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Travelling with 24” Monitors

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Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#161

Post by ebg13 »

georgewsinger wrote: post #109

Working in VR allows you to travel with an infinite number of monitors, of any size you prefer. For example here is what it's like to work in a Linux VR Desktop on the HTC Vive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLuwG91HnI The problem is that plug-in headsets like the Vive are not very portable. The next evolution of something like this is to put the Linux VR Desktop on a standalone headset. If anyone is interested in…

Even a Valve Index which has much higher resolution than a Vive isn't viable for this unless you want to virtually sit very close to low resolution panels.

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#162

Post by theptip »

polote wrote: post #145
georgewsinger wrote: post #109

Working in VR allows you to travel with an infinite number of monitors, of any size you prefer. For example here is what it's like to work in a Linux VR Desktop on the HTC Vive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLuwG91HnI The problem is that plug-in headsets like the Vive are not very portable. The next evolution of something like this is to put the Linux VR Desktop on a standalone headset. If anyone is interested in…

Author here, definitely interested as it would make traveling much easier for me. With a setup like that is there any fatigue after a few hours of usage ?

I've found that the Oculus Quest is not perfectly comfortable for multiple hours of uninterrupted use while gaming, but I've not tried it for sitting at a desk coding. YMMV, I would wager that moving around while playing requires it to be tighter, and therefore makes it less comfortable.

The Quest might be the best one to test for travel though; it's relatively cheap, has fairly good resolution, and though it normally works as a standalone system, you can also tether it over USB3 to your main machine's graphics card:

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15135/oculus-link-software-av...

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#163

Post by Terretta »

codingdave wrote: post #14

I used to code with that type of setup, with multiple large monitors. But a few months back, I switched to a single 43" UHD TV instead. I get more screen real estate that I did before, have fewer cables to deal with, and have less of a mental paradigm shift when I do travel and shrink down to just one laptop screen. As soon as someone invents a way to fold or roll up a 40+ inch screen, I'll buy it.

> But a few months back, I switched to a single 43" UHD TV instead. I get more screen real estate that I did before

No you didn’t. If you switched from 2x 24” 4Ks to a single 43” 4K, you have half the real estate you used to, you’re just zoomed in on it.

To avoid confusing inches as a useful metric for how much information can be shown on screens at once, monitors should be measured in megapixels.

Problem’s even worse with “ultrawides” that are generally significantly lower dpi than their 4K siblings, so 1/2 to 1/4 the megapixels compared to dual 4Ks.

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#165

Post by bluedino »

fencepost wrote: post #119
leeoniya wrote: post #60

https://i.imgur.com/RUN11Hb.jpg

Dell (IIRC) used to have a portable workstation that when closed was basically a briefcase, with the hinge as the handle... After a bit of digging, the XPS M2010 20" entertainment 'laptop' released in 2006.

That was Dolch's main product: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/1226/Dolch-Computer-S...

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#166

Post by bluedino »

glenneroo wrote: post #132
leeoniya wrote: post #60

https://i.imgur.com/RUN11Hb.jpg

Back in the 90s a friend of mines dad donated a room full of new PCs for the pc lab (486 dx66) and some big monitors to our high school. My friend at the time thought that since he was the main one (voluntarily) tech supporting most of the PCs in the lab, and it being his dad who donated everything, that he could exchange a few things with his personal setup at home. Initially it was trading his 1MB RAM sticks for 4M…

The ID software guys used to carry their work desktops home at night to work on their own games.

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#167

Post by Razengan »

I've travelled with a single 27" iMac, which wasn't much of a problem, but it's a shame that Apple removed the "Target Display" mode [0] from the newer 5K/Retina iMacs. What the hell?

That would have been perfect, to have a lighter MacBook or even the newer USB-C iPad Pro for outdoors, with the 27" at the hotel, without having to sync data before working on the bigger screen. Or to host a visitor's Mac. But no, now you have to buy a separate 4K monitor if you want to view your Mac or iPad on a big screen, even if you have a perfectly good (and expensive) 5K iMac.

On a side note, can somebody recommend a good way to output my Nintendo Switch (or any other console) to a macOS window? I haven't owned a TV in ages, and even if I did being able to play my Switch on my laptop screen would be great while traveling.

[0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#169

Post by tsomctl »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #104
wil421 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still do that minus the knife as long as the tools are under 7 inches. They even allow power tools. For check in can bring whatever tools you want. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/...

Tehcnically true but any sort of toolbag seems to trigger being selected for a "random" groping by the TSA and with tools being so cheap nowadays it often makes sense to carry on your luggage (and maybe your favorite multimeter or something) and hit up Harbor Freight where you land.

The kind of people that are flying around to fix expensive equipment aren't going to tolerate using tools from Harbor Freight. And the people that own expensive equipment where you have to pay someone to fly in to fix it aren't going to want it being touched by Harbor Freight tools.

Re: Travelling with 24” Monitors

#170

Post by p1esk »

codetrotter wrote: post #48
codingdave wrote: post #14

I used to code with that type of setup, with multiple large monitors. But a few months back, I switched to a single 43" UHD TV instead. I get more screen real estate that I did before, have fewer cables to deal with, and have less of a mental paradigm shift when I do travel and shrink down to just one laptop screen. As soon as someone invents a way to fold or roll up a 40+ inch screen, I'll buy it.

Back in January of 2019 I bought a 55" UHD TV that I used as my main monitor for a few months. Ultimately, I found that 55" was too big for me relative to the distance that I was sitting from the screen. Currently I am back to using a 27" PC monitor with 2560x1440 resolution. I use this same monitor both when I use my desktop computer and when I use my laptop. In the latter case I have the additional monitor of the l…

Note there are right now fairly cheap 8k 55" TVs (Samsung Q900 series), and LG is releasing 48" 4k OLED TV soon. But I agree that these are way too large for working with text.

Regarding ergonomics, here are some obvious improvements:

1. A motorized sit/stand desk. Stand up every hour, or whenever you feel like stretching.

2. A decent chair: Leap and Embody are the best (I tried many).

3. High refresh rate monitors. If you're looking at moving text often (e.g. while scrolling) it's much easier on the eyes. Personally I'm getting two Asus XG27UQ as soon as they appear on Amazon. Also anything less than 4k on 27" monitor looks like crap. 5k looks even better, but there are currently no high refresh rate offerings. Hard to say which one more important for eye comfort - resolution or refresh rate, both are, so spend a bit more and get both.

4. Good headphones, or speakers if you work alone (speakers aren't as tiring for my ears as headphones with prolonged use). When there are other people around I use HD600 or QC35II depending on noise level, otherwise I enjoy my Edifier S360DB. Working in silence is great too sometimes.

Finally, try to get out to a park or a beach and let your eyes and mind rest a little. Leave your phone in the car. Or better yet bike/run there.

p.s. I'm 42, got my PhD in machine learning last year, currently keep track of my new R&D job projects, and an exciting personal side project, and two kids at home. Never felt sharper.

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