Write on S1, execute / do other things with what is written on S2
Third case, such as web browser and email does not sound that useful to me, but it at least forces you to move your neck which is actually good, lower chance if getting stiff and painful from staring ahead unmoving for hours. Actually I wonder if from this angle, encouraging motion, we should put another one on the floor, one on the ceiling :) If neither money nor work productivity was a huge issue, the most healthy setup would be robotic arms rearranging screens around you every few minutes in 3D, encouraging regular movement along all axes.
Sometimes useful: e.g. get email saying “hey, look at this interesting thing on the web”, or “could you please do X” where X requires buying something online. Or see something interesting on the web and send an email to a friend about it. But yeah, it’s not hugely valuable. (I have two monitors on my home machine because sometimes I do more serious things on it and they’re useful then. And because there was a spare monitor going cheap so I thought I might as well.)
robotic arms rearranging screens around you
If money and productivity were that little an issue, why would you be sat at this contraption in the first place?
Good question. Actually—it might not even reduce productivity. Suppose you put a terminal where you run commands on the average every ten minutes on one such screen positioned on a fully 3D positionable robotic arm. You lose maybe 2 seconds finding out if this time is it is over your left shoulder or up right on the ceiling. But the improved blood flow from the movement could improve your cognitive skills and maybe being forced into a 3D all-around situational awareness “awakens the ancestral hunter” ie.e. improves awareness, focus and concentration. A good example is driving a car. It tends to put me in a focused mode.
But, lacking that, at least having some neck movement between screens must be a good thing.
Hm, so we have two cases now, thanks:
Read on S1 → think → write on S2
Write on S1, execute / do other things with what is written on S2
Third case, such as web browser and email does not sound that useful to me, but it at least forces you to move your neck which is actually good, lower chance if getting stiff and painful from staring ahead unmoving for hours. Actually I wonder if from this angle, encouraging motion, we should put another one on the floor, one on the ceiling :) If neither money nor work productivity was a huge issue, the most healthy setup would be robotic arms rearranging screens around you every few minutes in 3D, encouraging regular movement along all axes.
Sometimes useful: e.g. get email saying “hey, look at this interesting thing on the web”, or “could you please do X” where X requires buying something online. Or see something interesting on the web and send an email to a friend about it. But yeah, it’s not hugely valuable. (I have two monitors on my home machine because sometimes I do more serious things on it and they’re useful then. And because there was a spare monitor going cheap so I thought I might as well.)
If money and productivity were that little an issue, why would you be sat at this contraption in the first place?
Good question. Actually—it might not even reduce productivity. Suppose you put a terminal where you run commands on the average every ten minutes on one such screen positioned on a fully 3D positionable robotic arm. You lose maybe 2 seconds finding out if this time is it is over your left shoulder or up right on the ceiling. But the improved blood flow from the movement could improve your cognitive skills and maybe being forced into a 3D all-around situational awareness “awakens the ancestral hunter” ie.e. improves awareness, focus and concentration. A good example is driving a car. It tends to put me in a focused mode.
But, lacking that, at least having some neck movement between screens must be a good thing.
Have you read Stephenson’s REAMDE? It describes in detail an interesting working setup… :-)