5 ms·

Moving from a pair of 21" monitors to a 10" tablet screen with attached, terrible keyboard seems like a effort in trying to find a painful development environme

Moving from a pair of 21" monitors to a 10" tablet screen with attached, terrible keyboard seems like a effort in trying to find a painful development environment. There's been a large amount of research done on dual monitors and increased screen space and the effects on productivity - throwing that all out because it feels good seems like a ridiculous idea, let alone the ergonomics of hunching over a small screen.

bergie 13y ago
Moving from 11" laptop to a 'retina' 10" tablet however is actually an upgrade screen estate wise. I can see the appeal of multiple big screens, but that has never worked for me. I spend much time on the road, and want to have the same working environment in the coffee shop as I have in the office.
- YeahKIA 13y ago
  Why is remoting up to the dev machine in you office not an option then ? If the tablet is just used as a dumb terminal then it makes a bit sense. I do that all the time with mu surface.
- bluedino 13y ago
  You'd have to have fucking laser vision to be able to use that small of fonts crammed on a 10.1" screen.
  - mamcx 13y ago
    Is far easier to zoom in a tablet. I use a 30" LCD for my main setup, but no problem when need to read code in a iPad 2. I simply put large fonts and zoom.
    - bergie 13y ago
      Also, with this pixel density and the desktop stand I can keep the tablet reasonably near my face.
ne0phyte 13y ago
Terrible keyboard? Android supports USB HID devices so just use whatever keyboard you normally use. I use my HHKB [1] when I am on the go which is 1000 times better than the on-screen keyboard. I also have two monitors at home and at work, so I agree that replacing a real setup with 10" is terrible. If you would connect that Nexus 10 to a 24" or so monitor at work that would be a much better solution. [1] http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=pfu_keyboards,hhkbpro2&pid=pdkb400bn http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=pfu_keyboards,hhk...
_feda_ 13y ago
Could you direct me to some of this research you're citing? it seems really unlikely to me that dual monitors would have any kind of significant impact on productivity. in fact don't they encourage multi-tasking which tends to decrease productivity?
- peterhajas 13y ago
  One of many: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/technology/for-multitaskers-multiple-monitors-improve-office-efficiency.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/technology/for-multitasker...
  - seivan 13y ago
    How does it play on people who have ADHD? I've been on a single 13" for three years and I don't want to go back to two 21" again. Might go for an 15" just because of xCode, but that's it.
- ingve 13y ago
  Jeff Atwood has lots of links here: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/does-more-than-one-monitor-improve-productivity.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/does-more-than-one-...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
gcb0 13y ago
agreed. the whole article is about masochism. I can get pretty much a better environment just by flashing a decent ROM that has a good terminal/ssh client and/or a modern port of VIM. ...and then using VNC is just the conclusion that his setup is not even close to optimal. Sorry, but a netbook is way more feasible and less masochist than that ever will be. Android/ios are not useful for general purpose by design. it's not something that you can 'improve' gradually. And that's why instead of punishing me like that, i'm excited about the other 'mobile' OSes comming, like ubuntu, mozilla, etc.
- bergie 13y ago
  The good thing about this decoupled setup is that switching costs (in time, not in money) are amazingly low. If something new and interesting comes up, I can just switch to that device and reconnect to my existing tmux sessions. Maybe Ubuntu will deliver a great tablet, or Google ship that rumoured Chrome OS tablet? I could be up and running on one of those in minutes
dvhh 13y ago
I think the emphasis was on mobility. It is quite difficult to find a light enough laptop with a large screen estate. I don't think I could go around with a laptop larger than 15".

bergie 13y ago

Moving from 11" laptop to a 'retina' 10" tablet however is actually an upgrade screen estate wise. I can see the appeal of multiple big screens, but that has never worked for me. I spend much time on the road, and want to have the same working environment in the coffee shop as I have in the office.

YeahKIA 13y ago
Why is remoting up to the dev machine in you office not an option then ? If the tablet is just used as a dumb terminal then it makes a bit sense. I do that all the time with mu surface.
bluedino 13y ago
You'd have to have fucking laser vision to be able to use that small of fonts crammed on a 10.1" screen.
- mamcx 13y ago
  Is far easier to zoom in a tablet. I use a 30" LCD for my main setup, but no problem when need to read code in a iPad 2. I simply put large fonts and zoom.
  - bergie 13y ago
    Also, with this pixel density and the desktop stand I can keep the tablet reasonably near my face.

ne0phyte 13y ago

Terrible keyboard? Android supports USB HID devices so just use whatever keyboard you normally use. I use my HHKB [1] when I am on the go which is 1000 times better than the on-screen keyboard. I also have two monitors at home and at work, so I agree that replacing a real setup with 10" is terrible. If you would connect that Nexus 10 to a 24" or so monitor at work that would be a much better solution. [1] http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=pfu_keyboards,hhkbpro2&pid=pdkb400bn http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=pfu_keyboards,hhk...

_feda_ 13y ago

Could you direct me to some of this research you're citing? it seems really unlikely to me that dual monitors would have any kind of significant impact on productivity. in fact don't they encourage multi-tasking which tends to decrease productivity?

peterhajas 13y ago
One of many: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/technology/for-multitaskers-multiple-monitors-improve-office-efficiency.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/technology/for-multitasker...
- seivan 13y ago
  How does it play on people who have ADHD? I've been on a single 13" for three years and I don't want to go back to two 21" again. Might go for an 15" just because of xCode, but that's it.
ingve 13y ago
Jeff Atwood has lots of links here: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/does-more-than-one-monitor-improve-productivity.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/does-more-than-one-...

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

gcb0 13y ago

agreed. the whole article is about masochism. I can get pretty much a better environment just by flashing a decent ROM that has a good terminal/ssh client and/or a modern port of VIM. ...and then using VNC is just the conclusion that his setup is not even close to optimal. Sorry, but a netbook is way more feasible and less masochist than that ever will be. Android/ios are not useful for general purpose by design. it's not something that you can 'improve' gradually. And that's why instead of punishing me like that, i'm excited about the other 'mobile' OSes comming, like ubuntu, mozilla, etc.

bergie 13y ago
The good thing about this decoupled setup is that switching costs (in time, not in money) are amazingly low. If something new and interesting comes up, I can just switch to that device and reconnect to my existing tmux sessions. Maybe Ubuntu will deliver a great tablet, or Google ship that rumoured Chrome OS tablet? I could be up and running on one of those in minutes

dvhh 13y ago

I think the emphasis was on mobility. It is quite difficult to find a light enough laptop with a large screen estate. I don't think I could go around with a laptop larger than 15".