18 ms·

Travelling with 24” Monitors

• MuffinFlavored 7y ago
  I would have thought TSA would "x-ray" (or whatever it is they do) through your bag and pull you off to the side for further investigation super quickly.
  • BooneJS 7y ago
    Nothing quite like partially disassembled, partially glued electronics to tick the box on a security checklist.
    • nickjj 7y ago
      It's surprising at how little this matters. I came back from a tech event once with a build a robot kit, except I'm a very light packer and the box was huge so I had to take everything out and fit it into a backpack along with everything else I had. I had a compartment that had an assortment of circuit boards, screws, wires, plastic pieces, etc.. No one even batted an eye and the bag went straight through the carry on x-ray machine. This was in San Jose, California while preparing for a cross country flight. I was surprised too.
      • eliasbagley 7y ago
        They aren't looking for electronics - they are looking for large masses that could be fuel for the explosives. Big blocks of clay, liquids, etc. A jumble of electronics alone with nothing that can actually explode is common and doesn't ring any alarm bells. I discovered this after talking to a TSA agent after flying a few times with my modular synthesizer, where I was surprised that it was never pulled for extra screening.
        • solstice 7y ago
          Magic the gathering decks (60-100 cards) also seem to trigger this as they also show up as dark blocks on x-ray
        • _jal 7y ago
          My mother makes soap and tends to give me a few bars when I visit. I have learned to mail it back to myself; taking a few 2"x3"x5"-ish blocks of a uniform-density material through the airport is a guaranteed close look.
          • deleted 7y ago
            [deleted]
          • Drakar1903 7y ago
            What I'm reading is that it's possible to sneak a bomb through as long as the bomb smells like lavender.
        • wvenable 7y ago
          Yes, baby wipes will get you searched every time. They just look like dense bricks of material on the x-ray.
          • john_moscow 7y ago
            Same for a rectangular pack of biscuits.
        • benibela 7y ago
          They closely examined the cucumber in my bag
          • DoreenMichele 7y ago
            Drugs hidden in a cucumber truck: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-fentanyl-bust-largest-ever-20190131-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-fentanyl-bust... Also, plants or foods are sometimes forbidden because of potential to carry vermin, plant diseases, etc. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/prohibited-and-restricted-items https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/pr...
      • eqvinox 7y ago
        A friend once forgot a bare PCB TV-b-gone in a coat pocket while traveling EU to US. He noticed it right at the first checkpoint. They asked what it is, laughed at the response, and went "eh, as long as there are no wires dangling off it, we don't care." He stuffed it in a bag and had no further issues. Why the wires would've made a difference is beyond me...
        • mynegation 7y ago
          You obviously don’t watch Tv shows like 24. Wires is something you stick into the explosive.
    • lb1lf 7y ago
      When in university, I took part in a CUBEsat effort. I brought the mechanical assembly -no electronics, just the aluminium structure- of our satellite to CalPoly for a CUBEsat workshop; on the way back to Europe I found out the hard way that anything which goes into space is considered munitions as far as the US DoD is concerned. Took a while longer than expected to get on my flight...
      • mike50 7y ago
        ITAR not just DOD.
    • mhandley 7y ago
      A year or so back my son and his friends built a muon detector as a high school project, and then flew it from London to Germany and back to measure muon rates at altitude. Basically two metal boxes glued together, with some hand cut holes for display and power. Inside, a large block of solid plastic scintillator, wrapped in foil, with a bunch of hand-made electronics connected to it. Suspicious? Only a bit. I wrote a letter on headed university paper, explaining what it was, and with contact details in case they needed to phone. At Stansted, the kid carrying it got the third degree, eveything put though the explosives sniffer, and so forth. The security person afterwards told him it ticked all the boxes except one for a bomb. Would love to know what that one was! They did eventually allow it on the plane though, and got really good data from the flight. On the return flight, security at Cologne didn't look twice - just went straight through the x-ray machine, didn't even get pulled aside. Must have been asleep on the job.
    • vb6sp6 7y ago
      The TSA did an internal audit where they sent 70 mock explosives and weapons through checkpoints. 67 made it through.
  • dannyw 7y ago
    The TSA misses about 95% of guns, so chances are you’ll be fine.
    • MuffinFlavored 7y ago
      Is this for checked bags or carry on bags? I thought we literally walk through metal detectors?
      • garblegarble 7y ago
        In carry-on bags - bags go through an x-ray machine with an operator looking at so many negatives that it's next to impossible for them to spot a positive case. Schneier has a nice piece about it in an excerpt from one of his books: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/04/failures_of_air.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/04/failures_of_a...
        • asdff 7y ago
          Makes no sense why ML isn't used, with a quick peep at a potential positive by a human before they rip your luggage open with a buck knife.
          • garblegarble 7y ago
            >Makes no sense why ML isn't used I agree, although remember that it changes the problem for the attacker too: they're switching between trying to fool a (bleary-eyed) general intelligence to simply fooling a ML algorithm... think about how obvious and jarring anti-facial-detection face camoflage is for a human, whereas the machine simply sees nothing.
    • CaliforniaKarl 7y ago
      The latest report I could find says 70%: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2017/11/09/tsa-misses-70-of-fake-weapons-but-thats-an-improvement/#1a719dfb2a38 https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2017/11/09/tsa... Are there newer stats that show 95%?
  • netsharc 7y ago
    He forgot step 0 of the How-To: be generically non-threatening. (White or East-Asian, no beards).
• PeterisP 7y ago
  That's cool. Crazy, but cool.
• dfboyd 7y ago
  WTF is an "alimentation cable"?
  • detaro 7y ago
    "power cable". Author forgot to translate or mistranslated from French.
    • polote 7y ago
      Yes exactly, it is fixed now, thank you
  • 4cao 7y ago
    Power cord. I think it's from what it's called in French.
  • Zanni 7y ago
    I'm guessing it's the power cable. The author is not a native English speaker, and Google says alimentation is "the provision of nourishment or other necessities."
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  • codingdave 7y ago
    From the description, it seems fairly clear they are referring to the power cables.
  • gftsantana 7y ago
    I guess they mean power cable. The literal translation for power cable is "alimentation cable" in my native language. It's probably something like that for the article's author too.
