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4K is for programmers

tiamat.tsotech.com

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Re: 4K is for programmers

#291

Post by veidr »

Sssnake wrote: post #282
MetaCosm wrote: post #104

> Today, you can still buy a 30-inch 2560x1600 display for over $1,000. Or you can get a 39-inch 3840x2160 display for $500. This choice is not even fair. Yes, you can buy a wonderful, physically adjustable, mountable, color calibrated, blissful contrast, delightful brightness control monitor with a great matte finish like the Dell 3014... or you can buy an absolutely awful 30hz, locked in place, blue tinted, horribl…

>with a great matte finish Isn't that an oxymoron? Why would you want an intentionally blurry screen?

So you can see what is on the screen. I used to have best Dell 27" and the Apple Thunderbolt 27" display side by side (the ones I had used the exact same panel).

The Apple was glossy and the Dell was matte. If you peer at the Dell, you can see the matte coating -- but everything was nevertheless much more readable for most of the day due to the glare from the glossy screen (it was an office with a lot of natural light). Only at twilight did the Apple provide superior visibility.

So matte finishes are extremely helpful in some circumstances (depending on the lighting and type of room), and some matte finishes are a lot better than others.

Re: 4K is for programmers

#292

Post by shurcooL »

interpol_p wrote: post #71
dllthomas wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Merging is better with a dedicated merge tool than a command line merge. I have to resolve conflicts one to three times per day and I couldn't imagine a non-visual merge interface for complex files where manual edits from both sides are necessary. Being able to see it all at once helps." Being able to see it all at once absolutely helps, but on a big enough console you can see it all just fine. Vimdiff is great. A l…

Fair enough, I normally use DiffMerge and find it fairly quick at pulling relevant sections from the files being merged. But I agree that the three pane preview is a must.

DiffMerge is my all-time favorite visual diff tool, with 2 fatal flaws that upset me so much...

1. Unable to edit text on the left side, only the right. >.2. Related to 1, unable to simply paste two pieces of text into two views and compare them, the way you could on www.quickdiff.com. You have to manually create 2 files each time.

So sad, because it is so good in all other ways! And it's not open source, so I can't step up and contribute. :(

Re: 4K is for programmers

#293

Post by stragulus »

jkscm wrote: post #110
kayoone wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Id say in terms of productivity it adds almost nothing because the biggest things holding a programmers productivity back have nothing todo with display size. Better get rid of interruptions, procrastination, bad tools etc. That being said programmer happiness is elemental and a 42inch 4K screen would add to that for me :)

Tabbing between windows can be an distraction. The stack-like function of the tab mechanism does not help it either.

Nope..hate that too. I've been using virtual desktops since the 90's to overcome that issue. I use up to 8 vdesktops that I address absolutely by using numpad1 .. numpad8. Each number has a specific function (generic browser, email, editors, db, virtual servers, gimp, ...). Nothing generally overlaps, and switching is instantaneous.

Re: 4K is for programmers

#294

Post by stragulus »

leoc wrote: post #179
MetaCosm wrote: post #104

> Today, you can still buy a 30-inch 2560x1600 display for over $1,000. Or you can get a 39-inch 3840x2160 display for $500. This choice is not even fair. Yes, you can buy a wonderful, physically adjustable, mountable, color calibrated, blissful contrast, delightful brightness control monitor with a great matte finish like the Dell 3014... or you can buy an absolutely awful 30hz, locked in place, blue tinted, horribl…

Sad to say, for many programmers and other people who aren't AV types, the step up in resolution— plus the saving of over $500—is likely worth the dodgy colour and brightness. Many won't even really notice the badness. That said, some of the $600-ish mystery-meat 2560×1600 displays apparently have good display quality and so may be a stronger alternative to the Seiki.

If it was 60Hz I would certainly consider it right now. But 30Hz is really killing it, the other issues are no big deal for programming work. I've programmed using cheap LCD screens since the early '00s that were horrible 6-bit TN panels with only very few different shades of gray. Still not an issue at all.

I'll wait for the Think Vision Pro 2840m for $799 in April though.

Re: 4K is for programmers

#295

Post by seabrookmx »

pyre wrote: post #275
kudu wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, you could buy a nice 27" 2560x1440 Qnix QX2710 ( http://www.2560x1440monitor.com/index.php?route=product/prod... ), which has an excellent Samsung PLS panel and can often be overclocked to 120Hz.

I like the "Up to 5 dead pixels" on the product image. Makes it sound like a feature, "5 Dead Pixels in every monitor, guaranteed!"

