[bartread]

Disagree.

I have a Microsoft Surface Pro (or Surface Book Pro - I can never remember which because I find the naming scheme ridiculous and irritating but, basically, the most powerful variant)[1], which has a screen that's much closer to 4:3 than 16:9.

I tend to like to have files open side by side. Not just code, but often documents, web pages, and sometimes spreadsheets. This does not work nearly as well on a 4:3 screen as it does on a 16:9 screen. A particular bugbear is Visual Studio, where I like the solution explorer open next to my side by side files: I can make it work on the Surface, but it's not great, and I find myself having to reduce the font size.

16:9 works much better for me, particularly when I'm on the move and am forced to only use a single screen.

[1] Off topic but I do not recommend you buy one of these due to unreliable WiFi connectivity, unreliable trackpad, a tendency to drain the battery very quickly (12 hours or so) when sleeping, and disappointing overall battery life. These would be irritating issues in a £600-1000 laptop, so they're absolutely unacceptable in a £2400 laptop.

[sundvor]

For when not on the move:

21:9 curved 34" at 3440x1440 is perfect for Visual Studio. I have bought two of those for myself now; home and work (U3415W, X34). 21:9 is as if made for VS.

There's even a bigger 38" 3840x1600 (the U3818DW) that I'd love to see.

You're talking serious real estate you caon use with no silly scaling, ie 1:1 or 100%.

[bartread]

That sounds like a fantastic setup. I'll have to look into it because it would work great with my MBP.

Sadly, thanks to another bugbear of mine with the Surface Book, I'd need to carry the dock around with me rather than leaving it at the office if I wanted to do that at home.

This is because the Surface Book itself only has one mini display port connector - you need the dock if you want to connect two monitors.

Let me say it again: I do not recommend anyone buy a Surface Book (although ironically the author of the article would probably quite like its screen's aspect ratio).

[sundvor]

Ahh... no Thunderbolt / USB Type C would be a major let down in 2017/2018, for sure. My U3415W doesn't have Type C connectors, but the newer models do - including that luscious 38".

I actually surround my home 34" Predator X34 with two U2412Ms (1920x1200) on an Ergotech stand. The sides are similar enough in DPI for it not to be jarring, and they are floating in air over my desk making for a very nice work area. Used to be 3x of the 24s until I upgraded the middle. The GPU has 3x DPs which makes it easy - but with a newer setup you could possibly daisy chain type Cs?

[voxadam]

Assuming it supports DisplayPort v2.0 or greater you should be able to connect two monitors using a MST (Multi-Stream Transport) hub or monitors that natively support MST daisy chaining.

[codeulike]

Is it a laptop with detachable screen? => Surface Book (after MacBook)

Is it a tablet with a thin attachable keyboard? => Surface Pro

[bartread]

Ha - thanks. The first one.

[lazyjones]

> which has a screen that's much closer to 4:3 than 16:9.

It's 3:2 probably, 13.5" 2256x1504 ...