• villgax 7y ago
  Pelican case for author & foldable laptop displays as the next innovation for the rest. Nothing like just unfolding additional 7" on both sides of your laptop
  • toomuchtodo 7y ago
    +1 for a pelican case. I use one to lug around a 38” monitor when traveling. They are indestructible.
• tiborsaas 7y ago
  This sounds a bit bizarre to me. Took a few seconds to find a large pool of monitors designed for travelling. https://www.techradar.com/news/best-portable-monitor https://www.techradar.com/news/best-portable-monitor I also don't get the need for an external GPU. Maybe for machine learning it makes sense, but just to drive monitors it sounds excessive.
  • marcinzm 7y ago
    >Took a few seconds to find a large pool of monitors designed for travelling. Those are relatively small and ergonomically horrible (as are laptop screens in general). So wouldn't meet the authors needs to retaining current efficiency and comfort. >I also don't get the need for an external GPU I doubt his built in GPU can drive 3 large monitors and the laptop display at the same time. edit: Also, for future reference, it's better/nicer to assume people are intelligent and try to understand their reasons for something rather than assuming they're idiots.
    • zarmin 7y ago
      >Also, for future reference, it's better/nicer to assume people are intelligent and try to understand their reasons for something rather than assuming they're idiots. The older I get, the more I learn this lesson.
    • polote 7y ago
      > I doubt his built in GPU can drive 3 large monitors and the laptop display at the same time. Well in that case it works. Last generation integrated GPU can handle 2 4K monitors at 60/s or 3 full hd at 60/s if I remember correctly
    • tiborsaas 7y ago
      Meh, intelligent people do silly things sometimes, I consider this case like that. There are larger portable monitors too. https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/24-inch-portable-monitor.html https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/24-inch-portable-monitor.ht...
  • detaro 7y ago
• codingdave 7y ago
  I used to code with that type of setup, with multiple large monitors. But a few months back, I switched to a single 43" UHD TV instead. I get more screen real estate that I did before, have fewer cables to deal with, and have less of a mental paradigm shift when I do travel and shrink down to just one laptop screen. As soon as someone invents a way to fold or roll up a 40+ inch screen, I'll buy it.
  • robbrown451 7y ago
    I don't have a paradigm shift when I am forced to work on a small monitor, I just miss the real estate. I don't care if it is spread across multiple monitors or not (although I admit it is awkward in my current setup where my 3 monitors are different sizes and resolutions, so dragging windows from one to another requires resizing them). If I have to work on my small screen, I'm far less efficient although it depends on the task. When developing, I like to have my app as well as multiple editors all in front of me at once. Can't do that on 13" really.
    • rzzzt 7y ago
      It's like putting together a model ship in a bottle, with a pair of tweezers.
  • jotm 7y ago
    Have you considered a 4k short throw projector? The screen would be an issue, but you could get a foldable one, buy one on the spot or just use a white wall
    • bestest 7y ago
      I wonder if it's good enough for representing textual information, as in coding.
      • jotm 7y ago
        The newer projectors are quite impressive. You won't get good color accuracy during the day, but it can still be good enough for almost anything else. The image projected is surprisingly sharp. I reckon if you work in the evenings and travel a lot it could be a nice setup.
• seungjulee 7y ago
  Why do you even need 3 monitors? That seems excessive.
  • cs02rm0 7y ago
    Did strike me that one larger one might be easier.
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  • csomar 7y ago
    If you are doing web dev, it's literally a must. One screen to type code, one screen for the browser, and one screen for the browser webdev tools. Sometimes I wish I have a forth screen for the documentation.
    • justanotherc 7y ago
      Exactly, although I tend to find the third screen starts to push the limits of the convenience of having the real estate vs the inconvenience of having to turn my head too much. Sometimes I just set up my terminal windows to take up have the screen of my main (code) screen and alt+tab to it, and then just clicking on the IDE to bring it back on top. I go back and forth between using the 3rd and not depending on my mood.
      • tom_ 7y ago
        Try portrait monitors! I have 2 x 27" 1440x2560, and my laptop's hi-dpi screen as well. I found a landscape multi-monitor setup a bit much, but a portrait arrangement is fine. Doesn't feel like the amount of head turning required to use the side monitors is a problem. It's definitely most comfortable to look straight ahead while using the central monitor, but using the side ones isn't a big problem. They're good for more than just displaying documentation. (Total width of my setup is about the same as 3 x portrait 27" displays, so it feels like I have a reasonable idea how much head turning would be required for a better setup. Unfortunately, my laptop can only drive 2 external displays.) I've been using this setup for about 2 years now, and have no intention of going back. It's really great. (Portrait 1200p or 1080p isn't as good! The screen isn't quite wide enough. A lot of stuff assumes you have 1280+ pixels horizontally.)
• sxp 7y ago
  There are many enthusiasts who have experimented with cramming multiple monitors and desktop-class computers into a briefcase form factor. You can see various triple monitor briefcase setups on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/b5z9g5/rate_my_setup/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/b5z9g5/rate_m... https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/f1a1t5/was_told_to_cross_post_this_here/ https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/f1a1t5/was_told_... The author had a preference for larger monitors over ease of transport, but if you're willing to sacrifice screen size, you can cram desktop components into a standard briefcase pretty easily.
  • andai 7y ago
    DIY dual screen laptop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2aY6cvk-WI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2aY6cvk-WI
  • vidarh 7y ago
    Instead of multiple normal monitors I've started mounting tablets around my main monitor. Not quite the same flexibility but for e.g. email, slack etc. that I like having up, it works well. My setup isn't meant to be mobile, but suspect it would be easier to make it so than normal monitors.
• rsync 7y ago
  In mid-2001, notably before 9/11, I had to quickly move a 4U Sun Netra server from San Jose to Washington DC. I just carried it on. It was enormous - 4U and full length - and weighed a ton. No packaging, no box - just carrying a huge server down the aisle of the plane ...
  • toomuchtodo 7y ago
    And it fit in the overhead bin!?
    • wtallis 7y ago
      Based on current carry-on bag size limits, the bins on most planes are at least 22" deep, so a 19" server won't be a problem. It'll just take up the space of 2+ bags, depending on how long it is.