You can find retailers that sell "Pixel Perfect" models with none, but you pay a decent premium for it.

Re: 4K is for programmers

#296

Post by f00_ »

shiven wrote: post #286
MetaCosm wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At $500, there are FAR better monitors. Bad contrast, bad brightness, bad everything. If you buy your programmers this, buy them a years supply of pills to deal with the headaches it will induce. Again, this isn't like a "bad for picky art professionals" type of bad. Just awful, I wouldn't even sell it to anyone I knew personally because I knew it would come back to bite me.

At $500, there are FAR better monitors. You keep repeating this as if it is some magic mantra. You have not defined any what "better" really means in manner that can be quantified and compared without introducing subjective opinions of a user. Also, care to link to these "better" monitors, including sellers that sell these for the $500 price, as well as non-subjective reviews?

Better monitors very easily be objectively conceived. Latency, refresh rate, contrast ratio, brightness, input options, are all easily measured.

"Better" monitors are easily found through a simple search, and how do you exactly determine a review to be "non-subjective"?

http://www.displaylag.com/display-database/ http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/tvs/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/a-great-27-inch-lcd-monitor...

Re: 4K is for programmers

#297

Post by derekp7 »

veidr wrote: post #291
Sssnake wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>with a great matte finish Isn't that an oxymoron? Why would you want an intentionally blurry screen?

So you can see what is on the screen. I used to have best Dell 27" and the Apple Thunderbolt 27" display side by side (the ones I had used the exact same panel). The Apple was glossy and the Dell was matte. If you peer at the Dell, you can see the matte coating -- but everything was nevertheless much more readable for most of the day due to the glare from the glossy screen (it was an office with a lot of natural ligh…

Aren't there low-reflectivity glossy screens now? For example, on my Nexus 4, I can barely see my reflection when the screen is dark, although a lamp or window in the right direction is visible (but not so much that it overpowers the backlight).

Re: 4K is for programmers

#298

Post by rspeer »

stragulus wrote: post #293
jkscm wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tabbing between windows can be an distraction. The stack-like function of the tab mechanism does not help it either.

Nope..hate that too. I've been using virtual desktops since the 90's to overcome that issue. I use up to 8 vdesktops that I address absolutely by using numpad1 .. numpad8. Each number has a specific function (generic browser, email, editors, db, virtual servers, gimp, ...). Nothing generally overlaps, and switching is instantaneous.

Assuming your window manager has some overall spatial layout of desktops, or a preview that highlights the current desktop: why not add a 9th one? Then you can arrange them in a 3x3 grid in your window manager, the same way they already are on your numpad.

I do this and it gives an incredibly tactile feel to desktop management.

Re: 4K is for programmers

#299

Post by djur »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #220
cdr wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that I've tried it, but dual 30" seems like it'd be a bit much for me. Or the OP's dream 50". There's only so much you can focus on at a time, and only so far you can turn your head to change focus, though I guess depending on what you do you might want more areas of focus. 3 window columns seems to be where I'm most comfortable, but I've never tried a display bigger than 1x30". I do keep a 'dashboard' on a small…

You don't focus on everything at once. Secondary windows can be viewed peripherally -- for instance you can tail a log, and your peripheral vision will notice motion. The other benefit is multiple windows as an alternative to alt-tab. Moving your eyes slightly is a lot easier than pressing alt-tab -- it's can be done without concious thought, so it doesn't interrupt your "zone".

Interesting. I found I got a lot more productive when I switched from a large monitor with multiple windows to a smaller monitor with a single window switched via keyboard. And that was specifically because it was faster and required less thought to flip through windows than to remember where the window I wanted to look at was and to move my eyes to it.

However, I have poor eyesight and very poor peripheral vision, so that might have something to do with it. If I'm trying to watch for movement out of the corner of my eye I frequently get false positives from visual aberrations.

Re: 4K is for programmers

#300

Post by djur »

sixothree wrote: post #257
Joeri wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently doing my hobby programming projects on a 10 inch screen (asus t100), and have set up my flow so that i don't need a bigger screen. I used to have a three monitor setup, but at some point realized that all that real estate was preventing me to focus. Now i only want one window on screen at a time. Alt+tab is my extra screen real estate. My usual screen is 22 inches and that's about the maximum size for p…

You must not work from lengthy spec documents that often.

I'd rather scroll than tilt my head up and down to read. And I can only read one thing at a time, so it doesn't give me any benefit to have both documentation and code on screen at the same time.
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