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How to convince your boss to buy you a big monitor!

images.apple.com — Have you been wanting a big 24' or 30' monitor. I remember seeing a study done by HP saying it can increase productivity by 30%. Not sure how long this pdf has been on the Apple website, but if you need some help convincing your boss this is it! I guess "Go big or go home" does apply. * links to pdf

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  • CptnYawp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18My boss said "keep on dreaming..." - well it was worth a try!!
    • Sundae, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25If I was boss, I wouldn't like my employees to dream on work time. It's cheaper to buy that monitor then.
    • invader, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Get To Work:
      You aren't being paid to believe in the power of your dreams.

      (January of this year's Despair calendar)
      :) http://www.despair.com/indem.html
    • Infobahn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The reason you WON'T be a boss is because you use logic to come to this opinion. We all know that logic is not allowed in management circles.
  • CadMasterAdam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8our office runs dual 19".

    one guy got a 37" LCD. but its to big to make effective use of autocad unless you are like 4 feet away.
  • michaelstone, on 10/12/2007, -4/+60*****, 30 ft. monitors? What res do those puppies run at? 1,000,000,000 x 750,000,000?
    • capn_caveman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1124' X 30' monitors are the new tech geek standard.
    • Shlep, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Was it just a typo or is smadore so illiterate that he/she doesn't know the difference between ' (feet) and " (inches)? I see mistakes like that far too often here. Perfection isn't required, but damn
    • rockthethird, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2That and the guy with something being "to" big instead of "too" big.
    • Harvey_Mushman, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4"I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object. "
      /Tap
    • pyite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That is the problem with bigger monitors: the resolution actually drops, usually to 1280x720 or around there. A bigger monitor isn't helpful unless you keep the same DPI.
    • TheGooseyOne, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1exactly what i was thinking...no one else sees that he missed a quotation mark there? heh
  • Godric, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Easy. Just show him that Apple article and then inform him that Dell monitors cost half as much.
    • t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5... except that's not true. Still, if you get the dell, get the extended warranty - you WILL need it.
    • ditoa, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I have ordered 700+ Dell TFTs in the past 2 years and not had a fault with a single one of them. Not even a stuck/dead pixel.
    • gambl0r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4the four Dell 21" LCDs that I've bought have not had a problem. I don't see why their 30" one would be any different.

      Apple's monitors are overpriced and use the same LCDs.
    • Godric, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1t3hX, Dell's 2005fpw can cost half as much as the 20 inch cinema, it has the same exact LCD panel and it comes with a 3 year warranty. I like Apple but their accessory hardware is over priced.
    • richbradshaw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1To the guy with 700+ Dell TFTs:

      I have one Dell TFT, and it has one dead (well always green) pixel. How unlucky am I! They won't let me return it, apparently you have to have at least 4 dead before you qualify for a replacement!
  • manfrin, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3I wonder if my parents will go for this...
  • casca, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Easier. Be you're own boss and buy yourself a 30"
    • EvilRob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Maybe it's always you, I haven't been looking that closely, but I read this all the time. Seems like every time someone posts a complaint about their job.... someone else invariable replies with a trite (and unrealistic) "just be your own boss and all your troubles go away".

      Speaking as someone who was self-employed very lucratively for 5 years, I can tell you:

      1) not everyone has the type of job skills where self-employment is an option. Maybe some DIGG readers are not IT professionals with post-graduate degrees, they just like the articles they read here

      2) going freelance requires more work. You file your own taxes, you keep lots of additional records, etc. This may be fine for some, but it's a PAIN to others.

      3) in order to justify your magical bigger salary (or contract rate) you have to demonstrate why you are a cut above all the other candidates that companies can hire on a lower salary. Not everyone can do this.

      4) you must drum up your own work. Let's say you are taking 3 and 6 month contracts. Some people have a harder time at this than others. Some really talented artists or developers do not have the charm and charisma to keep the work coming from new clients all the time. They just want to WORK. Not work at getting work.