    • archi42 7y ago
      Depending on the server build and your physical strength you'll have a lot of trouble lifting it there. My 3U/12x3.5" lives on a cupboard (few inches lower than overhead bins), and I would never dare to (re-)move it (from) there with the disks inserted. Without them it's still heavy enough and a pain to move around, but then I'm more on the nerdy end of the STR scale ;-)
      • deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    • rsync 7y ago
      "And it fit in the overhead bin!?" Yes, I put it in the overhead bin and it did, indeed, fit. After all, a rackmount server is only 19" wide ...
      • toomuchtodo 7y ago
        Different times. I’ve never seen a flight with room left in the overhead bin in years.
• w0mbat 7y ago
  Nice article. Logical next step is to drive all 3 screens from a single power supply (as these use LED backlighting, they do not require much power each). I would build the AC transformer into the middle screen and have it output DC to the ones on either side.
  • polote 7y ago
    Yes, exactly what I wanted to do initially, but the issue is that the power block also contains the video card of the screen and needs power too, so that wouldn't be so easy to do, but feasible
• jotm 7y ago
  Hell of a setup! I settled on 4x 17" laptops, much easier to carry and you get extra storage and bonus processing power. Wasn't my plan, really, but I can't sell old laptops (too cheap, no one wants them anyway, plus I always think maybe I'll use this one for smth). So one old laptop became a second display. Then a second. But that's three and looks stupid and asymmetrical, so I added a 4th... Traveled once with them, barely takes up half a bag. Think I'll stick with it.
• 4cao 7y ago
  Well, congratulations on the whole setup. It seems you planned everything down to the last detail and it worked out well. However, if I were you, I would have asked myself: (1) do I really need 3 monitors, (2) if yes, can I just rent them wherever I'm headed, (3) if no, can I just substitute them with a larger UHD TV, which seem to be quite cheap these days (buy one and resell later). In fact, if you are staying at a hotel or a serviced apartment, there would usually be a TV you could repurpose for this. I also wanted to point out you can travel with more luggage as long as a single piece is under 32 kg, and stuff can be shipped internationally without including an invoice. As long as a single item is below 20 kg, you could also use EMS, which works nearly as well, is cheaper, and, unlike parcel services, does not require you to appoint a customs agent on your behalf. I'm not writing all this to critize what you did but just wanted to let you know alternate solutions should in fact be possible. As someone doing a lot of travelling, I've come to the conclusion that travelling light is the best thing one can do.
  • hardwaresofton 7y ago
    > (2) if yes, can I just rent them wherever I'm headed, Sounds like there's a very boring but likely profitable business waiting to be spawned here. The fact that there isn't an obvious choice for renting electronic goods for digital nomads on the go is a pretty big flag.
    • dheera 7y ago
      They exist and they are horribly expensive. Last time I was setting up a recruiting booth and it was cheaper to buy a display from Walmart than it was to rent one. And I was able to return it to Walmart at the end, too.
      • hardwaresofton 7y ago
        I'm surprised that it's so expensive -- would you mind giving some pointers to the companies you looked into if you remember any of them?
        • 7y ago
• tiku 7y ago
  Perhaps better to buy just some pico projectors? Are there 4k versions already?
  • polote 7y ago
    I thought about that, one issue that you will have is that you still need to have blank screens to project on, and the setup would be more complex as you need to project from the back ...
• ris 7y ago
  RFI. RFI Everywhere.
• robomartin 7y ago
  Back in the early '90's I was travelling all over the American Continent and Europe with loads of equipment. I remember a notable last-minute trip to Amsterdam where I had no choice but to take about 600 lbs (272 kg). I had to design a custom 8020-based dolly to be able to move this pile-of-technology around on my own at the airports. The idea was to take it apart, store it in one of the cases and re-assemble on arrival. For the most part this worked out OK, except for one memorable trip to Munich. All of my equipment cases came out of the plane coated in what I can only describe as some kind of yellow grease. I was literally coated with this stuff after pulling all my equipment off the carousel. I won't bore you with the entire story of what happened at the airport after that. In retrospect it was very funny, not at the time, of course, it was very far from that.
• jbverschoor 7y ago
  Why not get a status upgrade and get an extra checked in bag for free. Also, get a hard case for this
• ygggvg 7y ago
  I would find it much more interesting on how often he travels while working. Findings. Affordable place and internet and how it feels. There has to be a huge advantage building such a weird thing over just going on holiday without all that crap
• leeoniya 7y ago
  https://i.imgur.com/RUN11Hb.jpg https://i.imgur.com/RUN11Hb.jpg
  • ryeights 7y ago
    Haha, first thing I thought of as well.
  • jonathankoren 7y ago
    You laugh but, several years ago in the second floor of Red Rock in Mountain View, I saw a guy do that very thing. He brought in his laptop, and the box containing whatever giagantic Apple monitor he had, and proceeded to hook it up. When barista came by bussing the tables, she told him to put it away. He was completely incredulous, but relented.
    • csours 7y ago
      I wonder what the most ridiculous thing a coffee shop employee has had to tell someone to put away? Projector? Popcorn maker? Hmm. I have a terrible idea.
      • jonathankoren 7y ago
        I bet more than one coffee shop in the Bay Area has had to deal with projectors more than once.
    • erohead 7y ago
      https://photos.app.goo.gl/aNNDoiJuNkrgTwmv6 https://photos.app.goo.gl/aNNDoiJuNkrgTwmv6
  • partlysean 7y ago
    When I was in high school I worked for our district’s IT department. There were a couple of Power Mac G5s that were shared, but the students working in that department were using eMacs. One year I bought the first generation Intel iMac (my first Mac), which was significantly faster than the eMacs we were allotted. I got a carrying bag for it and biked into work with it each day. That said, I wouldn’t dream of doing that in a public cafe.
• andybak 7y ago
  Because of my weird comfort and focus habits I've forced myself to get used to small screens. I hate having more than one task visible at any one moment so all my apps are running full-screen anyway. I've got very used to the various short-cuts for switching apps. I use Windows and MacOS and avoid all the full-screen functionality in MacOS (never managed to really get my head round it). I've got a 13" Macbook Air (2015 - before they ruined them) and a 15" Windows Laptop (Gaming GPU so I couldn't dual boot the Mac) My IDEs are all Jetbrains (PyCharm, Rider). A console is no issue. The biggest challenge is probably Unity but having good workspace presets for various tasks helps. Another factor - I'm pushing 50 and my eyesight is getting worse so I want less going on at once so I can make stuff bigger...
