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I'm with you, I'm a dev who prefers Windows over Mac. I'm convinced that most Mac users don't use multiple monitors and they're completely fine with the really

I'm with you, I'm a dev who prefers Windows over Mac. I'm convinced that most Mac users don't use multiple monitors and they're completely fine with the really poor window management. It boggles my mind; I am objectively less productive with a single monitor than I am with multiple.

nordsieck 4y ago
> I am objectively less productive with a single monitor than I am with multiple. I've tried multi-monitor setups before with both Windows and OS X, and I just don't like them. I moved to a 43" 4K TV, and I like it much better, especially with a window manager like Rectangle. If I need extra screen real estate, OS X has pretty good support for virtual desktops, but I haven't felt the need yet. One of these days, I might feel cramped by my setup, but I suspect that I'd rather go up to 50" than get multiple monitors. Especially if I could go 8K by then.
kitsunesoba 4y ago
Longtime user of a 2-3 display setup here, and I would strongly disagree. If anything Windows’ support of multiple displays is bad… last I knew it couldn’t even set per-display or per-virtual-desktop wallpapers, and its virtual desktop support (which is essential for a multi monitor setup in my eyes) is nowhere near as mature as that of macOS or practically any Linux DE. The key is that with macOS, you don’t really manage windows. Just let windows be where they will, like papers on a desk, and then manage desktops. While I’m working I’m constantly flipping between desktops on both my primary and secondary displays, with the primary display being set up with desktops of primary windows and the secondary display being set up with desktops of secondary and tertiary windows. The ability to mix and match sets between displays is powerful and way more natural to me than cobbling together some kind of overcomplicated window snapping setup or something like that.
DangitBobby 4y ago
I've found Mac window management to be completely un-usable... Until I install Magnet from the app store for $3. Then sanity prevails. And with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, I've managed to get the right combination of dongles to get my 32" and 49" monitors to work at the same time. It was worth the pain to be on a Unix machine, at the end of the day.
white_dragon88 4y ago
I’m a Mac user and have 4 monitors plus my laptop’s screen. I use this https://rectangleapp.com/ https://rectangleapp.com/ to add snappiness to my windows. And it kicks ass
- bsagdiyev 4y ago
  Which is not a stock macOS app. Which is what the point was. Stock macOS sucks with window and monitor management. I run three screens and it's aggravating sometimes.
  - filchermcurr 4y ago
    It seems like if you discount third-party applications, you should also discount the addition of peripherals like additional monitors, as they're not the stock experience either. This seems to come up with every argument about operating systems. People say it sucks if you have to use third-party applications, but I vehemently disagree. The fact that you CAN use third-party applications, the fact that they have sufficient access to make the experience better, the fact that the community exists to make them... I think that's a major pro in favor of an OS.
  - runjake 4y ago
    Then you should download Rectangle and try it? It’s free and involves approximately 2 minutes of effort. Heck, that’s probably less time than it took you to write your comment.
  - cabbagesauce 4y ago
    Since when does the expectation that all stock apps should be ahead of competition arise? It was always vice-versa.
  - kcplate 4y ago
    > Which is not a stock macOS app. Which is what the point was. This seems like a strange standard to me. I can’t think of an OS across any and all I have had to use over a multi-decade career that didn’t benefit from some third-party app to improve some “stock” feature of the OS.
comfypotato 4y ago
Windows window management doesn't really scale well beyond 3 monitors either. I use AHK with great results, and I imagine Mac has a similar non-native program. That being said, I've never even tried to migrate to Mac or Linux because I'm most productive with 8 monitors and the support for that number sounds abysmal on anything but Windows.
cabbagesauce 4y ago
> I'm convinced that most Mac users don't use multiple monitors and they're completely fine with the really poor window management. It boggles my mind; I am objectively less productive with a single monitor than I am with multiple. I'm a long time Mac user with an 25" 21:9 ultra-wide display that constitutes two regular office displays. A single ultradwide display is way superior to a couple of displays. Performance wise for your workstation and config wise as well. Nothing is blurry to me. To manage windows with keyboard or mouse I use moom[0]. I've worked on Windows for 2 years at a large corp, and the blurriness of fonts I experienced with mid-range 27" monitors was unprecedented. Having invested considerable time to make the problem go away, I gave up. Even modern Ubuntu does better job at font rendering with displays made by the same manufacturer. [0] https://manytricks.com/moom/ https://manytricks.com/moom/

