[nattaggart]

True that. Web development from my laptop seems like a total chore compared to my 2 monitor rig at work.

What's interesting to me is that someone who uses a work computer mainly for word processing (like the author) would think he could be more productive on two screens in the first place. Did other professions imitate web developers by using more than one monitor?

[bartl]

You have to make a distinction between someone who's writing a research paper, and therefore constantly checking sources, and someone who's writing fiction. For the latter, a single monitor is less distracting, but for the former, a second monitor for the sources can be beneficial.

[dkuntz2]

I disagree. Maybe because I don't exclusively do web development, but I find I'm significantly more productive with on monitor than two.

I switched from a 15" thinkpad to a 13" mackbook pro about a year ago, and even just that screen size and small resolution switch makes me feel more productive. They're comparatively speced, the only real difference is size and bulk, and that the macbook has significantly worse graphics capabilities, but in the grand scheme of things, they're basically the same underlying specs for development, just with a different screen.

Yeah, it is a bit of a pain to have to switch workspaces, or just rotate through windows to recompile something, or check a modification made to a web page compared to just turning your head a little, but because I'm forced to pay attention to one main thing at a time, I feel significantly more productive at that one thing.

It's mostly like the author said, removing additional distractions from the screen.

[tomjen3]

It would depend on what and how you are writing. A user manual could be much easier to write with the program on a second monitor and I have considered moving in a second monitor for sources when I am blogging, but if I was writing a novel I doubt it would make much of a difference - in that case I would want to have any notes on piece of paper.