  • julesallen 7y ago
    From one old git with failing eyesight to another, think about talking to your optician and investigating a pair of glasses optimised for the shorter distance. Life changing move if you spend any decent amount of time in front of a monitor. Good luck!
  • gertlex 7y ago
    Does the difference in alt-tab behavior between Windows and MacOS (with alt-` too) slow you down at all? I might venture to guess no, since your workflow sounds like largely single-window-per-program.
    • ossopite 7y ago
      I use hyperswitch (https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch) which emulates Windows alt-tab behaviour on MacOS. Not bulletproof but it mostly works.
    • russellendicott 7y ago
      Not OP but in a similar position. I find that since I don't use the desktop switching features on MacOS I dont have a problem with the alt tab situation. I only use one desktop and just alt tab for everything. Its just a minor annoyance on Windows when alt+` doesn't respond. The worst part for me about switching back and forth between MacOS and Windows/Nix is the muscle memory around applekey+c/v vs ctrl+c/v. There isn't a way to remap keys to recreate that muscle memory on Windows/nix and keep the muscle memory for alt tab.
• sailfast 7y ago
  Too many places to move my neck for my preferences, but this did get me looking at something like the Samsung Space 27” for this use case - seems like it would work well and weighs in at 12 pounds each so two of them would hit the 12 kilo requirement without the hacks, and probably shield the RF a bit more. Also does multi-source PIP if you wanted to create a third “virtual” monitor but I’m not sure why you’d bother when one could arrange windows instead.
• aetherspawn 7y ago
  Not to be that guy, but be careful you don’t burn anything down with that electrical work.
• bretthopper 7y ago
  I'm working remotely for a month right now and needed a monitor there to work. I had two ideas: 1. bring one in a suitcase on my flight 2. just buy one locally once I got there I decided to just bring my existing 27" monitor and wait until the day of my flight to try and pack it... Of course it was about 2 inches too long for a standard large suitcase. I quickly found a (physical) store which sold a cheap 23" Dell monitor and bought it. It easily fit into the suitcase and I've been happily using it for 3 weeks now. Only downside was going back to 1080p :(
• deckar01 7y ago
  You just need one suitcase per monitor. The yoga mat isn't going to keep blunt pressure off the screen though. You need to attach something structural to the front to distribute load to the bezel. The corrigated plastic used for yard signs is light, cheap, and surprisingly strong. Bubble wrap that and wrap it in your clothes. That said, nothing beats the custom molded styrofoam it came in. Keep these if you can.
• ipython 7y ago
  I had a similar problem back in 1997 - of course it was much worse since we had much heavier CRTs then. The answer was to rent the monitor when I needed it. I’d imagine it would be easier to do that today than it was back then. I remember going through the white pages to find a company who would accommodate me.
• issa 7y ago
  Fun project! My solution was to just buy a hardshell suitcase and throw a 27" monitor in it. That, a 15" laptop screen, and a hotel TV if I'm so inclined does the trick for me. I'm willing to give up my third monitor in exchange for convenience. Also, I'd NEVER make it through security with something that looks like that.
• NicoJuicy 7y ago
  Coïncidence ? I came across this today: https://www.mediaworkstations.net/systems/portable-intel-workstations/i-x2p/ https://www.mediaworkstations.net/systems/portable-intel-wor...
• benibela 7y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liaN1lu5b_A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liaN1lu5b_A
• archi42 7y ago
  Hm, I'd try 2x27" instead. My 27" UHD is 4.6kg without mount and power brick. Feels pretty light, but there seem to be lighter (found a 3.2kg AOC, but that's only FullHD). Packaging two of these only requires four 3d printed parts for the corners, and the displays can face each other (not touch each other!). A dual VESA arm on Amazon should come at 3.5kg (maybe less because the number might include packaging). Still funny though.
• clarry 7y ago
  I really just want a head mounted display, which should give much more virtual workspace than a 24" monitor. But it seems like the VR craze killed the market and HMD products with it.
• georgewsinger 7y ago
  Working in VR allows you to travel with an infinite number of monitors, of any size you prefer. For example here is what it's like to work in a Linux VR Desktop on the HTC Vive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLuwG91HnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLuwG91HnI The problem is that plug-in headsets like the Vive are not very portable. The next evolution of something like this is to put the Linux VR Desktop on a standalone headset. If anyone is interested in something like this let me know, and I can fill in more details on how to make it happen.
  • atomi 7y ago
    Realizing the damage caused to my neck by wearing heavy headphones over prolonged periods of time at my desk, I'm going to have to pass on this.
    • K0SM0S 7y ago
      Suggestion for this: Sennheiser 6XX series are very lightweight, open cans (thus no extra pressure in the ear, but people may hear your music around a little bit). About ~$200 these days, and these used to be world's best a decade ago. I can wear them all day long, even when the music or video ends I often don't even bother putting them off... I just loathe the wire but sound quality is so good it's not even funny to compare with equally priced Bluetooth cans.
    • ebg13 7y ago
      I'm struggling to picture what you could possibly be doing with your posture to cause damage to your neck with even the heaviest headphones. Whatever it is that you're doing, the headphones are not your problem.
  • robertfw 7y ago
    When I tried this a few years ago (shortly after getting my Vive), the text resolution and comfort just wasn't good enough for long periods of time. I'm curious if anyone has had more success with newer VR headsets
    • 7y ago
• oknaj 7y ago
  Another suggestion might be to get accustomed to programming in VR. You can have as many virtual desktops "in there". Search for some youtube videos and see if its viable for you.
