

The Workstations of Popular Websites - rogercosseboom
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/02/the-workstations-of-popular-websites/

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johngunderman
I am suprised that no one was using a linux-based system. Then I realized that
we weren't necessarily looking at developer desktops. Even where I intern, we
do all our stuff on macs. Though I do enjoy working with macs, I often wonder
what their big draw is. They do not seem 'special' over Windows as far as I
can tell, and as a developer I would much rather have a linux-based
workstation.

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weaksauce
I used to be of your thought pattern. The thing about the mac os as it stands
is that you can leverage all the power of the *nix os with the nice gui that
just works. (Seriously though... try unplugging the monitor with your laptop
to see what I mean.)

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neovive
Seems like most people are using laptops as their primary systems these days.
Is the ideal setup for most designers/developers now a laptop with external
monitor/keyboard/mouse?

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releasedatez
I would say so because its very portable. You are not stuck at one place.
Especially, everything can be wireless now it's very easy to work anywhere
else as long as you have your core system.

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matt1
But where are all the dishes?

Seriously these are way too clean :)

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andrewljohnson
All of these workstations look the same, and my workstaton is no different.

Macbook + 30" inch monitor.

Enough said.

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dhimes
LOL--they ALL look "minimalistic" compared to the mess I have...!

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jrockway
I think they were just cleaned up for the pictures. They are designers that
use Macs -- anything unclean in a photo would be unacceptable, dontcha know ;)

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sofal
I love the Usability Post setup. Having a vertically oriented monitor like
that allows for a wonderful amount of context when coding.

<http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c25361/usabilitypost.jpg>

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jacobscott
If one vertically oriented monitor is good, are two better?

<http://is.gd/kqNA>

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showerst
Anyone else amazed at all the single-monitor set ups?

When I'm doing any web coding, I go crazy if I have to constantly switch
between code and browser(s).

As cheap as monitors are these days, I'm amazed anyone still programs on just
one.

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Herring
Is it much of an improvement over multiple desktops? I hear leopard has them
now.

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showerst
Personally I'd say it saves me a few hours a month: A little by not constantly
fumbling around switching apps, and (much more significantly) it makes fixing
some bugs easier because you can see the effects of your code and your code at
the same time, so there's no need to mentally 'flip' from 'coding' mode to
'web site evaluating' mode. And with three monitors editing an
image->uploading the image->updating html/css->viewing the web page becomes
one seamless workflow.

I think that I'm probably on the extreme end, but when I can I code with three
monitors, a 22" widescreen for code & ftp or versioning, 22" widescreen for
photoshop or illustrator, and 'normal' 19" for browsers (since it's much
closer to the average use).

Newegg.com currently sells a nice 22" LCD for under $200, so if it saves a
programmer at normal US wages 2-6 hours lifetime, it's paid for. It strikes me
as a no brainer.

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scorxn
I'm utterly disappointed by the lack of the best input device I've ever
touched: The Trackman Wheel. The amount of time, desk space, and wrist strain
it's saved me over the years is unfathomable. Mice of any kind feel like
toasters now.

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zacharydanger
Is it weird that so many of these designers use the default OSX background?

