Ask HN: Raise your hand if you're tilting your external Display

[azzleandre]

Hi everybody, I'm thinking about buying a laptop plus docking station so I can easily connect to a second display. I'm used to working on a System with at least one added extra-Display.

As smaller my Latops got from purchase to pruchase, I've noticed how different display heights as well as resolutions can irritate me somehow when moving my cursor from one screen to another.

For example: a small laptops display-top usually rises up to the half of my added Monitor while the laptops display-bottom is below that of the monitor. So configuring windows graphical output helps - but not enough.

So what about positioning the extra monitor ABOVE the one of your Laptop? Maybe even having the external monitor flipped on the edge, resulting in an eased difference on the passage between laptop and external display?

Is there anyone here who had experiences with this?

[weaksauce]

I have a 24" hooked up to my 15" MBP. The Monitor is up and to the right of the laptop. It does not bother me to have different height monitors because my workflow is such that I use keyboard shortcuts to move windows to the other monitor.(sizeup and cinch are the best apps that I have purchased) If you have/are getting a mac look into sizeup and then map the keys according to this scheme: http://zacharypinter.com/2009/06/15/keyboard-driven-window-m...

with one addition from me: ctrl+option+command+k should center the window in the screen. This is useful for making the window the left half of the screen with ctrl+command+j and then centering the smaller window. (sometimes pages are too hard to read on a large monitor but you don't want to have the window off to the side.)

Edit: I personally would not like positioning the monitor above the laptop because I use the 24" much more than the 15" and always looking up would be extremely bad for ergonomics.

[azzleandre]

always looking up would be extremely bad for ergonomics that's true.

Buying a small laptop is great, because I think laptops are there for mobility, so small = easier to carry = better. But the resolution height decreases with physical height. Thinkpads achieve 900 pixels in height. But i want to code in there!

What I've noticed is, that it bothers me writing on my laptop keyboard while staring at my external screen. I find it more comfortable having the keyboard right beneath of what Im typing.

[weaksauce]

I guess I should have mentioned that I have a Bluetooth mouse(the magic mouse, I love the scrolling on this so much that I can live without two separate buttons.) and a ps/2 to USB adapter for my Microsoft keyboard. It's like I am on a desktop but I can take it to go. I would love to have 3 monitors but I might go with a 30" in the future to mitigate that desire.

[ableal]

I just use the external 24 (or 25) inch display, and turn off the laptop display. I paid a bit more for 1920x1200 pixels, not the 'HD-TV' x1080 screens they're selling more of nowadays.

I also found simple plastic laptop stands with USB hubs. Plug regular keyboard and mouse into stand, shove stand+laptop to the side. As good as a desktop machine, plus it suspends with the lid shut.

As for the 'second screen', I just use multiple desktops/spaces. Less aggravating than switching screens, unless you really, really, need both visible simultaneously. Linux works fine, Mac seems a bit weak on moving windows around. Dock or 2nd Gnome toolbar on the side.

P.S. My local IKEA had on exhibit a good DIY monitor stand. Made by screwing 11cm Capita legs onto an Effektiv file frame front 80cm wide. I built a couple of those - they're great to place the display and laptop, with space to shove the keyboard and whatever underneath. (Sorry, no URLs, seems IKEA now thinks you have to login to browse the catalog - news to me.)