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Ask HN: Coding outdoors

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Re: Ask HN: Coding outdoors

#31

Post by jnbiche »

jongold wrote: post #15

A couple of years back I bought a MacBook Pro with the antiglare display for this very reason. It was great to be able to work in the garden, in theory, but then you realise MBPs have/had awful battery life, especially in the sun, and when they get hot they're literally painful to work on. Oops. Would love a simple, cheap, tiny Linux netbook with high quality keyboard & trackpad. Resigned myself to the fact that I'll…

>Would love a simple, cheap, tiny Linux netbook with high quality keyboard & trackpad.

I've had good success with the Acer Aspire One netbooks and Linux. And other than the power jack (which I've had to replace), I've been very happy with the quality.

And if you run a distro like Crunchbang, it boots up very rapidly. Even Linux Mint with Mate or Cinnamon runs well on it.

Re: Ask HN: Coding outdoors

#32

Post by simi_ »

stevejalim wrote: post #21
simi_ wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airs still have TN panels, just get the cheapest 13" Pro and enter a different world of display quality (source: I own both of them).

Can you spare a moment to educate me about the panels (what, how different, which machines)? (I've got a 2011 15in MBP - last of the models one could maintain oneself, so am keeping it alive as long as poss)

You should be fine, MBPs have had IPS panels for a long time IIRC. It's mainly about viewing angles, colour reproduction, and brightness.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tn+vs+ips

Re: Ask HN: Coding outdoors

#33

Post by colinramsay »

urlwolf wrote: post #30
colinramsay wrote: post #22

I've tried this a couple of times. IMO screen technology in sunlight is the limiting factor - no-one's made a laptop screen good enough to make this work without you straining your eyes. Shame, because I write this from my office and I can see that it's a gloriously sunny day outside!

I've worked from the beach for months. Granted, this was in the UK, and there wasn't much sun to worry about :) But the best solution I could come up with was a screen cover. It attached itself to the monitor, and created a foldable 'camera obscura' for the screen. Works great to avoid reflections, and to minimize brightness needed.

Ha, I'm also in the UK. That was one of the solutions I came up with - in fact I built the first one out of cardboard. I just would feel like a bit of a tit sat on the beach with a cardboard laptop hood but I guess if I spent a bit more time making something sleek looking...

Re: Ask HN: Coding outdoors

#35

Post by bildung »

colinramsay wrote: post #22

I've tried this a couple of times. IMO screen technology in sunlight is the limiting factor - no-one's made a laptop screen good enough to make this work without you straining your eyes. Shame, because I write this from my office and I can see that it's a gloriously sunny day outside!

There actually are quite a few devices with transflective displays out there, and for quite a few years, too (at least ten IIRC). Most of them are in tablet format, tough, marketed for the medical and construction industries. Panasonic has the Toughbook line of notebooks and used to sell them as outdoor capable. I don't know whether these use transflective/reflective panels or just really powerful backlights, though.

Re: Ask HN: Coding outdoors

#36

Post by jimmaswell »

JetSpiegel wrote: post #23
daemonk wrote: post #19

Is the screen in google glass big enough or bright enough to work on? Ideally, it would be nice not to have to lug around the laptop and burn your thighs. Just have a bluetooth keyboard/mouse connected to a head mounted screen system.

Doesn't that negate the upsides of being outside?

Isn't it for the air and the nice environment to look at around you? What other upsides are you talking about that are negated by the suggestion?

Re: Ask HN: Coding outdoors

#38

Post by easyname »

Currently I live at rented room on roof top of a residential building. Temperature of my city(Bangalore) is around 22 degree centigrade(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore#Climate), mostly cloudy. I have setup a table with four chair outside on the roof. I find it pleasant to work outside mostly during morning and evening. In day time if its cloudy and little wind, I feel better working outside.

I use macbook and sublime to do my work, light reflection sometimes blurs the text, but it is mostly tricky, I try different position and get it working. It's little difficult to work outside during sunny days.

At times I love the reflection of sky on my screen http://imgur.com/a/ZhOv2

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