
Two computer screens aren't better than one - nreece
http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/computers/two-computer-screens-arent-better-than-one-20140321-357l1.html
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tikhonj
So, cynical about science reporting, I was expecting the results of a study
either misinterpreted or extended far beyond their reach. This article doesn't
even have that! It's basically the preferences of the author coupled with some
_tenuous_ connection to research about focus.

It's especially in applicable to programmers: I want two monitors so that I
can simultaneously display a full screen of code as well as shells, tooling,
documentation and whatever I'm working on. Especially for web development, I
_need_ two screens just to fit everything I'm actively using. Web tools and
documentation aren't distractions.

Sure, if you have enough left-over screen space to put up a bunch of
distractions, perhaps you _don 't_ need two monitors. Or perhaps you're not
using them properly! One of the main reasons I have a clear separation between
work and distractions is that I use a tiling window manager: I can't have
something distracting in the background. Sticking to that might be a good
start. (Although it's difficult on Windows with its slightly ironic paucity of
window managements tools like multiple desktops.)

So yeah: two screens _are_ better than one. Especially for programmers. But
really, for everyone—everyone who uses them in a reasonable way. If only
tiling window managers were more popular!

~~~
hjek
I keep this tiling window manager on a USB-stick in case I have to work on a
Windows machine:
[https://code.google.com/p/bugn/](https://code.google.com/p/bugn/) Feels like
dwm and has virtual desktops too.

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danmaz74
TL;DR: when you want to focus, don't keep your email and social media clients
open on your second screen.

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beloch
First of all, this article includes only anecdotal evidence. Secondly, it
fails to provide an adequate definition of the problem. You can easily find a
single big, high-res panel that has more screen real-estate than a pair of
1080p panels, but would one of these be better for your focus because it's a
single display? This claim is not logical. If you can augment your working
memory with more screen real estate you should benefit. If you use screen
real-estate to display extraneous, distracting data such as weather, email,
news, etc. you _might_ suffer. Whether or not your screen real-estate has a
line down the middle dividing it into two chunks shouldn't make a difference.

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Hawkee
I've been developing from a single screen for 17 years and have never desired
a second. Part of the reason is I work from a laptop and rarely at a desk. But
practically speaking I get a lot of work done on a single screen. My eyes can
only focus on a single window at a time, so I have no problem using swipe
gestures to quickly jump between tasks. Another advantage is I don't need to
twist my head every which way to view different windows. The window I need
meets my eyes rather than the other way around. While the article is mainly an
opinion and offers little scientific research I do agree with his opinion.

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Cyykratahk
Discussion on the original New York Times article:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7432908](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7432908)

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scmurcott
Testing web application changes on one screen... tailing the logs on the
other. Monitoring on one screen, remote terminals on the other... IDE on one
screen... 3 different browsers on the other. Really makes a big difference
when working as devops to have two screens. Is significantly faster for me and
easier than using one.

