

Does anyone else hate coding on laptop? - MatthewPhillips

I feel 50% less productive when coding on a laptop.  Part of it is the trackpad, part of it is the smaller screen, more cramped keyboard.<p>My preferred set up is a desktop with dual-monitors, the bigger the better.
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marssaxman
Hate it? Quite the contrary - one of my favorite ways to spend an evening
involves an Eee pc, my side-project, and a great local bar which offers a
great whiskey selection and has a sushi chef on staff til midnight. (Liberty,
in Seattle on 15th between Mercer and Republican.) You don't get much smaller
than a netbook with a 1024x768 screen, but I just maximize an xterm and rotate
between tabs, and it works fine.

At work I use a Macbook with two extra monitors and an external keyboard, but
I set it up that way more because I could than because I really need all the
desktop space. I have a bunch of terminals on one monitor, web/chat/email on
the other, and do all my coding on the third; but I'd be just as productive
with two monitors, and the only thing that really gets annoying with a single
monitor is trying to deal with chat windows.

Maybe the thing I'd lose would be the ability to distract myself quickly and
get back to work without having to move windows around; I might tend to stay
distracted for longer periods of time, since the code would be hidden under
the web browser (or whatever) instead of just being on the next monitor over.

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Jarred
I'm the opposite.

I can tolerate using a laptop if the screens big, but otherwise I don't want
to program on it.

I have a 23" (1920x1080) monitor and a "20.5" (1600x900) monitor that I use
both at one time to code on. I have a high-dpi mouse which once you get used
to the sensitivty, is awesome with large monitors. Coding this way is great
because I can use one large monitor for coding or UI design and the other
monitor for looking up the documentation, reading a tutorial, or
watching/listening to a lecture/talk (I tend to need background noise as I
code).

I don't really know if my productivity has increased since purchasing a larger
monitor, but I know it's much more convenient now.

Although I have programmed on a large laptop before and it was very helpful to
code in a quiet place without distractions

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cfinke
I hate coding on anything _but_ a laptop. Having the keyboard + trackpad +
monitor in such a tight space greatly decreases the time my hands and eyes
spend moving. I've tried dual-monitor setups before, but they make me feel
like my head is on a swivel.

Additionally, with a laptop, I can take my primary work environment with me
everywhere I go. Coding at a coffeeshop or in the car is the same as at home
at my desk; you can't do that with a desktop and multiple monitors and a
mouse.

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MatthewPhillips
Sure you can, git or mercurial.

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cfinke
I'm referring to the physical work environment - I don't have to fight muscle
memory if I want to work somewhere else for the day.

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humj
I'm the same way. dual monitors are also a must for me. Coding on on screen
and refreshing on the other and looking back to the code without losing my
place is just much smoother than toggling/minimizing.

Another thing is, with a laptop, ur mobile, so you might be coding in some
foreign environment, which can be distracting. With a desktop, I'm bound to my
own familiar space where I can be most productive.

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kingofspain
I work from home so I like using both, dual-screen setup in "office" and
laptop for when I want a change of scenery. I'm definitely slower on the
laptop but it's worth it to get away from the damned desk when I want to &
Dropbox + mercurial takes care of all my sync issues.

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forwardslash
I find having something like a Tiling Windows Manager and some custom keyboard
mapping helps tremendously when coding on a laptop. Rarely do I have to use
the trackpad, though it doesn't help the constrained keyboard and screen size.

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ssdsa
It's annoying when the laptop keyboard lacks some keys you are used to, e.g.
the Windows key or the Windows popup-menu key. You can bring up the Windows
popup-menu by pressing Shift-F10, though.

Mouse vs. trackpad is an important point. In my experience, a TrackPoint is
more usable than a touchpad (trackpad). So be glad when your laptop has got
one.

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runjake
No, I prefer it.

Lately, I've even stopped using external monitors, keyboards, mice, & Ethernet
cords. I come into work, plug the laptop into a dedicated power brick and
start working. I'm able to focus more without windows spammed across multiple
monitors.

I have one of the new MacBook Pro 15" (with the Thunderbolt port).

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staunch
A "desktop replacement" laptop is my solution to wanting the flexibility to
work remotely on occasion.

My current setup: Dell 27" (2560x1440) + 17" Dell M6500 (1920x1200) running
Ubuntu.

I can unplug the laptop and work pretty well on it. But yeah, there's no
comparison to the filco majestouch keyboard + mouse + big monitor.

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madhouse
External mouse + keyboard helps a lot. Though, I hardly ever use a mouse, so I
only have to carry an extra keyboard. Thankfully, my keyboard is small, and
isn't that much of a problem to carry it around.

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pkuhad
I would love to have those old heavy keyboards with mechanical sounds :)

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cschmidt
Then you should get one. Unicomp sells them, using the old IBM designs.

<http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/>

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pkuhad
awesome!

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netmau5
Doing testing or design work is difficult for me on a laptop, but I find pure
coding to be almost better because there is less real estate to invite
distractions.

