How many screens?
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Terry Pratchett was asked why he had six monitors. His reply: "Because I don't have enough space for eight" Two is brilliant - orders of magnitude better than one. Three, I'd like to try. Four, I could fit in - just - but I'd need a new video card, which means a new PC as it's only half height. Six? I could use it. I don't think that for what I do, it'd be that much of an improvement - but I didn't think two would make that much difference either.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
At work I have only five on my main machine. It supports six but I don't have room for the other one as I also have my laptop plus another screen to provide a total of seven. ...and I use all of them almost all the time. One for email, one for SQL, two more for VS (sometimes two projects simultaneously), another for remote access to a few servers and I also have to support four different browsers (IE, Chrome, FF & Safari) so I run tests on the other screens and then there's CP, Google and other stuff. At home I manage on three, across two PCs but with one keyboard and mouse using Input Director (a tool like Synergy).
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I think you mean: 1) IDE 2) Google 3) Cat pictures 4) Cat videos 5) Cat pictures again 6) More cat pictures (and Pr0n)
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan wrote:
What can a person do with 6 screens in a programming environment?
1. IDE (Back End) 2. Database interface (e.g. SSMS) 3. IDE (UI) 4. email / IM etc. 5. The Googs 6. Whatever else - news/ CP / etc Easy
PooperPig - Coming Soon
I develop (amongst other things) web-based responsive apps: So on my 5 screens: Netbeans IDE for editing debugging Web browser showing running app portrait screen for documentation / program notes. todo and bug lists one screen holds mail client/internet browser/OS taksbar/menu etc last screen displays live connection to the service the app is interacting with so I can see that it has behaved correctly. I used to use multiple screens etc, but the contect switch interferes with looking at one thing to see the result of another's actions etc, or reading documentation whilst editing. Before I was able to have multiple screens, then I just had many printouts/books etc strewn across the desk, so all that has happened really is that the screens have replaced the paper. Having said that, I do also work quite often on my single screen laptop, and just context switch, but it's nothing like as productive. Sometimes I use the laptop as a sixth screen though if I'm testing things like VPN connections between sites and need to have a separate route to each end to view behaviour... 8)
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I think would find it hard to efficiently use 6. However, I currently use 3, and I do find that I run out of space at times, I don't like having to minimize my windows while working. I would have my IDE on one, my browser one another, and my reference pdf on the third. Depends on what I'm working on I would also use my ssh client, I like to give the old putty a window of its own.
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I use 3 Dell u3011 30" monitors. I would hate to use less. I have one for my current IDE, one for a browser for testing and looking up anything I need on Google or StackExchange, and one for a console or database, depending on the task. I can't imagine what I would use six for, but I'm not going to argue with someone who likes it - and the geek in me says "I'd love to try it."
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I think it really depends on personal preferences. I switched to 2x24 about 3-4 years ago and didn't look back. In this past year I updated to 3x32 - main work area (VS/SQL), communication (email/Skype), and task list/miscellaneous. The two side monitors are in portrait mode. I still ALT+TAB, but I don't have to do that as much. A quick glance to side monitors lets me see what I want without needing to play through the multiple ALT+TAB sequences. It's easy to argue I have WAY too many windows open (I likely do), but it's my working style and it works well for me. Given how cheap monitors are now it's not hard to justify the cost vs. productivity savings. Heck, it used to be $2k for a 19" CRT, so getting 3x32" LED for less than that is awesome. Plus I get a nice tan :) Six monitors wouldn't work for me - can't imagine craning my neck upward constantly (I can only imagine the top monitors being useful for monitoring status vs. working desktop space). Six monitors seems overkill to me, but if it actually works for him (vs. him just trying to make his workstation look kick-ass) then who are we to judge?
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I use 4 at home: Monitor 1 - Code Monitor 2 - Web Browser (for code) Monitor 3 - Web Browser (for research) Monitor 4 - Other (Music, Youtube vids, RDP sessions, log viewing (tail -f), etc) At work I only have 3 and I can say that i do miss my 4th monitor... I guess it is one of those things: once you have it you don't want to be without it.
Eric
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
Way back before we had personal computers I sat at 6 desks at once. One for my typewriter, one for my adding machine, one for my desk calendar, one for my stapler, one for my pencil cup and one for my phone.
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I've found that two has the biggest impact in regards to improved productivity. It hurts when I have to take the laptop out of the docking station and use it's "small" 17" screen all by itself. Three monitors is nice, but doesn't have the impact of two. Any more than three and I find the additional view space to be distracting. I can see how having additional screens for monitoring systems might be helpful, but I'd want them to be hooked into another machine rather than a part of my rig.
