I used to use three 27″ monitors vertically, then switched to two 30″ Dells, nowadays I’m on a 13″ Air screen most of the time, and occasionally plug into a Thunderbolt Display. Here’s a cool article on how to increase productivity per square inch of your screen by Peter Legierski.
Nice Article! I also love spaces on my 13″ air.. couldn’t live without it 🙂
I 100% agree with this article, Matt. When I bought my first MacBook Pro 3 years ago, it was a 13″ and at first I thought going to a smaller screen size was going to be tough. It wasn’t. I found that it was MUCH easier to focus on one thing at a time. Now I’m on a whopping 15″ MBP and I kinda miss that 13.
Thanks Matt, I really get stuck when moving from my 19inch display to my 14inch laptop screen.
I’m working on a 24 inch screen at the moment and I have been thinking of getting another cinema 27 screen. But after reading the article, its actually made me think. To be honest I rarely utilise the full screen size unless editing images or illustrations, I think rather than spending money on more screens I will get a Mac book and get out and enjoy free wifi :D.
That is a contrary opinion to my own. After a series of moves, I’m down to a single monitor, and my productivity has taken a huge hit. I dislike widescreen monitors as you can’t maximize most apps without text getting stretched to lines of nearly unreadable lengths. I’m happier with two standard 4:3 monitors.
If I am just writing or corresponding, I’m happy on a single monitor, and can drift over to the laptop for short stretches. (Can’t do for long without the ergonomic keyboard though–my wrists can’t take the abuse.) If I’m doing graphic, sound or video editing, I use one window as the editor, the second for all the small toolboxes to keep the workspace uncluttered. When working on code, I often need a “go-by” page open in one monitor to refer to while I work in the other. Or, I need to compare two windows side by side. Bouncing back and forth between tabs and open applications on a single monitor leaves me more confused than anything, and kills productivity.
I don’t know that I agree with the argument that a 12″ monitor can replace a 27″ monitor – certainly if you’ve developed a workspace that accommodates things like twitter clients as distraction-sidebars (which to me seems as ridiculous as sticking a movie and trying to watch the movie while working, it’s a recipe for frustration, if not a coding disaster).
I usually have multiple interconnected apps/views/etc on screen, so I’ve found that working on my 15″ laptop — while it’s certainly possible — is a lesser productivity environment than the 27″ monitor on my desk, due to window juggling.
I was rocking a dual-monitor setup at work, which aided my daily duties performing data quality analysis.
Since I made the personal switch to a MacBook, I’ve been completely sucked in by the extended desktop — that I can four-finger swipe left/right to reveal a different working space as needed has been revolutionary. That one piece of technology is why I’ve returned to a one-screen setup.
didn’t know that you switched to mac already. the last time I visited here, you’re still using vaio z laptop.
how is it going for you?
Pretty well, I might do a post about it next week.
Did you try the smallest ultra-book – you can see or buy it here http://discover.store.sony.com/q/sony_content.html