• chx 7y ago
  Ah, large sized travel monitors. I am reasonably (unreasonably, really) well versed in this topic although my interest leans towards carry on sized monitors. I started looking almost a decade ago... http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/1080p-travel-monitor.603212/ http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/1080p-travel-monitor... and there are no good solutions still. The best monitor when looking at physical formats is the Asus PQ22UC. It has a fantastic little folding stand and less than five pounds even with that. Of course, the price immediately kills the party. Wish they released a FHD version of it. The next best is the AOC E2351f. It's 5.5 lb with a stand that disassembles well. The 21.7" length alone however makes it near impossible to fit it in a reasonable carry on. The one that is actually carry on friendly is the Sharp LL-S201A. The stand is a problem with that one, I admit. It's 5.1 lbs without stand and stand wise I do not have a great solution. https://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Folding-Tablet-Stand/ https://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Folding-Tablet-Stand/ this holds it up for a while and then some parts bend because it's not meant to hold something this heavy. But while it works, no question it's the lightest possible stand :) Or you could use the K&M 19685 to adapt it to tripods and use a travel tripod with removable head. The K&M 19685 is the only affordable VESA-to-tripod adapter I am aware of but it's alas 1.366 lbs and a bit bulky. The VESA stand visible on https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81SC5mDeNdL._AC_SL1500_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81SC5mDeNdL... has a few problems: it doesn't fold fully flat and it's impossible to buy these days. See rant about useful products being discontinued at https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/evj4o0/why_are_there_no_118w_chargers/ffw6bil/ https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/evj4o0/why_ar... and https://twitter.com/Pinboard/status/1201726345383776256 https://twitter.com/Pinboard/status/1201726345383776256 However, since the new Club 3D DP 1.4 MST hub makes both of my PackedPixels work with the ThinkPad 25 I have, I am simply flying with those, makes life easy. I posted the first quick test and a comparison to the venerable W701ds to https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/portable-lcd-monitors-for-work-and-gaming-recommendations.2089/page-34#post-184348 https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/portable-lcd-monit... and have found a personal item sized bag which easily hosts the PackedPixels and the laptop https://www.reddit.com/r/ManyBaggers/comments/f40dz2/herschel_gibson_large_very_nice_personal_item/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ManyBaggers/comments/f40dz2/hersche... so for me, for now, this problem is solved.
• WalterBright 7y ago
  I have no idea how people manage to do work with small screens.
  • rb808 7y ago
    I used to think this but I realized I needed glasses. :) Still I couldn't use 13 inch screens all day.
  • zerr 7y ago
    and laptop keyboards.
    • WalterBright 7y ago
      Yes. I have a full size bluetooth kbd for my laptop. They're hard to find.
      • zerr 7y ago
        Yes. I connect mine with PS/2 to USB adapter.
  • _frkl 7y ago
    Tiling window managers with keyboard shortcuts for super quick window and virtual desktop switching as well as full screening focused windows. Obviously, more screen is always better, but I don't feel I loose a lot of efficiency when I'm unplugged and out and about, with my 14 inch notebook screen.
  • saagarjha 7y ago
    Apps that cover the screen, shortcuts to switch between them quickly, and generous use of spaces.
• sbr464 7y ago
  I’ve used a Tumi aluminum suitcase, ultralight, no flex. A Dell 24” 4K monitor and other dev gear fits perfectly. Since it doesn’t flex you don’t need to pack very well, just a few clothes to stop movement. Example photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jjxctk02nvb5wmy/AADnscpr1HQCFZeiOrzWmuMla?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jjxctk02nvb5wmy/AADnscpr1HQCFZeiO...
  • blinkingled 7y ago
    What about the weight? For flight travel to work it needs to be way under 23kg.
    • sbr464 7y ago
      The suitcase is only 6.4 kilos, it's really light for what it does. It's just a thin shell basically. Monitor is 4 kilos. That leaves a bunch of room for other stuff. You don't have to use any of the packing material since it's so stiff, that helps a lot.
  • PapaSlug 7y ago
    do you mind sharing the details of your whole setup? i/e laptop, laptop stand, keyboard, mouse etc? looks great.
• sbr464 7y ago
  In regards to powering a bunch of gear traveling, I'll share my secret tip for international travel: Bring a surge protector/power strip, then you only need one actual adapter. I've found a few that support varying standards.
• CriticalCathed 7y ago
  Does does security like that?
  • gbraad 7y ago
    they already complain with my setup; I use 2 LT1423 screens and a ThinkPad laptop, two external batteries for work in a unplugged situation and a tablet. All weighs about 6kg. Each airport I arrive at I have to open this up. My setup does surely not look so 'open' and 'exposed' as his does, but always have to explain this is for work. the US is the worst, Asian countries usually care less... but each and every one.
    • gbraad 7y ago
      ... also, would wonder if three long pieces of wood with L-brackets will be regarded as potential hazardous for carry-on.
• ajiang 7y ago
  Plugging a friend's super cool product: a pop-up 24" monitor with full HDMI support and a long lasting battery that uses short throw projection. https://www.arovia.com/ https://www.arovia.com/
  • detaro 7y ago
    The few reviews of the actual product (vs gushes about the Kickstarter 4 years ago) I can find seem pretty "meh" on it though. 1280x720, bad contrast, ...
