I'm mainly curious about software developers here, or anyone else whose computer is somewhat central to their life, be it professional or hobbyist.
I only have two monitors—one directly in front of me, and another to the right of it, angled toward me. For web development, I keep my editor on the main screen, and anything auxiliary (be that a dev build, a video, StackOverflow, etc.) on the side screen.
I wouldn't mind a third monitor, and if I had one, I'd definitely use it for log/output, since currently it's a floating window that I shuffle around however necessary. It could be smaller than the other two, and I might even turn it vertical so I could split the screen between output and a terminal, configuring a AutoHotKey script to focus the terminal.
What about y'all?
[ cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13864053 ]
Embedded software developer here. One monitor, virtual workspaces. Because I don't need distractions.
People in here with 2+ monitors, how do you stay focused? Probably it's just me, but I have a hard time getting into the flow after getting interrupted.
Oh damn, I thought I was going to be the only one here!
I don't know how you get by with only one. Between source code, simulators/emulators, datasheets, requirement specs, log files, e-mails from senior devs with tribal knowledge not written down anywhere else, and a bunch of other bullshit, I sometimes find 3 24" monitors to be lacking.
Distractions aren't a problem because I can easily use up all that screen real estate for a single task.
When I receive a notification I don't need to switch away from my editor to check it, I just glance to the left and continue with my work or react if needed. Constantly switching windows in front of me would be so much more distracting for me.
Also, being able to read docs and google stuff on a vertical monitor on the right, while still seeing the code in front of me is incredibly convenient. Again, I can't imagine switching away from my editor to the docs and to the code again.
I need to be able to effortlessly switch attention between code, tests, logs, docs, notifications. If I can't do that by just shifting my sight in the right direction, my brain doesn't function.
It's so interesting how different people are!