8 ms·

Hats off for trying this in Linux. I gave up on that path a long time ago and am running nine monitors with a Windows 8.1 base OS, utilizing DisplayLink USB do

Hats off for trying this in Linux. I gave up on that path a long time ago and am running nine monitors with a Windows 8.1 base OS, utilizing DisplayLink USB docs in combination with the DVI out on my main doc to drive the 2560x1600 30" display (the yellow one) with all others running at 1920x1200 from DisplayLink. I then run Linux in a VM, all from a laptop whith 32GB of ram and three built in SSD's giving me a bit more than 2TB of storage. Interestingly there appears to be an eight monitor limit total when using DisplayLink for the OS so the ninth monitor is driven from its own DisplayLink doc which I've directly hardware associated with a VM. Of course because the host OS doesn't know about that monitor I also need a second mouse so I can access it. Here's the latest photo of my setup: http://defaultstore.com/mydesk.jpg http://defaultstore.com/mydesk.jpg

bithush 12y ago
Wow. That is a pretty crazy setup. I would worry about neck problems with the position of the top row. How long have you worked with this setup? Also what make/model/spec is the laptop you run it all from?
- patcheudor 12y ago
  It's taken a few years to build up to this. To mitigate neck pain I: 1) Have set my chair so that it rocks as far back as possible with little force. 2) Sit directly across from the gym and try to visit it twice a day for at least two 15 minute HIIT cardio / body weight workout. I do lots of pull-ups, archers, and have been working up to the iron cross. 3) Only use the upper deck monitors for security reviews where I need "eyes on" resulting actions. I don't use them on a daily basis.
hansjorg 12y ago
I guess just using multiple workspaces doesn't work for you?
- atrus 12y ago
  Not when you're trying to monitor a lot of data. Even on my dual monitor setup, One monitor has 4 terminal windows for informational purposes. It would take longer to move to another workspace than to just simply take a quick glance to the left.
  - patcheudor 12y ago
    Exactly! Over the years more than a few people have called me crazy for having a setup like this because at the end of the day they try to picture themselves using this sort of solution. The fact is, if you aren't trying to keep track of a large number of things as near real time as you can, nine monitors is absolutely absurd. In the past you'd only find this type of setup on a stock brokers desk; however, when you consider what's required from even a moderately scoped pen-test, going to this point makes a lot of sense from a time perspective. I've greatly reduced the amount of duplicate work because I can see the entire result of an action in real time while sparing myself from switching between tasks to work on code & exploits.
dustin999 12y ago
Honest question, do you feel a little ridiculous with that setup? I'm a coder and have 2x24" monitors, and found that to be borderline ridiculous with neck strain, thus the reason I'm going 27". But unless you're running security at a place of business or something with 50 security cams, I can't imagine what you're doing that requires a wall of monitors?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- patcheudor 12y ago
  Our philosophy in the office is that alt-tab is for suckers. While my setup is the most over the top we have three other people with five monitors or more. We are all security researchers and find the configuration saves a bunch of time in reviews. As an example, I can associate a MitM proxy like the Burpsuite or Fiddler 2 with the server side application which might communicate to web clients as well as to additional web services behind the scenes. That takes up one monitor, typically the one at the far top left. Under that monitor I can then associate another MitM proxy with the client. I can then run the client from my laptop display. If I'm working on a fat client, on the 30" I'll then run Wireshark which will effectively be watching the client. On another monitor I can run sysinternal tools. What remains I use for writing code necessary for the review, running additional tools like Metasploit, e-mail, chat, and research. I arrange my workspace for the task at hand. On a daily basis do I use all nine? No. Interestingly enough, with this sort of setup it's pretty easy to visually see what's happening when going after an application. Before going to the monitor extreme I'd constantly alt-tab between my monitoring & exploit tools with every action. Now I can run an action and see the results within one workspace. Of course there is a massive downside. It makes competing in CTFs a pain in the butt as I can't drag that setup with me to physical events.
  - jmgrosen 12y ago
    A bit off-topic, but what CTF team do you play on?
    - 12y ago
aschampion 12y ago
No need for a second mouse: http://synergy-project.org/ http://synergy-project.org/
- bane 12y ago
  Synergy is amazing. It's hard to explain to people, but as soon as they get somebody to set it up you can watch their faces the first time they move their mouse over to another machine and they go "oh"..."ooOOOHHH" and the light clicks on. They've recently moved to a paid model, but some older free versions are still around. I don't know why it's not better known.
  - nbolton 12y ago
    Story of my life! That's why I commissioned the video. What do you think? Some think the music is a bit babyish... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJlUiQZ84Uw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJlUiQZ84Uw
    - Todd 12y ago
      I think the video looks great. It conveys the purpose very clearly for those who don't even know that they need something like that. Although it's not my cup of tea, I think the music is very current in this context. Nice work!
    - bane 12y ago
      Video is great! Still it's weird, I can even show somebody a setup with Synergy running, and until the moment they move their own mouse cursor over that hard boundary at the end of their monitor, it never seems to click...and weirdly people are kind of resistant to it. I almost think the next Tron movie needs a character named Synergy that bashes down arbitrary walls between systems to really get the idea out there ;)
- rcarmo 12y ago
  Also Teleport for Mac: http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/ http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/ (requires a little tweaking to work with Yosemite)
mvlad 12y ago
No. aaand No. That is the most stupid thing I've ever seen. You will (presumably in the next version of Windows) be able to use workspaces. I have 11 workspaces and I can switch to a workspace MUCH faster than you can tilt your head. I've never understood why people need more than 1 monitor. I've used two monitors and felt overly confused. It is utterly pointless and expensive to have an entire monitor dedicated to an application. By your "setup" I should have at least 20 monitors. Go figure.
- jacquesm 12y ago
  Don't berate someone's tools before you've looked at their application of those tools.
  - ketralnis 12y ago
    I'd go further and say don't berate someone's tools full stop. They're not making you use it. They're not making you pay for it. Why do you care at all? What does it have to do with you? Why do you think they want your opinion at all?
    - Chronic29 12y ago
      By that logic, we should look not criticize what others are doing, even if it is unethical or dangerous. Oh, that man is using a knife to kill himself? Well it's his tool after all...
- bane 12y ago
  Amazingly, some people don't get confused when confronted with two different things going on in two different places.
- leoc 12y ago
  Alt-tabbery and workspace swapping are more likely to generate mental confusion and delay than having things simultaneously visible side by side, surely.
- deeviant 12y ago
utku_karatas2 12y ago
Aaaand this is why I switched to first a tiling WM, and then to OSX for its intuitive 4 finger swipe workspaces. Till that switch I was a multi monitor junkie, but after 3 monitors it starts getting bad for your neck, bad for your eyes (with all those monitor backlights burning your retinas) and you also need humongous desk setups. Nowadays it's just one big monitor and 4 finger swipes.
- stinos 12y ago
  I work both on triple monitor and single monitor+workspace setups and still prefer the triple monitor for a single reason: you cannot put workspaces next to each other and get an overview of multiple windows at the same time.. Just saying it might work for you, but it's by no means a proper replacement for all of us
  - DeanCollinsNY 12y ago
    that's what I was thinking, I often throw a frame onto the left or right monitor.....having a single monitor would mean I'm adjusting positions all the time?
  - JoshTriplett 12y ago
    > you cannot put workspaces next to each other and get an overview of multiple windows at the same time While I personally prefer a single-monitor no-workspace setup, there do exist several window managers that let you independently choose workspaces for different monitors rather than having each workspace specify a layout for all monitors. For instance, the window manager "awesome" uses tags (primarily 1-9) for windows, and lets you say "this monitor should display 1, and this one should show 2-3".
worklogin 12y ago
Truly, if this works for you, then all the best. But we have lots of people at my organization programming, analyzing big data, and troubleshooting operations, and never have I ever heard or seen anyone wish for more than four monitors (two is the standard). I feel the physical issues, the problems with space (if everyone wanted that) and the capital investment all point to the use of workspaces. This setup makes me think of this, which has been a joke in our circle for some time. http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/swordfishtechno3dhackingdrama.mp4/thumbnailImage http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/sword...

