Live data from Hacker News

Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

wadetregaskis.com

21–30 of 314 posts

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#21
post #9

I don't think the issues of multi display really are only due the OS, my personal experience on multiple platform is that is suck regardless of whatever one thinks the solution would be. There are insolvable constraints implied by multi display: - Screen going on and off is an asynchronous mechanism that the OS has to treat by an event driven implementation. - All states must be valid (all graphical stuff must be put…

I'm on Linux and I don't have any of these issues

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#22
I agree with the author that having a display to the side means it’s not very useful for anything but documentation, but that still is a big use-case for me as a developer. Especially when you put the side display in portrait mode it’s absolutely perfect for viewing API docs or PDF files.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#23

I can't stand multiple displays, mac or not, they just distract me. I want one big display, something like 27" or 32". To each their own.

I was on a 32in 5k ultrawide.. trying out a 42 4k oled just now. My eyes are thanking me for the bigger screen realestate, but I did get used to the wideness of the UltraWide. Definitely better to go massive single in my view.

That OLED video look though, just can't be beaten..

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#24

I don't get why the screens sometimes swap around. It makes no sense to me that sometimes when I log in, my extra screens are switched and I have to move all the contents. The machine has the serial numbers of the screens, and it knows what ports they are connected to. Why can they not just use that information to remember where stuff is supposed to be? The other thing that annoys me is that it changes the background…

> I don't get why the screens sometimes swap around.

Windows had this problem for AGES if you had 1 or more DisplayPort monitors connected, and I think it was in 2020 that they finally fixed it. I used to use this utility [0] to remember my layout, then when I learned that the problem was DP I started making sure I had enough HDMI/DVI ports on my graphics card(s) to avoid DP altogether.

Now I keep it running anyway because it's incredibly convenient in case I accidentally minimize all my windows and then reopen one or something.

Maybe something similar exists for Mac?

[0] https://github.com/lapo-luchini/WindowsLayoutSnapshot

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#27
post #9

I don't think the issues of multi display really are only due the OS, my personal experience on multiple platform is that is suck regardless of whatever one thinks the solution would be. There are insolvable constraints implied by multi display: - Screen going on and off is an asynchronous mechanism that the OS has to treat by an event driven implementation. - All states must be valid (all graphical stuff must be put…

I'm on Linux and I don't have any of these issues

Well I have them all the time

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#28
> Side Docks aren’t practical. When the Dock is on the side, it only appears on the display that is farthest to that side.

I experience this pain daily. The frustration is compounded by the fact that Apple did something in an OS update 3(?) major versions ago that causes the built in MacBook Pro display to freeze when connected to an external display. I move the mouse to the built in display, it freezes, I wait up to 5s and then I can use the dock!

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#29
> The Mac operating system still Just. Fucking. Sucks. at remembering where windows were, when relaunching apps.

I agree and it's confounding. For me it's even worse: when plugging back into my home office after some work on the road, it doesn't remember the window positions associated with that setup, and I have to reorganize my dozens of windows away from the laptop screen again.

I've solved this through a 3rd-party tool, DisplayMaid https://funk-isoft.com/display-maid.html (which I found from a prior HN discussion)

It's particularly frustrating since Apple's most popular Mac product is their Macbooks, which have a rich docking and display ecosystem, so you'd think dynamically changing the desktop configuration would be solidly handled! But no.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#30

I can't stand multiple displays, mac or not, they just distract me. I want one big display, something like 27" or 32". To each their own.

I’ve been running a Phillips 49” ultrawide for nearly 2 years now and it is simply the best thing I’ve ever used. The USB-C / display port KVM built in works a treat and makes swapping from my laptop to my desktop a single plug, and the monitor itself mostly behaves itself with every device I’ve tried it with including an iPad.

I wish it was higher resolution but I suspect going beyond its 5120x1440 current resolution is pushing the limits of most display connections and standards at this point.

Overall though, I love it. Do recommend.

Post reply on HN