      Here at my current job I have full control, good salary, I telecommute 3 days a week and my company appreciates and respects me. It's not perfect but it's a good job. There are good jobs out there.

      "Be your own boss and avoid -- insert random sniveling complaint here --" is such horse *****. You are showing off and no one is impressed.
  • ewok85, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Makes me feel better about my 30" now, definitly is handy for translating though.
  • serra, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yeah, this will only accomplish your boss laughing his ass off at you.
  • PeterMeh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12The article convinced me. NOT because of the actually content or supporting data, but just because I have to zoom in to 200% to read the godamn thing on my 15" monitor....... :-|
  • trucdem44, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1From /.
    "An systematic study conducted by NEC-Mitsubishi, ATI Technologies and the University of Utah has concluded that the use of multiple monitors in the workplace increases productivity. The study is discussed on Tom's Hardware, EE Times, and there's a detailed press release on NEC-Mitsubishi. For those of us who use multi-monitors, this is not shocking. But maybe now that it's official, IT managers will view it as a good investment and not just for gamers."

    http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/09/137232&mode=thread&tid=137&tid=196
    • rodbibeau, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I use a Tri-17" setup. Any larger or more and i would have to move around way too much to see the screens.
    • cowardlydragon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Dual monitors are much cheaper than a single big one, and you get more real estate. For the $2400 for a 30" LCD, you can get six 20" 1600x1200 LCDs (400 bucks each).

      I think triple-head with two 19" rotated on the side and a 24" in the middle would be ideal. Use a Mobo with integrated graphics for one display, and a normal graphics card for the other two monitors.
  • adamlivesley, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1I have dual 19" monitors! There pretty good, but the quality isnt amazing (there TFTs) but im not complaining!

    Got a massive resolution of 2560 x 1024 :)
    • spacebar14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Could we be more arrogant? I think not...
  • RichMorin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Well, my three CRTs cost me less than $500, all told, and have more pixels than the 30" LCDs. Of course, if I could afford a 30" LCD and two flanking 20" ones...
    • mylrea, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0bad idea, this conversation isn't as much about physical size as it is display resolution. the more pixels, the more room for goodies.
      (this was meant to reply to the comment below, sorry was mislead by reply button placement)
  • CarzorStelatis, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Even better, buy yourself a video data projector. They can give as big a 'screen size' as you have wall space, and cost less than a similar-sized screen.
  • kilps, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Could the reason for productivity not be that it would be easier for your boss to see that you are busy browsing Digg and not working? ;) Everyone be good ...
  • Memx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1haha, i will probably buy one when i get enough $$
  • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1my monitor at work turns off if you move it... i'm not joking. If i knock the desk or turn it the screen flickers and turns off then spends the next 3 minutes with lines across it.

    (it did it wilst I was writing this)

    but this is all part of the package. I have a computer that takes 11 mintues to boot windows 2000 and crashes if I try to use photoshop for more then an hour. And the best part is they don't think I need an upgrade even though I use photoshop all day.
    • cowardlydragon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Someone needs to learn the fine art of workplace scavenging. You're telling me there isn't an equivalent unbroken monitor hanging around in a hallway or empty cube somewhere?
  • dwalker, on 10/12/2007, -16/+3PILE of crap link crashed my PC - had to power off!
    Bloody naff .pdf files!
  • Kirium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I work for an organisation running predominantly on Sun equipment, so most staff have the Sun 24.1inch 16:9 LCD.