bithush 12y ago

Wow. That is a pretty crazy setup. I would worry about neck problems with the position of the top row. How long have you worked with this setup? Also what make/model/spec is the laptop you run it all from?

patcheudor 12y ago
It's taken a few years to build up to this. To mitigate neck pain I: 1) Have set my chair so that it rocks as far back as possible with little force. 2) Sit directly across from the gym and try to visit it twice a day for at least two 15 minute HIIT cardio / body weight workout. I do lots of pull-ups, archers, and have been working up to the iron cross. 3) Only use the upper deck monitors for security reviews where I need "eyes on" resulting actions. I don't use them on a daily basis.

hansjorg 12y ago

I guess just using multiple workspaces doesn't work for you?

atrus 12y ago
Not when you're trying to monitor a lot of data. Even on my dual monitor setup, One monitor has 4 terminal windows for informational purposes. It would take longer to move to another workspace than to just simply take a quick glance to the left.
- patcheudor 12y ago
  Exactly! Over the years more than a few people have called me crazy for having a setup like this because at the end of the day they try to picture themselves using this sort of solution. The fact is, if you aren't trying to keep track of a large number of things as near real time as you can, nine monitors is absolutely absurd. In the past you'd only find this type of setup on a stock brokers desk; however, when you consider what's required from even a moderately scoped pen-test, going to this point makes a lot of sense from a time perspective. I've greatly reduced the amount of duplicate work because I can see the entire result of an action in real time while sparing myself from switching between tasks to work on code & exploits.

dustin999 12y ago

Honest question, do you feel a little ridiculous with that setup? I'm a coder and have 2x24" monitors, and found that to be borderline ridiculous with neck strain, thus the reason I'm going 27". But unless you're running security at a place of business or something with 50 security cams, I can't imagine what you're doing that requires a wall of monitors?

