had 3 monitors at one point on my main dev box of which 2 were 32" 4K. It became tiring very fast. I went to a single one. First it was 40" 4K but it proved to be too much neck bending to look at. So I've finally settled to a single 32" 4K and am happy (I use it at 100% scaling). Smaller monitors - no thanks, not my cup of tea. I know it is possible and I used to program on tiny ones in my young days but fuck it. Do not want to go back.
I tried multiple screens but realized I always tend to use just one of them and the others can be replaced by virtual desktops.
In terms of size I use 28" and that works well for me, 14" on the laptop is fine too but feels a bit limited now and then. In the long term I'll probably go for something inbetween with a size ratio closer to 4:3.
MBP + 24", where the monitor is from Apple/LG and a pretty good match to the MBP's screen in terms of color, dot pitch, and glare. I've tried but a giant screen doesn't cut it for me; I'm just messing it up with hundreds of windows, have to move the mouse and the head a lot, etc.
Yeah, I'm not arguing for humungous screens. It just seems like window managers aren't up to scratch for that much real-estate, and the traditional "two full screen windows side-by-side" setup enabled by dual monitors is simpler. I am just skeptical that a single (especially 1080p as in the article) screen could possibly be the most productive environment for a programmer - that goes against what everyone experienced when multiple monitors started to become the norm, albeit with worse resolutions back then I guess.
They do, and PowerToys also has some additional functionality in FancyZones, but it's still not perfect. It's hard to express "I want exactly this window alongside exactly this other window" purely via the keyboard, it's hard to cycle between multiple layouts, it's hard to launch a new window and have it appear exactly where you want etc. I'm not very interested in VR personally, but I am hopeful in the long term that eye tracking, gestures, and voice control make interacting with computers spatially a lot easier, just with the already-quite-good 2D paradigm we've already got.
I've never really seen it as multi-tasking, just that a lot of knowledge work involves inputs and outputs (edit web page/ previous web page, edit code/view test results, read requirements/write spec etc). Those can often be separate windows and being able to focus on either at will works well for me.
I guess that’s where the ergonomics kick in and break it for me. I gotta mention that I wear glasses, so everything not in the center of my vision is basically blurred. Which means lots of head turning with dual or wide screens.
I found something with an effective resolution of about 2560x1440 to be a sweet spot, where I can fit windows needed for a single task in one screen. Provided those windows don’t waste too much space with unnecessary stuff of course.
Gotcha. I must admit on Linux especially where I just have Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3 mapped to virtual desktops, I'm not unhappy on a single screen. I'm just aware that 20 years ago when it started to become more common, it was one of the few completely black and white productivity gains you could get as a programmer (alongside solid state disks). Seems odd if that doesn't hold in general today.
I quickly realized I absolutely hate setups with multiple monitors, when I was given one at work. I quickly gave back my second monitor, because it just made it worse for me, and additionally wasted space on my desk. If you want to improve my circumstances at work, give me a bigger monitor, not more of them.
I've never used multiple monitors. I've also never talked about that fact, because why would I? Only people who use multiple monitors have reason to talk about them, so discussion is biased in favor of seeming like people use them.
(I've never even tried multiple monitors. I could immediately think of several reasons why they would not be an improvement for me, so made a quick decision in 1998 and moved on.)
