I barely know what to do with my second monitor. It spends 90% of its time displaying a background picture and some desklets. I really only use it when I’m writing to have a browser and notes open for reference.
As a developer, I find the great bang for buck is two monitors, with minor benefits for each additional monitor. Examples of use for extra monitors:
- code on main monitor (or more if I have multiple projects open)
- app I’m working on
- documentation
- Stack Overflow/Search/AI chat
- Team chat/Slack
- infrastructure/performance monitors, logs
- Mandatory reboot notice from the IT department shoved in a corner until I can reboot without losing work
Of course if you have a large monitor you can tile windows instead of having N screens. Virtual desktop also exist.
1st monitor: Browser or Game depending on circumstances.
2nd monitor: Security camera feed
3rd monitor: 3D printer controls/status can be swapped for
discordwhatever I switch to from discord.4th monitor: Home assistant control panel
A few desklets you say… There’s always more to be displayed! The area between the left and right row of applets is used for Dolphin (explorer) and fsearch in active use.
Common other uses for multiple monitors:
Usually your main monitor is in landscape mode, so a monitor in portrait mode can be used to view material that works better in portrait. I use one to read manga. Yes, you can also do two pages side by side in landscape, but I prefer it larger, especially with manga which often has tiny details that are interesting.
If you are using full screen mode on your main monitor, then you can have other information on your other monitors. Lots of people play games and have their voice chat apps on other monitors so they don’t need to overlay them on the game. Or you can have notes open or something.
Lots of people like things in the background like tv shows or livestreams or podcasts. I find that distracting, so I don’t do it, but a lot of people do.
Sometimes, depending on your profession or hobbies, it’s good to have certain notes always visible, when they would normally get hidden behind other windows on your primary monitor.
How tf do you get in and out of that contraption? Or maybe you just… Don’t.
this is my preference thanks.
That’s AI, isn’t it?
Yes, but look what joy its bringing people. If that identical image had been made by a human, we’d praise its creativity and composition.
AI has many problems, the way it is used is often evil. But I think it’s not too unfathomable to say that it should not be condemned in 100% of all cases. An image like that one could be generated on my own computer, for less power than it takes to play a video game for 5 minutes. The image is clearly unique enough so as not to be stealing from an established artist or doing harm to them. And the result is that it brings inspiration and joy to many people.
Like I said, I know AI is doing a lot of harm to the world right now, but it also has a lot of potential to be used in a positive way. If we condemn it even in positive cases, all we do is equalize positive outcomes and negative ones, creating no room for eventual improvement. We ostracize the people who might use AI in pro-social ways, eventually leading to a dynamic where the only AI users are people who don’t care about it’s social impact. If that happens, we will have wasted our opportunity to get something good out of the technology by allowing it to be used only by careless people.
I hope anyone reading this will at least consider the idea I’m putting forth and not see me as some “AI bro” or villain. It is wise and healthy not to see the world in black and white even when we find comfort in doing so.
Slopaganda 🙄
It didn’t bring me joy tho. I found out it was ai and went ‘ugh’
Who needs VR headsets when you can just cover your whole body in screens?
This is my strategy. I have no less than five monitors going at once.