    • awes0310 7y ago
      Hi Detaro, I'm Alex one of the creators. Resolution and contrast are definitely areas to attack/improve. The resolution is good enough for a lot of work. I’m using my SPUD now to type this from my self-quarantined Shenzhen apartment...Here are some pictures taken with my Oneplus 7t of my current setup with my SPUD. This SPUD was a reject from our assembly factory for failing brightness spec by 20%, e.g. the ones we shipped to customers were at least 20% brighter and usually much more (CEO gets the rejects...), with and without the overhead lights on: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7j5jx8th6kDDgMtZA https://photos.app.goo.gl/7j5jx8th6kDDgMtZA The contrast is good for indoor use/shaded cafe (unless your shining light directly at it, like photography lights, when filming a video, for example...). Directly regarding the Linus video: I do not think it was fair for a number of reasons (this is just copy/pasted response to a Kickstarter backer who asked about it): (1) He filmed it with studio light shining directly on the screen. This caused the image to appear much more washed out than how your eye would see it under normal (e.g. indirect) room light. Other videos and our social (https://www.instagram.com/realarovia/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/realarovia/?hl=en) more accurately show how SPUD will appear. Even when SPUD was on the Today Show, when we had a white glossy screen (e.g. before we developed the grey matte screen that further improves contrast), the contrast appeared significantly better. That was under normal lighting (all they did is turn off the very bright studio lights directly over SPUD): https://youtu.be/9aFmoA6xFC0 https://youtu.be/9aFmoA6xFC0 I am not sure if he read the manual or any of other FAQs because, we clearly say to avoid direct light on SPUD for best performance. That said, if you ever tried to take a picture of a movie screen or a projected slide in a lecture, you know it is not trivial to take a good picture of a projected image! (2) He folded it in a way to maximize size. The manual and our online tutorials can help a lot in knowing how to fold SPUD to the smallest size: https://bit.ly/357PjkA https://bit.ly/357PjkA (3) He didn’t follow the steps on how to optimize image quality. The manual and our online tutorials can help a lot with optimizing image quality: https://bit.ly/2MMXMTR https://bit.ly/2MMXMTR I am not sure if he read or tried any of other online resources. He definitely did not contact me directly to try to get any assistance…He did contact me to ask how SPUD compares to USB monitors and I sent him an accurate, detailed answer and he did not include any of the points in his video: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XC-XvNITvGqkj32zrAfSp91jlbfObxg6 https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XC-XvNITvGqkj32zrAfSp91jlb... It was very frustrating because all of our backers, if they have a problem, message us and we solve (worst case by RMA). He did not even make the effort to ask us before posting a video that some people may take as gospel. That said, this is part of the deal of doing something that people find interesting. I also understand that he has a huge incentive to be negative to drive clicks and there is no consequence for him doing it with a small, 3-person startup. All said, I am still grateful for him backing our project and am very grateful for all of our backers help in bringing the first collapsible display to life! Please let me know if there are any questions I can answer! -Thanks, Alex -sent from my SPUD
• christkv 7y ago
  For travel I always brought one of these as us zenscreen https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenScreen-MB16AC-Portable-Monitor/dp/B071S84ZW7/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=displaylink+screen+full+hd&qid=1583103200&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenScreen-MB16AC-Portable-Monito... they are powered off the USB.
  • panchicore3 7y ago
    Looks very practical, touch works well with mac?
  • b3b0p 7y ago
    This is what I plan to do. I am trying to patiently wait for the Asus ROG version. It appears to have been delayed and there are 2 versions. One with a tripod and one with a typical iPad/tablet stand built into the cover. I'm mostly wanting it for console gaming because I don't want to get a TV or put another monitor on my desk. I also live in a small studio apartment that I can only fit my desk and bed in. This can be used on my desk or sitting in my bed even and will just slip right into my backpack if I wanted.
  • woutr_be 7y ago
    I bought one of those as well, although it was a knockoff brand, it's great when travelling since it's about the same size as my MacBook. I wish I invested slightly more, the brightness on mine is terrible.
    • virtualwhys 7y ago
      Not sure if this will help, but with my USB-C monitor the default brightness/contrast is poor, and requires manually fiddling with the settings on every boot/resume from sleep, so I found a Linux utility that does the fiddling for me: cat ~/bin/brightness #!/bin/bash # echo "increasing brightness/contrast of external monitor" /usr/local/bin/ddcutil --display 1 setvcp 10 40 /usr/local/bin/ddcutil --display 1 setvcp 12 10 Tie the above in with your init/resume scripts and you're good to go (assumes that your issue isn't limited by the hardware itself).
• Razengan 7y ago
  I've travelled with a single 27" iMac, which wasn't much of a problem, but it's a shame that Apple removed the "Target Display" mode [0] from the newer 5K/Retina iMacs. What the hell? That would have been perfect, to have a lighter MacBook or even the newer USB-C iPad Pro for outdoors, with the 27" at the hotel, without having to sync data before working on the bigger screen. Or to host a visitor's Mac. But no, now you have to buy a separate 4K monitor if you want to view your Mac or iPad on a big screen, even if you have a perfectly good (and expensive) 5K iMac. On a side note, can somebody recommend a good way to output my Nintendo Switch (or any other console) to a macOS window? I haven't owned a TV in ages, and even if I did being able to play my Switch on my laptop screen would be great while traveling. [0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592
  • kryptn 7y ago
    I used an Elgato game capture card to play my Nintendo Switch through my PC. I know they also support OSX.
  • lonelappde 7y ago
    To me it seems easier to buy a monitor at my destination and give it away than to deal with traveling with and risking damage to a 27" iMac.
    • Razengan 7y ago
      If you pack the iMac in its original boxes (there are 2, one inside the other), with the wrappers and foam and all, with some extra padding (I threw in a seat cushion in front of the covered screen), it should be fine.. You could also get a specialized carry/travel case.
    • thijsvandien 7y ago
      If you're serious about taking your iMac to places, look into a tailored flight case. I used to own one from theflightcasecompany.com (no affiliation). Apple staff gave me envious looks when I brought in my machine for service in that. Although I personally wasn't interested in keeping my iMac (mid 2011) after experiencing how flawed the design was, I know the person I sold the case to had—or has?—been happily using it for years.
• ebeip90 7y ago
  Give Sidecar with a 13” iPad Pro a go. It’s been life-changing for me and my mobile workflow!
  • snazz 7y ago
    It’s fun and sort of useful with my 6th gen regular iPad and my otherwise horribly underpowered (I’m pretending to be a 4K iMac and apparently that’s powerful enough for Sidecar, but the actual processor and its iGPU are slower than a 2015 Mac Mini). I can see how it would be super useful with the 13” model and an Apple Pencil, neither of which I own.
• Uptrenda 7y ago
  I'd personally ditch the monitors and go with (however many) "pocket projectors" then just project them onto a wall or something. Some of these projectors screw into light bulb sockets so you don't even need to worry about a mounting system. There's also a company that was trying to make monitors that could be folded and that was all just based on fabric that expanded as a projection surface. If they ever shipped - that may be a more ergonomic option since you can line that up easier with your eye level in the same way as a regular monitor.
  • lvturner 7y ago
    That's actually a really good idea, you could couple them with some frosted (plexi?) glass to get a "screen" I think this warrants more investigation!!
• ryan-allen 7y ago
  I understand the sentiment. I can't work on laptops (for days at a time) either. Though I'd be hard pressed to take my chair with me. I can't work without that, either!
