3 ms·

It’s possible they do other things as well, but is it _really_ true that a Dev is more productive with a second monitor that’s 24” as opposed to 19”? I used to

It’s possible they do other things as well, but is it _really_ true that a Dev is more productive with a second monitor that’s 24” as opposed to 19”? I used to be a huge fan of multi monitor setups but have gone through years of having 2 4K 27”, as single 4K, or just plain old MacBook screen only. I can definitely attest that a laptop screen alone is not good, but am honestly not sure about the added benefit of a second large monitor, leave alone due to its size. If anything I probably was less productive when I had two large screens! Furthermore the most prolific engineers I know of rarely has more than one large monitor if even that. However, does having two large monitors make me feel good? Heck yes! So in terms of engineer morale it might help but I doubt you were measurably less productive due to this handicap on actual non emotional basis.

TeMPOraL 6y ago
> So in terms of engineer morale it might help but I doubt you were measurably less productive due to this handicap on actual non emotional basis. Except they probably were measurably less productive (if anyone bothered to measure), because software engineering runs on emotion and engineering morale. If you're doing anything more complicated than retyping code from printouts, how you feel will determine your speed and ability to focus. So even if the only thing a 24” screen did for GP was to not constantly annoy them, that's a real productivity improvement.
HelloNurse 6y ago
The point is that the discussion costs more than the purchase, so the only reasonable answer to a request to buy anything useful is "Yes, immediately, I'll buy one for every colleague who wants one". A manager who wants to save money on hardware is unprofessional (because they don't understand what is useful or not), an idiot (because they don't understand arithmetic and psychology), or both. Being unexpectedly denied, through a three-person meeting, a $30 software upgrade was a significant factor in my last job change.

TeMPOraL 6y ago

> So in terms of engineer morale it might help but I doubt you were measurably less productive due to this handicap on actual non emotional basis. Except they probably were measurably less productive (if anyone bothered to measure), because software engineering runs on emotion and engineering morale. If you're doing anything more complicated than retyping code from printouts, how you feel will determine your speed and ability to focus. So even if the only thing a 24” screen did for GP was to not constantly annoy them, that's a real productivity improvement.

HelloNurse 6y ago

The point is that the discussion costs more than the purchase, so the only reasonable answer to a request to buy anything useful is "Yes, immediately, I'll buy one for every colleague who wants one". A manager who wants to save money on hardware is unprofessional (because they don't understand what is useful or not), an idiot (because they don't understand arithmetic and psychology), or both. Being unexpectedly denied, through a three-person meeting, a $30 software upgrade was a significant factor in my last job change.