81–90 of 185 posts
Main thing that was contributing to that is Cosmic desktop environment is has amazing defaults and adaptive scaling and if I need two displays just put window in second workspace.
For years, I resisted even using an external monitor, preferring to work on my laptop's monitor instead. I finally switched to using a monitor when poor posture started getting uncomfortable.
I almost always have just one window on the screen, maximized. I'm also using virtual desktops to switch between the browser/app and the IDE. This kind of setup really helps me with the focus, but at the same time it's not too annoying.
I used to just use the macOS virtual desktops, but with the Apple Silicon transition, they also added annoyingly slow animation for desktop switching. That can not be turned off (seriously, wtf, Apple?). I jumped to FlashSpace the second I found about it.
I use one 24 inch monitor with my laptops, and keep all the interruptions like Messages/Signal and Mail on the smaller screen. Nothing else generates notifications.
It's a matter of discipline,that's all.
To me, since I always need to have two apps side by side, a 34" screen have done wonders.
I have my main app as a regular 16/9 window, and the secondary on the side.
By putting the screen at the right distance and height, I don't have to move my head and my eyes just move a little to go through everything on the screen.
And my main window still give me more information than if I had full-screened it on my MBP 14" screen (typically, I can see my whole Jira dashboard on the 34" screen while I have to scroll on the 14").
On the other hand, having two screens (laptop + external) is terrible. Not the same resolution, having to turn the head...
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One thing that is bothering me reading the article: I find the whole clutter on OP's desktop quite distracting!
The cables coming out of the laptop, the things on the wall behind the laptop... That's something that would definitely kill my focus!
At the office and at home, I've put a blank wall/separator in front of me so the only thing in my vision is the screen.
I was wondering about this for a while now. My main home office has 5 monitors, and i still have to swipe between desktops regularly. I used to have 6, but two ultrawides stacked one above the other was a bit painful and I developed a back pain after a while. My on the road setup typically involves a folding portable monitor (asus zenscreen duo, or something to that effect - that is 2x 1080p). Easily enough, and I do…
I find real loss on a single screen in many cases; so much so that I'll get up and move downstairs to get the extra screens. It really depends on what kind of work I'm doing - and if I'm on the plane, I'm going to likely do work that does well single-screen; replying to emails, dicking around on HN, etc. But in maxscreen mode (or at least two screens) then I'm "doing" something on the main screen while looking at ref…
When I work on frontend I much rather have preview on second screen and most likely reference next to it.
When writing documentation or requirements I cannot imagine working on a single screen as essentially I am integrating multiple data sources into one, like I need to see how app looks now and before release, what changed and still have my working space for draft.
Switching windows to quickly look up documentation is fine but when creating requirements having time to understand what needs to be in which place how it has to evolve I need to have it right there so that my imagination doesn’t runaway.
Like everything else in life, it depends : * I feel the key message here is "single vs multiple windows", not small vs big monitor. I love my 32" curved monitor. I too switched from having three monitors to having just one big monitor and staying with one maximizing window majority of time. It's also role dependant. I spent few years as ops manager and multiple windows and situational awareness / task parallelization…
I've switched to Word akin to how I used to do it with Google Docs as that works much better.
Perhaps it's given away by "One" in the name (one simultaneous editor)? Or am I holding it wrong?
I need to do cross referencing quite a bit, and even with quick iterations in development, I like having documentation and output (terminal, browser...) side by side with Emacs as my IDE (I don't use Emacs' built-in window management as much, but it'd be the same thing).
Using large 16:9 screens ensures I keep enough vertical space compared to ultra-wides, and high res is crucial for smooth text (scaled properly).
Once I realized that in order to answer a single question I needed to Cmd+Tab at least four times, often more, I added two monitors and it’s dramatically lowered my stress level.
FYI, on older MacBooks you can’t add more than one extra screen, but if you get a DisplayLink dongle it works perfectly.
I spent decades completely happy with Cmd+Tab. Now I’m helping someone develop a trading system and I need to see several log files simultaneously, a broker GUI, and neovim. Once I realized that in order to answer a single question I needed to Cmd+Tab at least four times, often more, I added two monitors and it’s dramatically lowered my stress level. FYI, on older MacBooks you can’t add more than one extra screen, bu…
I am never gonna sway away from i3 [1], a notification free tiled window desktop system is just way too convenient. When I have to bootup a Windows VM for work (I am a malware analyst most of the time) I am losing my mind with all the notifications and blocking popup windows all the time. I have no idea why people are tolerating this as their work setup. It is hostile design to its users.
I use my computer to work. I don't want a computer that works me all the time.
[1] for desktop/GUI apps I use a mixture of GNOME forks and LXDE apps. Everything that makes popups when running in the background is avoided.*