• virtualwhys 7y ago
  Creative solution, nicely done. For 15 years I traveled with some flavor of 23"/24" monitor, putting it into my checked bag, and paying that checked bag fee over and over and over (probably $5K USD over the years). This year I scrapped the big monitor setup and got an ultra lightweight 16" USB-C powered monitor along with a Dell Precision 5540. Now I just stuff everything into an REI Trail pack (40L) and walk on the plane, it's beautiful. Pack weight is around 7KG, which works for most airlines in the world. No longer muling around tons of gear is wonderful. Not sure what I was thinking, the extra screen real estate isn't that important to my work, two screens about 16" is enough. Here's the 16" external monitor [1], out of stock presently, but can vouch for it, great addition to the toolbox. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJJMV48/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJJMV48/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...
  • savrajsingh 7y ago
    What is your job where you travel with an external monitor?
    • virtualwhys 7y ago
      These days mostly work in Scala and TypeScript. Just another web developer that works on the road, basically.
• deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
• benzesandbetter 7y ago
  I did about a decade as a digital nomad, spending a couple months in each city. These days I'm still fairly nomadic, but stay longer (3-6mos) in each place. I've experimented with a couple different multi-monitor setups. Notably, dual 24" displays, and a single Thunderbolt 27". For a while I had Skyteam Platinum and shipped my Thunderbolt display as my free extra checked bag on a couple trips to Brazil and Holland. When the shipping was free and I was staying in the same place for a while, it was marginally worth it bringing the second monitor. When I was making more frequent jumps between cities it was definitely not. Personally, I find having additional monitors to not be a huge productivity boost to my work (software engineering, team/account management, writing, coaching, and managing an import/ecommerce business) relative to a good virtual desktop setup, particularly when weighed against increased pack weight and shipping costs. The place where it helps me the most is to be able to have API docs open alongside my editor/IDE, but I can do the same on retina macbook display, so having a lightweight and portable setup wins out for me.
  • samatman 7y ago
    When I occasionally want a second screen, the 13" iPad does the trick nicely. If it's a PDF, I'll usually use an iOS reader, if it's a terminal or website I'll usually treat it as a second monitor.
    • benzesandbetter 7y ago
      same :) https://tinyurl.com/qk6jlzg https://tinyurl.com/qk6jlzg
      • RMPR 7y ago
        Dead link
  • 101404 7y ago
    Very much agree. With a good WM, it's quicker to switch between API docs and editor than it is to move and refocus my eyes to another monitor. So now I'm using a single 14" laptop screen.
• brian-armstrong 7y ago
  "I don't really need to be close to my friends or be in a place that I know but I need ... three 24 inches monitors an external GPU and an ergonomic keyboard." Does anyone else have a hard time coming to grips with this prioritization? Even looking at this objectively with something like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, yes we do need friends, though 3 24" monitors don't seem to appear.
  • epidemian 7y ago
    Yes, i found that sentence extremely off-putting. It's surely a personal thing, but i feel being close or far away from my friends and loved ones has a much bigger impact on my happiness than how many monitors or ergonomic devices i use. And happiness, in turn, greatly affects what i do. For example, right now i'm work&traveling, and i've definitely felt loneliness and the distance from my friends, while i couldn't have cared less that i've only been programming with a 14" laptop monitor.
  • detaro 7y ago
    Favorably read, emphasis on "close to". You can have friends you talk to daily and are physically close to rarely. Proximity doesn't matter to everyone.
  • m463 7y ago
    an external monitor (one) and ergonomic keyboard have one benefit. ergonomics. Remember there are no osha-approved laptops. Typing on a shitty keyboard, no wrist rest and holding yourself hunched over is a quick way to musculoskeletal hell.
  • maximente 7y ago
    well, Maslow's hierarchy is a theory, and not without controversy, though i think you're on to something here personally. however, it sounds like they're prioritizing productivity, which may be a proxy for money or success at this point in their lives. i'm not opposed to it. it's also really hard to maintain less deep friendships without presence so if you're moving a lot those are likely to go away. though i do think nomads undervalue roots and community, but i imagine many of them discover that after some time, or are OK with it and keep traveling.
• sgjohnson 7y ago
  Sounds like an amazing way how to get picked up by customs every other time you cross an international border.
• bransonf 7y ago
  As a Mac user, the best nomadic setup is a MacBook and an iPad. I can’t think of a more practical dual monitor setup to travel with.
• Rebelgecko 7y ago
  I've traveled with smaller monitors before (Asus Zenscreen) and that might be a better compromise. Theyre basically the size of my MBP but thinner, so they're easy to stuff in a backpack. Only cables you need are one USB-C each. It's heavier than traveling with jib a laptop, but probably not much heavier than my MBP was by itself 10 years ago. And you can triple your screen real estate
• davidbanham 7y ago
  I also used to take a massive efficiency hit when I had to move away from my multi-monitor setup. I wanted to be more flexible so I invested some time in getting comfortable with a tiling window manager. My weapon of choice is Xmonad on Linux but I've also used i3 and awesomewm and they've been good. I hear good things about Amethyst on OSX these days too.
• justinator 7y ago
  During 2019 I was living in Paris and really wondering what I was doing there If one is bored living in Paris, the problem isn't Paris.
• sneak 7y ago
  Sweet hack. This is real engineering.
• mc3 7y ago
  Isn't this an airport (or any port) security headache? What about buying the monitors on a local board when you arrive somewhere, then sell them on that same board when you leave? I think this would work well in most cities, in that you'd find one pretty quick. I mean you could probably find a company that'll lend you some of their dustier monitors. Most software companies seem to have a problem that they have ones they need to get rid of.
• Johnny555 7y ago
  A couple years ago I relocated and wanted to keep my monitors with me until the last minute so I didn't send them with the movers and packed them in my big suitcase to take on the plane. While waiting the gate, they called my name and asked me to see the gate agent. When I went up, I saw a concerned looking gate agent on the phone who said "Are you Mr Smith?", I confirmed and said "Tell them it's a couple computer monitors and coiled cables". She did, then looked at me and said they couldn't get the lock off the bag and wanted to check with me before they cut the lock (I was surprised about that), so I told them to feel free to clip it off. They didn't, I guess my explanation was good enough.
