Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

sublimedash.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 36 posts

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#24

Post by kukkukb »

tumblen wrote: post #11
r0s wrote: post #7

I have three 25" monitors for web development, and every inch of each is used up by my work. I could probably fill another three with just a single site's development windows, instead of tab switching.

Can you explain how you use them?

Four screens for me. The left two 24" screens are connected to a Linux Mint box. That far left has a browser with developer tools. The next one has a full-screen vim session. The right two are connected to a MBP. The left 24" has terminals (ssh'ed into the linux box) for Rails console, MySql and Rails log running in real time. The laptop's built-in screen is the far right, with everything from Assembla to email to Skype, etc. Here's a typical screen-shot of how I work: http://i.imgur.com/UVOfAan.jpg As others have said, I can also do with more screens. At the moment both the Linux box and the Mac has 3-4 virtual desktops each.

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#25

Post by bashevis »

nsxwolf wrote: post #22

What exactly is an external monitor? Is a laptop monitor "internal"? Or are we talking about "monitors" in a different sense, like listeners hooking into various application APIs?

I agree the definition of "external" is pretty vague, as SublimeDash works just as well on a laptop screen. Monitor definitely refers to a screen with pixels.

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#26

Post by bashevis »

johndoze wrote: post #23

Love to see a fellow UCLA CS student on HN. I've been using http://www.geckoboard.com/ for a while. Their integration with AWS is what's kept me with them.

Thanks! Didn't know there were other Bruins on HN! If SublimeDash had AWS integration and possibly more customization, would you consider switching (especially because it's free)?

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#27

Post by Theodores »

We all know that multi-monitor is a good idea particularly if you need reference material to copy/paste/refer to/from. However, I have had to downsize my monitor collection on a few occasions and I think there is a lot to be said for having just one proper sized monitor on a proper desk. I have actually been able to get more done this way and even not bothered to get the laptop screen out (which I thought would be invaluable for having emails on etc.). There is something special about having just the one immersive screen, even if a lot of ALT+TAB is needed.

As for a dash for an external screen full of cruft I don't see how it can help productivity. It is a lot of info there just on the off chance one might need it. If I really need to know what the weather is going to be like I can find it. As for the latest nonsense on Twitter I can live without it. Plus I have my phone for notifying me of anything I need to act on.

Remember search portals? A whole screen of cruft. Then Google came along with just the one search box. The Google approach was much better. This extra dash full of extra cruft goes against the minimal UI way of doing things. You might as well open up the standard Yahoo homepage in a browser window and put that on the external monitor, it makes about the same amount of sense.

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#28

Post by JonnieCache »

r0s wrote: post #20
tumblen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain how you use them?

Sure. I'll load the rendered view of the site I'm working on and flip through tabs on that window. Typically this takes up a whole screen, and It'll resize frequently if I'm working on a responsive site. Usually the code editor or IDE takes up a full screen, with it's file tree view or whatever even a full screen can be cramped. The document inspector/developer tools almost dominate the other screen. If you're used t…

Agreed. You can never have enough screen space.

How do people manage to code on macbook airs in coffee shops? I could never be truly productive like that...

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#29

Post by Systemic33 »

r0s wrote: post #20
tumblen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain how you use them?

Sure. I'll load the rendered view of the site I'm working on and flip through tabs on that window. Typically this takes up a whole screen, and It'll resize frequently if I'm working on a responsive site. Usually the code editor or IDE takes up a full screen, with it's file tree view or whatever even a full screen can be cramped. The document inspector/developer tools almost dominate the other screen. If you're used t…

I would love to see that, maybe take some photos of the setup? You could also submit a post on http://reddit.com/r/battlestations

Re: Show HN: A Dashboard for External Monitors

#30

Post by joetech »

bashevis wrote: post #9

UPDATE: As per popular request, SublimeDash has been open sourced on GitHub - https://github.com/broizen/sublimedash I'll write up a short guide on how to add a new module as well as requested modules like Google Calendar, Twitter, Facebook, etc. I'm very encouraged to take SublimeDash to the next level with all the positive feedback from you guys! Thanks!

Well that answers my question.
Post reply on HN