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Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

nytimes.com

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Re: Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

#21

Post by thisGuysAccount »

enobrev wrote: post #18
cthalupa wrote: post #16

Meh. What this article really means is "If you get distracted by things, keeping distractions up on more screens will make you more distracted." I have my laptop screen and 3 extra monitors: 1) Email. I keep my main inbox very filtered - email that shows up there is important and I need to see it and read it asap 2) IRC/OCS. Work communication primarily happens through these, and much of it is important. 3) Browser o…

How are you using the three external monitors from a laptop? The reason I stick with a desktop is because I very heavily rely upon three monitors and haven't found any decent solutions to do so with a laptop. I'm using ubuntu, so I understand if the OS is a limitation, but I'd still love to hear about what you're using to make it work.

You can get external USB monitors. I've used three displays on a laptop - DVI, laptop display, USB display

Re: Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

#23

Post by recursive »

coldtea wrote: post #11
sniddy wrote: post #3

truly laughable, also when your primary screen is a 27 inch 1080p wide panel display as he seems to have in the picture, you probably aren't feeling as constrained as most people with their 4 year old low res 15 inch laptops.

> truly laughable I, and lots of others, find it quite reasonable. Any counter-arguments besides the quick dismissal? > also when your primary screen is a 27 inch 1080p wide panel display as he seems to have in the picture, you probably aren't feeling as constrained as most people with their 4 year old low res 15 inch laptops Well, I work on a 15 inch laptop and don't feel constrained. And lots of people work on 13"…

I have a counter-argument that seems about as strong as the author's.

Sometimes I use one monitor and sometimes I use two. I perceive less friction when using two.

Re: Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

#24

Post by enobrev »

WalterSear wrote: post #10
coldtea wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And now you're split between two productive things. More reason to procrastrinate. Better just have the productive thing you should be focused on one at a time up on a sigle monitor.

Uhm, if it's distracting you from that task at hand, instead of helping you complete it, it's not a productive thing. My code editor lives on one screen, usually with four files in veiw. My browser and console live on the other. It's really no different that one screen.

Exactly right, communication tools should have no real estate if you're trying to focus. I keep three screens: one with multiple terminals, one with my code editor(s), and one for displaying whatever I'm coding (android emulator, browser, etc) as well as docs, research, etc.

If I'm coding, all comms are off to avoid any distraction - specifically to avoid notifications. I'm I'm in support mode (flapping server, etc), comms are up, but they get a tiny slice of real estate next to my terminal with logs and such so we can triage and move on.

Re: Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

#28

Post by enobrev »

honopu wrote: post #20
enobrev wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are you using the three external monitors from a laptop? The reason I stick with a desktop is because I very heavily rely upon three monitors and haven't found any decent solutions to do so with a laptop. I'm using ubuntu, so I understand if the OS is a limitation, but I'd still love to hear about what you're using to make it work.

I'm not who you asked, but I have: 2012 Retina macbook pro 15" 27" display port dell 24" display port dell 27" Samsung on hdmi to dvi cable. It will run all 4 screens at once.

Interesting. I have a 2013 MBP from work and my monitors have HDMI and I seem to recall HDMI / DP converters. I'll need to check if the display ports work well with ubuntu. Thanks!

(two 27s and a 24! Fantastic!)

Re: Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

#29

Post by auganov »

thisGuysAccount wrote: post #21
enobrev wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are you using the three external monitors from a laptop? The reason I stick with a desktop is because I very heavily rely upon three monitors and haven't found any decent solutions to do so with a laptop. I'm using ubuntu, so I understand if the OS is a limitation, but I'd still love to hear about what you're using to make it work.

You can get external USB monitors. I've used three displays on a laptop - DVI, laptop display, USB display

Same, I might just add that the USB monitor thing (well, DisplayLink at least) is not as bad as one would expect. It's surprisingly efficient and 99.9% of the time you won't notice the difference. When playing full screen video it might take up a bit of CPU power, but unless you're under heavy load already it won't matter. Been using a StarTech DisplayLink adapter for 2 years now and never complained.

EDIT: A quick google reveals it might not behave as well on a linux-based OS.

Re: Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One

#30

Post by sneakest »

I use two monitors to code, debug, shell, test, etc... with when I am working and nothing else is open on that machine other than work or research related to what I am doing. Not even email is open. All of my distractions (email included) are on my laptop with it's own extra screen. The key (for me anyway) is setting your screen saver to come on or go blank after a short period of inactivity mine is 5 minutes. This visually blocks anything from grabbing my attention on this machine. Now all the flashy alerts and popups are hidden from view.

This article should have been titled something else as the multiple monitors aren't the issue. If you are being distracted with multiple monitors from the work you are supposed to be doing then you need to close those distracting items or block them visually.

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