• bschwindHN 7y ago
  Thank goodness I'm productive on a single laptop monitor.
• FrankSansC 7y ago
  > For the powering one thing to take into account is that cable are somewhat heavy and if you have 3 screen + your laptop you will need 4 electrical sockets. You could use the same socket for the screens by doing something like that. Please DON'T DO THAT! Shortcuts / fire start with things like this. You can find C13 splitter power cords on the net for like 20~30 euros.
  • fluuuhi 7y ago
    With disassembling it like he does, he also lost every insurance. If something happens and they figure out that he had some custom rig with open panels laying around he has to pay.
  • dirktheman 7y ago
    His job, his livelihood depends on a single terminal block/bad soldering & ducttape hackjob. I'm all for DIY solutions to unique problems, but this is just plain stupid. It's only a matter of time before that thing sets on fire.
  • polote 7y ago
    Author here: there is a screw terminal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw_terminal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw_terminal) inside. Thats exactly what is used in every houses in the world also the current is so low that there can't be any issue. But I didn't know about C13 slitter, that sounds like a good improvement
    • kayfox 7y ago
      Theatre tech here, screw terminal blocks are not rated for being in any sort of flexing situation nor are they very good at stranded cable. It would be a better idea to get a cable specifically designed to break out to 3 IEC connectors. Or at least put the screw terminals into a housing designed for it.
• tomduncalf 7y ago
  Not on the scale of 24” monitors but I’ve been really impressed by the performance of Sidecar on the new MacOS/iOS and currently use it with my 10” iPad as a second monitor solution on the go. I’ve used similar apps (eg Duet Display) before but found the lag and compression bothersome, but Sidecar seems perfect, even over WiFi. With a 12.9” iPad it would be even better!
• dmos62 7y ago
  I've learned to enjoy working on small screens. I did it because I traveled and didn't want anything I can't put in a backpack. For a long time I also used old low-res netbooks, because I didn't want to worry about a pricier laptop getting damaged (and because there was always one around). At one time switching to 1280x800 was a step-up; can't remember what resolution I used before then. I know that there are way more people who are into large displays, and that's perfectly understandable, but I'll mention what the advantages of small low-res screens are for me: - cheap + small + light + energy efficient; - task focus: I'm looking at one thing at a time. I realise that a lot of people want the opposite ability, but I cherish this constraint. If you have problems with attention, you might want to consider this; - more structure and efficiency in how you switch tasks: switching tasks takes more work than simply moving your eyes, so I quickly learned that thinking about what the next step is not only helps me get to the necessary window without any discomfort, but also helps with work efficiency and focus; - information efficiency: really most of these advantages are about focus: with a small screen most of the information I have in front of me is relevant to what I'm doing. If I had all my windows looking at me all the time, only [100/number of windows]% of that information would be relevant at any point in time. Disadvantages: partner's laptop better for watching movies.
  • fluuuhi 7y ago
    There is for sure a sweetspot. I don't think 1280x800 is it. When you have to scroll around on your screen to read text properly or sourcecode etc. then the screen is just not big enough. With the 13,X" Inch display from a macbook pro i don't have the feeling of constraint. Its quite a nice size.
• leksak 7y ago
  The screens look delightfully industrial. Love it.
• giorgioz 7y ago
  For 3 years I've been a digital nomad travelling (slowly every 6 months) with a mac mini and a 24 inches monitor and then even a 30inches monitor. The 24 inches monitor from Samsung would fit easily in the any luggage. The 30 inches monitor was a stretch and fit with only a margin of 1cm left in each corner. Later on I switched from a Mac Mini + Samsung 24inches monitor to simply a MacBook Pro 15inches. Even though the 24inches Samsung monitor is much larger than the MacBookPro's 15 inches, the MacBookPro 15inches is very easy on eye given both the Retina resolution and the amazing font anti-aliasing.
• drunkenmeister 7y ago
  Call me crazy but maybe you can just buy one of those portable USB screens from ASUS.
• ajnin 7y ago
  You could probably go even lighter by removing the power/control box entirely from each panel, and replacing it with an after-market board and a common supply for everything. It's easy to find control boards with HDMI inputs for your LCD panels on eBay, simply search for "<panel reference> control board". The control boards alone are very light, and low-voltage so safe. Presumably your panels are LED-backlit so safe, low-voltage too. You can then use a single external power supply to power the whole thing, easy to find on ebay/aliexpress too. It would also avoid the safety issue of stitching together the 3 power cables, and reduce the weight of cables as well. Then package everything in a nice box with hinges and some padding and you have a nice multimonitor transportable PC ;)
• markogresak 7y ago
  I always wonder how much of a productivity impact does a complex setup like this have over a single screen with multiple desktops. A few years ago, I have bought LG 34UC98, a 34" 21:9 ultra-widescreen monitor. I thought "Look at all that screen space, it will be great for my performance". I've used it maybe a few weeks, and now it's almost exclusive to gaming and movies. My girlfriend likes to use it for large research tasks, to open 3 documents side by side. So at least someone is using the monitor for productivity improvement. Now I'm back to a 15" macbook and I use 3 desktop setup, with apps assigned to a specific desktop, so they always open in the same space. I also disabled the feature where macOS tries to be smart and arranges the desktops based on frequency, which makes the position unpredictable. From left to right: 1. Mainly terminal, with an occasional GUI for git or database. 2. Editor (VS Code), using the native tabs feature so different projects are grouped under one app. 3. Browser, slack, mail, spotify, and other currently open apps (notes, iMessages, etc.). Note: I changed the display setting to "More space", which increases the resolution from the default 1680x1050 to 1920x1200 to have some more space. But I had a 13" macbook before, which was 1680x1050 at "More Space" setup, and it worked well too.
• wdb 7y ago
  When I was nomading I just bought a new monitor much cheaper then the overweight fines.
• nullsmack 7y ago
  You could buy monitors meant to be used as external monitors for laptops. I think most are 15.6" but there's some available at 17". I know that's nowhere near the 24" you use but you could probably carry an additional one. Plus those can be USB powered so you don't have the big hacked together dangerous AC power cable. They'd be lighter weight and thinner than a desktop monitor too. So you wouldn't have some Frankenstein thing that's missing the back of the monitor just to shave off some weight.