I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode • Hacker News Board

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#251

Post by alphadogg » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 8:24 PM UTC

scottschulthess wrote: post #115

agentultra wrote: post #35

This has to be the most ergonomically inefficient set-up ever! I also cannot fathom how to work with 21" at least). And a tiling window manager. And a decent mechanical keyboard... ok ok.. Interesting setup. I'd be interested in knowing how it works out in the long term.

Having multiple monitors isn't good eronomically IMO. I always prefer what I'm working on to be on direct center, and I don't really see the point of having other stuff that isn't direct center. I prefer to alt-tab.

Are you sure of that? My understanding is that there's no difference between single and multi-monitors, ergonomically.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#252

Post by randallsquared » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 8:27 PM UTC

moconnor wrote: post #34

kayoone wrote: post #26

You could actually do the same thing WITH a Macbook Air/Pro. The beauty of a cloud linux instance + gnu screen isnt limited to the ipad and so you could still have a bigger screen and the possibility to go back to GUI apps if you need them. I like this for travelling on the go, but spending my normal workday in 1024 resolution ? Naaa.

This is true, but I'd be sacrificing the silence, the portability and the battery life. And the hipster factor, I guess. 102x768 isn't for everyone, but in text-mode it's all the same. I've no idea how many hours I've spent on a huge high-res monitor staring at a relatively tiny terminal window surrounded by a pretty desktop picture.

If there's more than a little visible desktop around my terminal, I feel like I'm working through a keyhole. Also, being able to stretch out horizontally to 160 characters or more is wonderfully relaxing; it makes chaining two or three tests in an IF readable, in the process saving at least two lines of vertical space, which is in far shorter supply on modern 16:9 displays. (Although, it seems you use your iPad in portrait orientation, which reverses these benefits, I suppose).

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#253

Post by raganwald » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 8:27 PM UTC

zachleat wrote: post #227

raganwald wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two kinds of programmers: Those who’ve earned their experience the hard way, and insufferable know-it-alls who parrot whatever was in the last witty blog post they read. There’s zero shame in being the first kind :-)

What's the URL to the blog post where you read this? :)

http://twitter.com/#!/raganwald/status/131738600931995648

:-P

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#254

Post by nitrogen » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 8:28 PM UTC

seigenblues wrote: post #184

sliverstorm wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once upon a time programming was a lot of thinking, a little typing, and even less compiling. Maybe even some pen+paper and chalkboards. If you go back to that way of programming, I don't see why poor ergos would be a problem. Certainly not "in vogue" and I don't know if it's feasible today. Still an interesting thought.

why did this get downvoted? it's a valid point. This is actually the first time i've seen a downvoted comment that i just, really can't understand why it was downvoted. Anyone care to explain?

This is actually the first time i've seen a downvoted comment that i just, really can't understand why it was downvoted. Anyone care to explain?

Occasionally an unintended downvote happens when someone on a touchscreen tries to scroll or upvote.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#255

Post by deanproxy » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 8:43 PM UTC

The lack of ability to look at documentation/stackoverflow/code examples in a browser while simultaneously coding out said example and making the changes I need would severely limit my productivity. "Just copy and paste!" you may say... Sure, that'll work. Only, wait, I forgot what that one line meant, is it needed? What did they say about changing this piece of code that was "really important?" Crap, back to the browser. Let's switch apps again. Crap, the page in the browser is having to reload because I had too many tabs open and memory got low, now I have to wait for it to reload. Where was I on the page? Cause when it reloaded the page, it put me back at the top. Wait, that wasn't the tab I wanted, it's that other tab. Great! It has to reload now too!

I typically work with a single external monitor connected to my Macbook and use the Macbook for holding my mail client, chat and a browser while my Terminal's and IDE are on the external monitor. This works best for me.

Now that spaces and expose are so tied together, working with even just one screen is much nicer. I have toyed with the idea of just using a single external monitor and use spaces extensively. Just a swipe and I'm at a new space. This is much faster and nicer than changing apps on iOS.

I think it's a neat trial idea, but for long term productivity, it certainly is more of a "hipster factor" than useful.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#256

Post by mushishi » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 8:57 PM UTC

agentultra wrote: post #35

This has to be the most ergonomically inefficient set-up ever! I also cannot fathom how to work with 21" at least). And a tiling window manager. And a decent mechanical keyboard... ok ok.. Interesting setup. I'd be interested in knowing how it works out in the long term.

I use 27" Dell for my Java development and 11" MacBook Air for Javascript. The bigger screen is essential for pair programming but 11" is almost good enough for most purposes. Its size causes most problems when I need to inspect the dom inside a browser.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#257

Post by SoftwareMaven » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 9:10 PM UTC

I'm in the process of deciding on a laptop upgrade. I can't decide between an 11" MacBook Air or a 15" MacBook Pro. If I could get a nice Thunderbolt 3D accelerator, the Air would win hands-down.

I'm really close to moving to remote work for almost everything development related, but I photoshop enough to worry about the Air being underpowered. Any good cloud answers for that?

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#258

Post by sliverstorm » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 9:21 PM UTC

jiggy2011 wrote: post #240

sliverstorm wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have seen this kind of thing more and more as of late. I have concluded we are beginning to see downvotes used as "dislike" rather than "disagree". For example, suppose I posted a comment irrefutably proving that Ruby was the worst programming language ever written. A year or two ago, I would have been upvoted for making useful observations. I suspect today I would be downvoted, because people like Ruby. Note: I ha…

The way I see it , downvoting is intended for comments which are "bad" (irrelevent , rude , incomprehensible , just rehashing what has already been said etc) this makes sense because downvoted comments are made harder to read. Just because most people disagree with a post does not necessarily mean it is not worth reading.. Pherhaps there should be a seperate disagree button but I don't see what purposes it would serv…

I'm also ok with downvoting for comments which you "disagree (factually)", aka you strongly believe the comment is simply objectively incorrect.

For example, if I made an unsubstantiated statement that "Water is composed of Hydrogen and Nitrogen", that would be worthy of downvotes.

Where that gets tricky is when someone asserts something couter to common wisdom, but attempts to substantiate it. You then need to evaluate their defense first.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#259

Post by wtallis » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 9:23 PM UTC

chernevik wrote: post #205

wizard_2 wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, if TimeMachine screws up a file it stays screwed up for ever after every backup, there's no integrity checking. It also completly barfs on large files that change little by little. The best example of that is the entourage mail store, but any single file db will do. I've seen clients bit bad by these problems. Don't get me started on the time capsule...

What should we use instead?

Point your Time Machine backups at a NAS that's using ZFS with block-level deduplication.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#260

Post by calibraxis » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 9:30 PM UTC

julian37 wrote: post #237

seigenblues wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why did this get downvoted? it's a valid point. This is actually the first time i've seen a downvoted comment that i just, really can't understand why it was downvoted. Anyone care to explain?

I'm mostly with sliverstorm (and upvoted him). People often wonder why I'm working on a 13" Macbook and ask if the display isn't too small. That's when I point to my head and tell them that's where the action takes place, not on the keyboard or the screen. (Obligatory: http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&s... ) That said, decent ergonomics are almost always a good thing. Even if you're not typing a…

Ah, a fellow Natural Keyboard (Pro?) user! I buy a bunch of those used. However, the recent Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboards seem to have an even better keypress feel for me.

YMMV.