4 ms·

Ask HN: Do older devs buy heavier notebooks so they can see the screen with their diminishing eyesight? And if so, at what age do older devs start doing this?

SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
This is actually a more relevant question, the answer being sometimes "yes". Or, prefer to have a large high-rez external display at your usual places of work.
mojuba 4y ago
I began using reading glasses at the age of 43. Ten years later, I'm at +2 and it's not enough, need to move up a notch again. Age related long-sightedness is one of the most annoying things. You can see far away sort of OK, but you can't read your phone or something printed in small letters right under your nose. You also realize how this is an invisible and largely ignored problem by the fact that packaging designers (and most designers in general) don't care about you at all. It only gets worse as you age but you are of course reluctant about "upgrading" your glasses because you know they only make it worse and there's no going back from each upgrade. As for laptops, I do prefer 16" since I move cities and countries a lot, can't afford moving a desk monitor with me.
- throwup 4y ago
  > you are of course reluctant about "upgrading" your glasses because you know they only make it worse Is that actually true? I always assumed my lenses would harden at a more-or-less constant rate no matter what I do. I wouldn't think wearing glasses could the speed up or slow down the process.
  - mojuba 4y ago
    Yes I heard from a doctor that reading glasses only make the process faster because occasionally and inevitably you look at distant objects, i.e. much further than your screen, which your reading glasses are not meant for.
    - throwup 4y ago
      Interesting, I'll have to read more. From your description it sounds like the problem could be mostly mitigated if you put your glasses on only after sitting down at your desk, and remove them before standing up.
gwbas1c 4y ago
I've always bought the largest screen I could get. I really make use of the space. What I did around the time I turned 41 was buy a giant 50" 4k TV and mount it about 5 feet (1.5 meters) away from my head. I run it at 100% magnification, but you could easily run it at 150% if you want bigger text. Spreading an IDE over such a large space is like a godsend, and the distance helps reduce eyestrain.
ghusto 4y ago
One of the first things I do is increase the font size in the OS, and my browser. I did this even when I was young (when higher resolution screens started coming out), and never understood how people find 12pt acceptable. There's nothing wrong with my eyesight though. To answer the original question though, yes :) I've been going for light over power for a while now.

SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago

This is actually a more relevant question, the answer being sometimes "yes". Or, prefer to have a large high-rez external display at your usual places of work.

mojuba 4y ago

I began using reading glasses at the age of 43. Ten years later, I'm at +2 and it's not enough, need to move up a notch again. Age related long-sightedness is one of the most annoying things. You can see far away sort of OK, but you can't read your phone or something printed in small letters right under your nose. You also realize how this is an invisible and largely ignored problem by the fact that packaging designers (and most designers in general) don't care about you at all. It only gets worse as you age but you are of course reluctant about "upgrading" your glasses because you know they only make it worse and there's no going back from each upgrade. As for laptops, I do prefer 16" since I move cities and countries a lot, can't afford moving a desk monitor with me.

throwup 4y ago
> you are of course reluctant about "upgrading" your glasses because you know they only make it worse Is that actually true? I always assumed my lenses would harden at a more-or-less constant rate no matter what I do. I wouldn't think wearing glasses could the speed up or slow down the process.
- mojuba 4y ago
  Yes I heard from a doctor that reading glasses only make the process faster because occasionally and inevitably you look at distant objects, i.e. much further than your screen, which your reading glasses are not meant for.
  - throwup 4y ago
    Interesting, I'll have to read more. From your description it sounds like the problem could be mostly mitigated if you put your glasses on only after sitting down at your desk, and remove them before standing up.

gwbas1c 4y ago

I've always bought the largest screen I could get. I really make use of the space. What I did around the time I turned 41 was buy a giant 50" 4k TV and mount it about 5 feet (1.5 meters) away from my head. I run it at 100% magnification, but you could easily run it at 150% if you want bigger text. Spreading an IDE over such a large space is like a godsend, and the distance helps reduce eyestrain.

ghusto 4y ago

One of the first things I do is increase the font size in the OS, and my browser. I did this even when I was young (when higher resolution screens started coming out), and never understood how people find 12pt acceptable. There's nothing wrong with my eyesight though. To answer the original question though, yes :) I've been going for light over power for a while now.