    I'm fortunate enough to work in a section that uses dual 24.1 widescreens side-by-side.... The amount of desktop space when you take into account the other workspaces in unreal. Going from the old 17inch squarescreen to 2 24.1inch widescreens is like night and day with work productivity...
  • nullmind, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I welcome our 30'' screened overlords and submit to their massive resolution.
  • mkjones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have a big monitor and its true you DO work harder as you can surf and work at the same time!
  • scheper, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3Could we have some kind of PDF link warnng?
    • jamester, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8"links to pdf" is not enough for you?
    • darkvad0r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3It wouldn't be a problem if you were using Foxit PDF reader. Seriously, I used to hate pdf too (damn acrobat reader is slower than my grandma), but now... well, I think you understood my point ;)
    • Devilboy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Dude seriously. It's 2006. Get a PDF reader.
    • nullmind, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2As said earlier, it's 2006 (as if reading PDF documents was great in 2005, or 2004, etc.?!!!), but I use Ubuntu and the default PDF reader there has really changed my mind about PDF documents.

      Firstly, I get nice little PDF thumbnails. It opens them in a flash (no slow adobe software, or ghetto reader). I've started distributing ALL of my work as PDF documents, including my math exams, etc. after using OpenOffice and Exprt to PDF.
    • spacebar14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1^^ same ^^
      After switching to *Foxit* I now love PDF's and I make essay's and forms in PDF now :)
  • samsite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i use a matrox g450 with twin 17 inch monotors at work, i have a very nice 19 inch moniter at home but to quote some one else, its like night and day, i can keep me email open when im doing cad work and i can have my cad tools on a differnt screen wile working so i can see all the drawing. So much easyer. Im going to sort out my home set up this week..........if only i had mre desk space
  • Ashex, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I wish I had true dual-monitors. I'm currently using my 15.4 inch wide screen laptop with my 17 inch monitor to do a makeshift dual-monitor until I can buy a motherboard and CPU for my tower. then I'll just go back to a 17 inch, unless I can buy a desk then I'll have dual 17's :)
  • Bytor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I just got a new Dell 24" widescreen last night at home. LCD is definitely different. The widescreen is so big that I have to look around to see everything. All in all unless you wanted to watch movies I would say get the 20" non wide screen. This thing has some issues with wide screen and LCD off axis that is more distracting than the 22" trinitron I use at work. For work I prefer the trinitron. This is my first LCD, so maybe in time I will get used to it and even prefer it.
    • Godric, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You'll get used to it. It'll take a month but once you go LCD, you never go back. The transition was jarring at first but in no time you'll be wondering how you ever got by on a CRT.
  • stevensj2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Our office is talking about upgrading our CRTs to 17" LCDs.

    I convinced them to let me have a 19" CRT, and I will try to convince them to let me have a 19" LCD as well - with the help of this article ;)
  • Xiol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I currently use 2x17" monitors at work, both running at 1280x1024. That seems to be more than adequate for my needs at the minute.

    Quite frankly, I find two monitors better than one - that way you can run two apps maximised rather than having to mess around with tiling them and whatnot.
    • EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've got the same concern, currently using dual 19" LCDs. I'd like to move to a single monitor, but being able to easily maximize windows to a single monitor and swap apps back and forth with a hotkey are killer features for me. With large monitors (24"+) becoming more commonplace I keep thinking somebody will write a window manager app that provides similar functionality on a single monitor. I'm still waiting. :(
  • salmonmoose, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I asked, then it was pointed out that I had dual 20" monitors plus my laptop.

    So I asked if I could get a calibrater, and got one ;)
  • xylene, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Already got a 24". Just wait for a deal from Dell... and then compare prices, it was only 40 bucks more for a 24" vs. the 17" we normally get.
  • DBrez8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Dont forget, you will probably also need to convince the boss to upgrade your graphics card too.

    "Requires graphics card with dual-link DVI"

    But I guess the price of the graphics card is almost negligible compared to that of the monitor.
    • Jetfire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Buy the Dell. I ran 2- 2405FPW on a 5700LE Geforce Card. I have upgrade to a 7800GTX Top but it ran fine on the 5700 except games (WOW) had relow FPS. I just bought my third one at to use at work, since the boss won‘t. I'm looking at getting a second one. These things are just too sweet.
  • neofactor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I bet you would still be a slack-ass employee with a 100" monitor.

