Archive for December, 2012

The Best Christmas Present for a Nerd

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 Miro Samek

Christmas is right around the corner and if you wonder about the presents, I have just an idea for you. No, it is not the new iPad, Galaxy S3 phone, or any of the new “ultrabooks”. In fact, this is exactly the opposite. My present idea is to boost your productivity in creating “content”, not merely consuming it.

And when it comes to creating anything with a computer, you need a big screen–the bigger the better. In fact, I’d recommend that you get yourself two new monitors. And don’t think small. How about two 27″, 1920x1080p full HD, LED-lit panes? You can get those for under $300 each, so a pair will still cost you less than a new iPad.

I got such a setup a few months ago, and now I’m absolutely convinced that this has been the best investment in my productivity–better than a faster CPU or a solid-state disk. I really can’t benefit from my machine being faster–that’s not what wastes my time. But I sure can use more screen, to read the documentation two pages at a time, and to see a complete IDE or a modeling tool on the other screen (modeling tools absolutely love big screens!).

The picture of my desk shows my setup. I have two 27″ HP 2711x 1080p monitors connected to an HP dv6 laptop. One monitor is connected via the HDMI cable and the other via the analog VGI cable. I don’t see any degradation in image quality on the VGA-driven monitor.

Dual Monitors

As you can see in the picture, I’ve placed my monitors on 6″ stands above my desk ($25 each). This is actually quite important, because too many people place their screens too low for comfortable work. (Using a laptop without a stand and additional keyboard is absolutely the worst!)

So, here it is: my Christmas present idea for a nerd. Write a letter to Santa about it, and maybe he will shove it down your chimney? (Only if you are good, that is!)