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
patcheudor 12y ago
Our philosophy in the office is that alt-tab is for suckers. While my setup is the most over the top we have three other people with five monitors or more. We are all security researchers and find the configuration saves a bunch of time in reviews. As an example, I can associate a MitM proxy like the Burpsuite or Fiddler 2 with the server side application which might communicate to web clients as well as to additional web services behind the scenes. That takes up one monitor, typically the one at the far top left. Under that monitor I can then associate another MitM proxy with the client. I can then run the client from my laptop display. If I'm working on a fat client, on the 30" I'll then run Wireshark which will effectively be watching the client. On another monitor I can run sysinternal tools. What remains I use for writing code necessary for the review, running additional tools like Metasploit, e-mail, chat, and research. I arrange my workspace for the task at hand. On a daily basis do I use all nine? No. Interestingly enough, with this sort of setup it's pretty easy to visually see what's happening when going after an application. Before going to the monitor extreme I'd constantly alt-tab between my monitoring & exploit tools with every action. Now I can run an action and see the results within one workspace. Of course there is a massive downside. It makes competing in CTFs a pain in the butt as I can't drag that setup with me to physical events.
- jmgrosen 12y ago
  A bit off-topic, but what CTF team do you play on?
  - 12y ago

aschampion 12y ago

No need for a second mouse: http://synergy-project.org/ http://synergy-project.org/

bane 12y ago
Synergy is amazing. It's hard to explain to people, but as soon as they get somebody to set it up you can watch their faces the first time they move their mouse over to another machine and they go "oh"..."ooOOOHHH" and the light clicks on. They've recently moved to a paid model, but some older free versions are still around. I don't know why it's not better known.
- nbolton 12y ago
  Story of my life! That's why I commissioned the video. What do you think? Some think the music is a bit babyish... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJlUiQZ84Uw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJlUiQZ84Uw
  - Todd 12y ago
    I think the video looks great. It conveys the purpose very clearly for those who don't even know that they need something like that. Although it's not my cup of tea, I think the music is very current in this context. Nice work!
  - bane 12y ago
    Video is great! Still it's weird, I can even show somebody a setup with Synergy running, and until the moment they move their own mouse cursor over that hard boundary at the end of their monitor, it never seems to click...and weirdly people are kind of resistant to it. I almost think the next Tron movie needs a character named Synergy that bashes down arbitrary walls between systems to really get the idea out there ;)
rcarmo 12y ago
Also Teleport for Mac: http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/ http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/ (requires a little tweaking to work with Yosemite)

mvlad 12y ago

No. aaand No. That is the most stupid thing I've ever seen. You will (presumably in the next version of Windows) be able to use workspaces. I have 11 workspaces and I can switch to a workspace MUCH faster than you can tilt your head. I've never understood why people need more than 1 monitor. I've used two monitors and felt overly confused. It is utterly pointless and expensive to have an entire monitor dedicated to an application. By your "setup" I should have at least 20 monitors. Go figure.

jacquesm 12y ago
Don't berate someone's tools before you've looked at their application of those tools.
- ketralnis 12y ago
  I'd go further and say don't berate someone's tools full stop. They're not making you use it. They're not making you pay for it. Why do you care at all? What does it have to do with you? Why do you think they want your opinion at all?
  - Chronic29 12y ago
    By that logic, we should look not criticize what others are doing, even if it is unethical or dangerous. Oh, that man is using a knife to kill himself? Well it's his tool after all...
bane 12y ago
Amazingly, some people don't get confused when confronted with two different things going on in two different places.
leoc 12y ago
Alt-tabbery and workspace swapping are more likely to generate mental confusion and delay than having things simultaneously visible side by side, surely.
deeviant 12y ago

utku_karatas2 12y ago

Aaaand this is why I switched to first a tiling WM, and then to OSX for its intuitive 4 finger swipe workspaces. Till that switch I was a multi monitor junkie, but after 3 monitors it starts getting bad for your neck, bad for your eyes (with all those monitor backlights burning your retinas) and you also need humongous desk setups. Nowadays it's just one big monitor and 4 finger swipes.

stinos 12y ago
I work both on triple monitor and single monitor+workspace setups and still prefer the triple monitor for a single reason: you cannot put workspaces next to each other and get an overview of multiple windows at the same time.. Just saying it might work for you, but it's by no means a proper replacement for all of us
- DeanCollinsNY 12y ago
  that's what I was thinking, I often throw a frame onto the left or right monitor.....having a single monitor would mean I'm adjusting positions all the time?
- JoshTriplett 12y ago
  > you cannot put workspaces next to each other and get an overview of multiple windows at the same time While I personally prefer a single-monitor no-workspace setup, there do exist several window managers that let you independently choose workspaces for different monitors rather than having each workspace specify a layout for all monitors. For instance, the window manager "awesome" uses tags (primarily 1-9) for windows, and lets you say "this monitor should display 1, and this one should show 2-3".

worklogin 12y ago

Truly, if this works for you, then all the best. But we have lots of people at my organization programming, analyzing big data, and troubleshooting operations, and never have I ever heard or seen anyone wish for more than four monitors (two is the standard). I feel the physical issues, the problems with space (if everyone wanted that) and the capital investment all point to the use of workspaces. This setup makes me think of this, which has been a joke in our circle for some time. http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/swordfishtechno3dhackingdrama.mp4/thumbnailImage http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/sword...