
Eric S Raymond's Setup - sasvari
http://eric.s.raymond.usesthis.com/
======
morsch
Two things struck me as particularly surprising: He's still running a (high
quality) 21" CRT. And he's using Ubuntu (considering switching to Arch).
Somehow I expected him to be using some sort of insane manual install
maintained since the nineties.

~~~
jlarocco
Monitors took a huge step backwards in the switch from CRTs to LCDs.

Up until just 2 or 3 years ago I was still using a gigantic Dell CRT that I
had bought from a coworker for $10. It had better color, higher DPI, higher
resolution and a better response time than the expensive LCD that replaced it.

Oh, and it wasn't widescreen, which was nice.

~~~
huggah
Maybe I've never used good CRTs? They have always given me migraines. I was
seriously considering whether I needed to give up on being a developer because
I wasn't sure I could continue to work with computers around the time LCDs
started taking over.

LCDs still sometimes give me migraines (after 12+ hours), and there's a big
difference between high-quality and low-quality monitors; but I would never go
back. I also don't recall CRTs being better (in terms of color, DPI and
resolution) than the good monitors I use today.

~~~
flomo
Yep, the average bundled CRT was pretty terrible and far below the average
bundled LCD.

The higher-end CRTs (Trinitrons etc) were great, but tended to wear out over
time. I'm somewhat surprised that Raymond still has one that hasn't gone
blurry, as I haven't seen a nicely working one in quite a while.

~~~
aidenn0
Trinitrons look great when they are new, but wear out way too fast. I stick to
shadowmask screens for that reason (and still use a nice CRT at home)

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cpeterso
> _Displays with 16x9 aspect ratio - they’re stretched in the wrong direction,
> vertically cramping my editor window and ergonomically poor for web
> browsing. Sadly, I expect to have to live with 16x9 in the future._

Does he not realize you can rotate the displays?

~~~
crististm
When you rotate the display the image quality drops significantly. The change
in hue is very high on the vertical and you'll notice it even if you don't pay
attention.

~~~
cfn
What you say is true if you rotate the cheaper TN based monitors. I have a
Dell 24' monitor in portrait mode and it looks just fine as it is an IPS
monitor.

~~~
4ad
I also have one Dell and one HP IPS monitor in portrait mode and they don't
look fine at all. They are barely acceptable. There's no hue degradation, but
there's a huge contrast degradation plus font subpixel rendering is broken.

~~~
cfn
I do see a difference between the portrait monitor and the others (it seats
between two TN 24' Samsungs) but it is perfectably acceptable for writing
code.

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mironathetin
This is one of the coolest sites I ever saw (I don't mean only Raymond, just
go to the whole interviews list).

Thanks for the link.

~~~
statictype
It's great at the start. Then you start to get bored (though not really the
fault of the site) when you see that pretty much everyone's setup is "Mac Book
Pro with 24' cinema display".

I liked this one the most: <http://mark.pilgrim.usesthis.com/>

~~~
mironathetin
Please note that Mark does not use Google stuff for his books. He uses Emacs!

Now that is interesting, isn't it?

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adamrmcd
_> The desktop ensemble is rounded out with Logitech speakers and a hefty
subwoofer, as I like intricate music playing while I hack (Liquid Tension
Experiment playing now)._

I would have liked to have heard what else he listens to. Never heard of this
band but they sound like Dethklok meets Antiloop or something. Very
interesting and cool.

I always find I can work better to "progressive instrumental" too: no lyrics
or vocals.

~~~
packetslave
Liquid Tension Experiment is Dream Theater (John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Mike
Portnoy) with a different bass player (Tony Levin)

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gfosco
It doesn't really make sense that I have more and better equipment than ESR.
You would think in his field he would spend more money on technology.

~~~
callahad
If ESR is able to be productive with the gear he has, I don't see why he would
need to spend more money. Tools are necessary, but the marginal utility of
upgrades drops off pretty quickly. I'm reminded of this comic strip:
<http://whattheduck.com/strip/95>

~~~
batista
> _If ESR is able to be productive with the gear he has, I don't see why he
> would need to spend more money._

Has he done anything productive the last 10 years? His last major project I
remember was the Linux kernel configuration program fiasco.

~~~
famousactress
Jeez. The spirit and tone of this comment seem incredibly obnoxious.

~~~
batista
Whereas the "OMG, ESR manages to be productive with so little" worship thing
wasn't?

How about just answering the question then?

~~~
famousactress
The argument that it's equally obnoxious to assume that someone who's made
useful contributions in the past has been productive in the last decade as it
is to assume they haven't because you can't recall being told about any, is
falling flat with me.

~~~
4ad
Eric S. Raymond talks a lot about about his importance, but in reality he has
produced no software of value, in fact almost no software at all. The arrogant
statement he made in the beginning of the interview is a blatant lie:

> You rely on my software every time you use a browser, a smartphone, or a
> gaming console.

ESR is known for his books, not for his code.

~~~
statictype
I think he's referring to giflib or pnglib there. Those libraries are fairly
widely used in many places and is probably the most widely used code he is
associated with. That said, he is fairly egoistical. I don't think even he
would deny that.

~~~
batista
Well, I checked pnglib for one. He is one of 20+ contributors, not an original
project founder, and was only active on it for like 2 years (2000-2002 IIRC):

<http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/src/libpng-LICENSE.txt>

I wouldn't call that "people depending on MY software everyday".

~~~
statictype
_I wouldn't call that "people depending on MY software everyday"._

You and I wouldn't but the person who calls himself "one of the senior cadre
who make the internet work" [paraphrasing there] certainly would.

