

Discovering Two Screens Aren’t Better Than One - ojbyrne
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/technology/personaltech/surviving-and-thriving-in-a-one-monitor-world.html

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mehrdada
I agree. Two is not ideal. I'm very happy with my three 27" setup (though I
wish they were 30" and Retina-quality). I never liked two monitors because I
like (1) symmetry (2) no borders in the center; and you can't get that with
two (unless you stack them on top of each other).

Oh, and the distraction point mentioned in the article has nothing to do with
the number of displays, per se, so the article is BS in my book.

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pwg
tl;dr version:

The author lacks sufficient self discipline to not set himself up for
distraction by running "Twitter, email, chatting" on the second monitor, and
finds that by having only one monitor, with no room for windows for "Twitter,
email, chatting" along with work, that he can focus better.

I.e.: Removing distractions enhances focus. (really short tl;dr)

Nothing at all revolutionary here.

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boobsbr
If he thinks his problem is desktop area, he should try working on an eeePC,
or a 800x600 CRT.

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OWaz
The only distraction I have is HN which is efficiently managed with the
maxvist and minaway options. I don't read my work email constantly since it's
not that busy of a communication medium.

At work I have two 30" monitors and they are awesome. I spend almost no time
managing windows or having to switch between 'virtual desktops'. There's
always a comfortable amount of space to keep a browser and it's dev tools open
without comprising on what I need to see.

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deluvas
What a crap article. Just because this guy can't focus on his work, doesn't
mean multiple monitors are bad.

When I work, I don't like getting distracted. And I certainly don't fill my
other screens with Twitter and whatever the author is implying, unless it's
work related. End of discussion.

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charlesism
Please don't feed the Manjoo troll. It only encourages him.

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charlesism
Ha! I just noticed he actually wrote a column for Slate entitled "Stop calling
me a troll". I guess that's how you get to be a tech columnist for the NYT.
Well, that and writing songs about your iPhone, like Pogue.

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snowwrestler
Classic iconoclastic column--take a known good, perhaps even supported by
research, assert the exact opposite, and then write about it.

No actual substance required; just the act of contradicting known wisdom will
get plenty of pageviews from people clicking through to see if it's true.