Scott E. Corbett
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I moved to two screens about 15 years ago. Back then they were both 19-inch CRTs. After working like that for even a couple of weeks, I swore I would never go back to one screen. With flat panels life just got even better, and I now run four screens. Two are 1920*1200 and two are 1600*1200. My typical layout is: 1. web browser open to the output of the application I'm developing (with other sites on tabs) 2. VStudio 3. View of SSMS, or Oracle tool, or MySQL workbench, or some other data source 4. Virtual console to the server I'm using My biggest complaint is that every screen you buy these days is only 1080 tall, unless you get some ridiculous piece of hardware. I'm going to keep my collection of monitors until they can no longer be repaired.
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
I use 3 on my development box, well really 2.5 since the 3rd ends up much more lightly loaded than the other two. I had 4 at one point - 3 external + the laptops build in screen - but found the 4th ended up getting next to nothing on it and went back to having my laptop closed and the dock under one monitor to reclaim a bit of desk space. OTOH I could use 4 easily for a systems analysis type task I'm doing on a separate system. 1.5 for an explosion of small windows style UI data source, 0.5 for a word file with notes in text, 1 for a spreadsheet with notes/planning in tabular form, and 1 for the application I'm ultimately sending data to.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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I develop (amongst other things) web-based responsive apps: So on my 5 screens: Netbeans IDE for editing debugging Web browser showing running app portrait screen for documentation / program notes. todo and bug lists one screen holds mail client/internet browser/OS taksbar/menu etc last screen displays live connection to the service the app is interacting with so I can see that it has behaved correctly. I used to use multiple screens etc, but the contect switch interferes with looking at one thing to see the result of another's actions etc, or reading documentation whilst editing. Before I was able to have multiple screens, then I just had many printouts/books etc strewn across the desk, so all that has happened really is that the screens have replaced the paper. Having said that, I do also work quite often on my single screen laptop, and just context switch, but it's nothing like as productive. Sometimes I use the laptop as a sixth screen though if I'm testing things like VPN connections between sites and need to have a separate route to each end to view behaviour... 8)
Mike Winiberg wrote:
Having said that, I do also work quite often on my single screen laptop, and just context switch, but it's nothing like as productive.
Look up Sliden'Joy, funded Kickstarter project. I am eagerly awaiting my Giftmas present to myself. :-)
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
If you are running applications with logging output or monitoring live systems or watching programs operate, having 4+ monitors can be totally reasonable. For example, right now I have CP open and my IDE on my two monitors. That means I can't see the build logs from Slack, or the live stats from Production, or my e-mail, or my CLI. If part of your job involves keeping an eye on Production (probably the case at a small company / startup), then it's totally reasonable to have a monitor or two just watching the live data. Trying to debug an issue can often involve a web browser + an IDE + a DB window (CLI) and that's an easy excuse for at least a pair of monitors.
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
Currently I have 3 screens. 1) The text of the IDE on a portrait monitor, or Unity Logs while the game is running. 2) Unity engine live editor plus the IDE tools (properties, solution explorer) 3) Unity engine gameplay. I'm considering getting a fourth so that I can have the IDE and Logs on different monitors, since I often have to move the logs elsewhere in order to see them while stepping through the debugger.
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On this Quora post[^], the guy said he uses 6 screens for his daily use, as a programmer. I will say, that he didn't have the ALT + TAB keys or they don't work; where as he claims he doesn't have to press them. I have used one screen at a time, for everything, everytime! OriginalGriff once wrote about his 2 screens, well that is fair enough I also have a secondary laptop and I use it for chatting purposes if I am working, but 6?
The shit I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~
At work I switched my 2 smaller screens to a single 3440x1440 screen. At home I have 2 2560x1440 monitors on the wings and a single 3440x1440 in the center. If I added 2 more screens, I'd have to start going Lain on them and have them on arms above the other monitors pointing down towards me. That sounds crazy to me. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it, but it sounds crazy. I never said I was sane.
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Once you've tried three you'll never be free. I have three 24" monitors at work. One for SSMS, one for VS, and one for whatever.
I agree, more screen real estate, the better. I could use one screen, but switching application slows my productivity. I use 2 27 inch monitors and a laptop screen and I still wish I had more. We think nothing of adding more disk space or processors when we need them, so why not add hardware to increase your throughput, even if it is extra monitors. For me, I will have my IDE open in one screen, email in another, google in a third (or MSDN). Rather than switching between them (unproductive), I prefer to be viewing them together. Less work for me and more work output from me. I did come across a company a couple of years ago that allows you to have this setup. It is called Matrox. I don’t have the original add or email any more, but you can google it. Look at http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/displayport/.