nordsieck 4y ago

> I am objectively less productive with a single monitor than I am with multiple. I've tried multi-monitor setups before with both Windows and OS X, and I just don't like them. I moved to a 43" 4K TV, and I like it much better, especially with a window manager like Rectangle. If I need extra screen real estate, OS X has pretty good support for virtual desktops, but I haven't felt the need yet. One of these days, I might feel cramped by my setup, but I suspect that I'd rather go up to 50" than get multiple monitors. Especially if I could go 8K by then.

kitsunesoba 4y ago

Longtime user of a 2-3 display setup here, and I would strongly disagree. If anything Windows’ support of multiple displays is bad… last I knew it couldn’t even set per-display or per-virtual-desktop wallpapers, and its virtual desktop support (which is essential for a multi monitor setup in my eyes) is nowhere near as mature as that of macOS or practically any Linux DE. The key is that with macOS, you don’t really manage windows. Just let windows be where they will, like papers on a desk, and then manage desktops. While I’m working I’m constantly flipping between desktops on both my primary and secondary displays, with the primary display being set up with desktops of primary windows and the secondary display being set up with desktops of secondary and tertiary windows. The ability to mix and match sets between displays is powerful and way more natural to me than cobbling together some kind of overcomplicated window snapping setup or something like that.

DangitBobby 4y ago

I've found Mac window management to be completely un-usable... Until I install Magnet from the app store for $3. Then sanity prevails. And with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, I've managed to get the right combination of dongles to get my 32" and 49" monitors to work at the same time. It was worth the pain to be on a Unix machine, at the end of the day.

white_dragon88 4y ago

I’m a Mac user and have 4 monitors plus my laptop’s screen. I use this https://rectangleapp.com/ https://rectangleapp.com/ to add snappiness to my windows. And it kicks ass

bsagdiyev 4y ago
Which is not a stock macOS app. Which is what the point was. Stock macOS sucks with window and monitor management. I run three screens and it's aggravating sometimes.
- filchermcurr 4y ago
  It seems like if you discount third-party applications, you should also discount the addition of peripherals like additional monitors, as they're not the stock experience either. This seems to come up with every argument about operating systems. People say it sucks if you have to use third-party applications, but I vehemently disagree. The fact that you CAN use third-party applications, the fact that they have sufficient access to make the experience better, the fact that the community exists to make them... I think that's a major pro in favor of an OS.
- runjake 4y ago
  Then you should download Rectangle and try it? It’s free and involves approximately 2 minutes of effort. Heck, that’s probably less time than it took you to write your comment.
- cabbagesauce 4y ago
  Since when does the expectation that all stock apps should be ahead of competition arise? It was always vice-versa.
- kcplate 4y ago
  > Which is not a stock macOS app. Which is what the point was. This seems like a strange standard to me. I can’t think of an OS across any and all I have had to use over a multi-decade career that didn’t benefit from some third-party app to improve some “stock” feature of the OS.

comfypotato 4y ago

Windows window management doesn't really scale well beyond 3 monitors either. I use AHK with great results, and I imagine Mac has a similar non-native program. That being said, I've never even tried to migrate to Mac or Linux because I'm most productive with 8 monitors and the support for that number sounds abysmal on anything but Windows.

cabbagesauce 4y ago

> I'm convinced that most Mac users don't use multiple monitors and they're completely fine with the really poor window management. It boggles my mind; I am objectively less productive with a single monitor than I am with multiple. I'm a long time Mac user with an 25" 21:9 ultra-wide display that constitutes two regular office displays. A single ultradwide display is way superior to a couple of displays. Performance wise for your workstation and config wise as well. Nothing is blurry to me. To manage windows with keyboard or mouse I use moom[0]. I've worked on Windows for 2 years at a large corp, and the blurriness of fonts I experienced with mid-range 27" monitors was unprecedented. Having invested considerable time to make the problem go away, I gave up. Even modern Ubuntu does better job at font rendering with displays made by the same manufacturer. [0] https://manytricks.com/moom/ https://manytricks.com/moom/