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Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

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Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#441

Post by hombre_fatal »

Nullabillity wrote: post #371
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> some web pages zoom text by viewport size, which I hate, and a bigger monitor would then just make it worse. Not that it excuses bad UX, but you might consider keeping your browser window at something below full width. I find this more comfortable anyway. Total aside: I've noticed Windows and Linux users tend to keep their windows fully maximized, whereas Mac users don't. Doesn't apply to everyone of course, but en…

I guess macOS' window management is bad enough that treating it as a pile of paper is the only way to manage.

I don't see how alt-tabbing through maximized windows on macOS is different from Windows and Linux like the OP is suggesting. Though I do keep my browser at half-width on my ultrawide monitor because it's somewhat of an exotic/untested aspect ratio for websites.

Also any power user that cares will use a tool like Divvy on macOS for arranging windows with hotkeys.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#442

Post by geerlingguy »

the_af wrote: post #76

The technical details are all right (or seem right to me, anyway), but this is too opinionated for my liking. No, you do not need a 4K monitor for software development. Some people might like them, some won't. [edit/clarification: someone rightfully pointed out that nobody will actively dislike a 4K monitor. I was unclear here: I meant "some people won't need them" more than "dislike them"] This sounds like when Jeff…

If you use an OS that handles high DPI very well, and where 98% of all apps handle it just as well (including resolution scaling), it is an absolute joy to my eyes to be able to use 4K at the same effective resolution (so basically 1080p, but double the resolution, double the sharpness).

Every time I use a 'non-retina' type of display (like an old laptop I use for testing or my 19" 1080p monitor), it feels like I'm looking through some dirty glass because of the blotchy effect.

I tried 4K on one linux environment (and documented the experience[1]), and according to numerous responses, my situation was not unique: if you try 4K on any Linux environment, and don't enjoy everything being tiny, then it's not a fun time trying to get everything to behave like you can with Apple's built in resolution scaling options.

[1] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2020/i-replaced-my-macbook...

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#443

Post by kazinator »

LegitShady wrote: post #432
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you used a 4K display? I'll go one step further: I used the LG 27" 5K Display for two whole years before returning to a 34" Ultrawide with a more typical DPI. Obviously I preferred the pixel density and image quality of the high-DPI screen, but I find myself more productive on the 34" Ultrawide with a regular DPI. (FWIW, LG now has a newer pseudo-5K Ultrawide that strikes a balance between the two). I look for…

I upgraded from dual 34" ultrawides to one 49" super ultrawide and won't look back. 5140x1440 on a single monitor at 120hz.

That's just two monitors in one that you cannot rotate into a two-pane, effectively 2880x2570 configuration. Nice that there no division, of course.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#444

Post by jedberg »

I have two monitors. A 27" Apple Cinema display from 2012 that I got used in 2015, and an LG Ultra HD (4K) that I picked up last year new.

Yes, the LG is newer, 4K, has a higher DPI, etc. But I often find myself putting my most important windows on the Apple Display. The color is just so much more beautiful and vibrant, the clarity and contrast are superior, it's just so much better.

Sure, I can't fit as much code on it as the LG, but boy is it pretty. Apple definitely puts quality in their monitors. It's a shame they left the consumer market in 2016.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#445

Post by dmoy »

You can pry my cheap A- panel Korean no-name brand 8+ year old monitor with one working button (thankfully the power button!) and a bunch of stuck pixels from my cold, dead, miserly hands.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#446

Post by mulmen »

TylerE wrote: post #328
thomaslord wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hello! Person who actively dislikes 4k here. In my experience: 1. No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode. Depending on the OS that can mean it renders tiny, or that the whole things is super ugly and pixelated (WAY worse than on a native 1080p display) 2. If the 4k screen is on your laptop, good luck ever having a decent experience plu…

4K on a desktop is just sorta silly. Now.... 1440p is a very useful bump over 1080.

My day job involves untangling SQL that was written under fire. I consume more spaghetti than a pre-covid Olive Garden. Every vertical pixel is precious for grokking what some sub query is doing in the context of the full statement.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#447

Post by microcolonel »

chrismorgan wrote: post #95

Concerning the smoothing, I presume this is macOS’s glyph dilation. pcwalton reverse engineered it in order to replicate it in Pathfinder (so that it can render text exactly like Core Text does), concluding that the glyph dilation is “min(vec2(0.3px), vec2(0.015125, 0.0121) * S) where S is the font size in px” ( https://twitter.com/pcwalton/status/918991457532354560 ). Fun times. Trouble is, people then get used to m…

I've blocked font-weight: 300 in my browser because of this permanent macOS bug. It's funny because people now abuse a thoughtfully-designed CSS property to disable this dilation on webpages, to the point that that CSS property is used exclusively to account for macOS's incorrect font rendering and is inert on other platforms.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#448

Post by tly_alex »

thomaslord wrote: post #239
the_af wrote: post #76

The technical details are all right (or seem right to me, anyway), but this is too opinionated for my liking. No, you do not need a 4K monitor for software development. Some people might like them, some won't. [edit/clarification: someone rightfully pointed out that nobody will actively dislike a 4K monitor. I was unclear here: I meant "some people won't need them" more than "dislike them"] This sounds like when Jeff…

Hello! Person who actively dislikes 4k here. In my experience: 1. No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode. Depending on the OS that can mean it renders tiny, or that the whole things is super ugly and pixelated (WAY worse than on a native 1080p display) 2. If the 4k screen is on your laptop, good luck ever having a decent experience plu…

Same here.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#449

Post by dewey »

ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #388

Wow $2000 USD for a monitor? I thought I was pushing it yesterday when I got a new 27' monitor for $200. I don't think as programmers we need anything more than a 27' inch 1080p. What am I missing? I don't think it's worth the expense. On another note, that mustard yellow as the background color is an eyesore.

> Wow $2000 USD for a monitor?

My monitors usually last me for a long time, right now I'm using a Dell P2715Q 4K that I got 5 years ago and I'm staring at it every day for multiple hours.

It wasn't that expensive but a good monitor is definitely worth the money and is not something you should cheap out on if possible.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#450

Post by majormajor »

the_af wrote: post #76

The technical details are all right (or seem right to me, anyway), but this is too opinionated for my liking. No, you do not need a 4K monitor for software development. Some people might like them, some won't. [edit/clarification: someone rightfully pointed out that nobody will actively dislike a 4K monitor. I was unclear here: I meant "some people won't need them" more than "dislike them"] This sounds like when Jeff…

I'd take a 2560x1440 monitor (or 2 or 3!) over 1080p displays that the author seems to prefer, even if those 1080p display are actually 4k pixel-wise...

Being able to see more things >>>>>>> sharper text, once you're past 100dpi or so at least.

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