{"id":8545,"date":"2018-02-08T10:12:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T09:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mentor.com\/colinwalls\/?p=8545"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:53:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:53:41","slug":"how-many-screens-do-you-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/2018\/02\/08\/how-many-screens-do-you-need\/","title":{"rendered":"How many screens do you need?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I like a simple life. At least, that is what I tell myself. However, working with modern technology, even though it is supposed to \u201csimplify\u201d our lives, commonly introduces just more complexity. I have spent a large part of my life looking at a computer screen. Even though the immediate technology has come a long way – from the fuzzy VT100 terminal of the late 1970s to the 27\u201d 5K retina screen that I use now – I have always been endeavoring to optimize the way that I work. And I am on the lookout for good ideas \u2026<\/p>\n

For my everyday computer activity, I like to keep a number of apps running so that they are immediately to hand. At this moment, I have a couple of email clients, WhatsApp, a couple of browser windows, Evernote and MS Word with three documents loaded. This is not a particularly heavy load for the computer, though it was Windows\u2019 apparent inability to do more than the most basic multi-tasking that drove me to use a Mac [and I do not want to go back!]. Having all of these things running and set up so that I can move between them comfortably takes a little organization.<\/p>\n

I recently read an account by someone who had just acquired a second screen. She loved the extra space that it provided and went on to get a third. She would have ordered #4, but she had run out of desk space. It seems that the ability to have lots of apps\/windows open and be able to move between them was the motivation and perceived benefit. This made me think again as to whether I might need another screen. My conclusion was that I did not need one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I organize my activity by using virtual screens – Apple calls them \u201cspaces\u201d. Swapping from one space to another can be done various ways, but is generally a keystroke of a trackpad gesture. My usual setup [on my iMac with the 5K 27\u201d screen] is 5 spaces, which I use thus:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. communications – email clients and WhatsApp tiled<\/li>\n
  2. information – 2 browser windows side by side<\/li>\n
  3. organization – Evernote main window and a subsidiary one alongside<\/li>\n
  4. other apps – currently 3 Word windows<\/li>\n
  5. other apps – currently empty<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If I were to use actual screens, then I would need 4 to use the same organization scheme. Of course, everything would then be visible simultaneously, but is that an advantage? I think not. More likely, I would find it a distraction. On the odd occasion that I require 2 windows, which are in different spaces, side by side, moving one is extremely quick and easy.<\/p>\n

    I know quite a few photographers who like to have a big, high-quality, calibrated screen on which to display photos, while the Photoshop [or whatever] tools reside on another screen. This makes sense. I can also envisage certain types of work where having a lot of information visible all the time – perhaps financial traders? – requires multiple screens. However, I would conjecture that, for the average user, spaces [or their equivalent on Windows] would be a better, cheaper and easier solution. Am I missing something?<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I like a simple life. At least, that is what I tell myself. However, working with modern technology, even though…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71677,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[302],"industry":[],"product":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-8545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-off-topic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10657,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8545\/revisions\/10657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8545"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=8545"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=8545"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}