    A few extra inches on a monitor will never beat DUAL monitors. I prefer my DUAL CRT's to my Flat LCD panels... I admit the apple monitor would be better than my old Flat LCDs.. but still % of space with DUAL monitors is much more than any single monitor system.
  • duke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I bet these research subjects knew that they were part of a study, which would skew the results. First, they probably knew which result needed to be better to get what they wanted. Second, they probably knew that they were being watched, so they weren't using that screen real estate to do work in one window and run a game (or Trillian) in the other. In the real world, when no one is looking over the worker's shoulder and making decisions about what is "possible", I bet you might actually see a productivity decrease for many jobs. I will admit, though, that for some jobs, like CAD and large spreadsheets, it would probably help a lot.

    Bottom line - be judicious about showing this to your boss. Chances are that he/she is more savvy than you think. Don't be doing word processing and expect him/her to buy this self-interested study hook, line and sinker.

    duke
  • samstr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I got PDFd!!

    Good article however

    -------------------------------
    http://www.wirah.com
  • ZarZax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'll have to try it!
  • Midnightbrewer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Always go with smaller duals than one big single if you have the choice. You can be more productive on two 17"s than one 19", as a previous person pointed out. I specifically won't buy a single 30" because it still doesn't offer the same kind of flexibility as two monitors.
  • NobleRocket, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I actually convinced my boss to buy me the apple 30" display. It's perfect for doing magazine layout. After he said yes I showed him the PDF and he started laughing. He thought it was hilarious.
  • tmcleroy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i'm running a 21" and 19" at home and i don't think i'll ever go back to single monitors
  • bytefoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My boss said I should stab you for linking directly to a PDF.
    • spacebar14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Took the words right out of my mouth.
  • GeneralAntilles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have an Apple Aluminum Studio 20" Widescreen LCD on an Ergotron arm as my primary, two old (~1999) trinitron 17" CRTs to my left and right and two ViewSonic VGA 15" LCDs on top of the CRTs. 5 screens running on two Radeon 9200 PCI cards and an ATI Radeon X800 XT totaling 7,176,864 pixels or 1680*1050, 2x1024*768, and 2x1600*1200.

    I have Adium, and ircII running on the two 15" LCDs, Mail running on the left CRT, iTunes on the right CRT and whatever I'm doing at that moment on the primary.
  • cypherz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've already got 2 22" monitors on my Shuttle XPC at work. We're deploying twin 19" LCD's to many of our "power users" here. The productivity angle has sold very well around here.
  • lonseidman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Forget just one big monitor, two is where it's at :). My productivity increased tremendously when I added a second LCD panel to my desktop. I'm running two 20" flat panels at 1600*1200 each (3200*2400 total).
    • ChrisGranger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11600x1200 x2 is 3200x1200, not 3200x2400...
  • K3V2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ironically I just got a 19" widescreen monitor installed at work today. Good timing for this Digg :)
  • Web_Weasel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I would suggest taking pictures at the office xmas party. You could get a raise too.
  • EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A study comparing dual monitor vs. huge monitor would be interesting. As I stated above I'm still firmly in the dual monitor camp, but I think with the right software support a single monitor could be more productive.
    • albetcha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I have only used one monitor. I've seen the people using 2. I am sure using 2 would only get the CTS either starting quicker or make it worse. I also use unix and have multiple screens so that may be an advantage.
  • master_of_fm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2problem is where I work people have 19" and 21" LCD screens and still have the resolutions set to 1024x768, I even found someone running a 19" LCD at 800x600 and she was complaining that her text was "blurry", of course when i turned up the resolution text is crystal clear but now everything is too small. I offered her a smaller panel with a lower dpi (bigger pixels) to make things easier to read, but for some odd reason she declined.
    • K3V2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Same thing happens where I work...17" LCDs running at 800x600, ugh. Everyone asks me how I can see things with the resolution so high, but I can't understand how they look at that horrible blurry text all day!
  • tomhung, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i'm in the dual computer camp...
    Win XP 21" Monitor --/ X2VNC /-- FreeBSD 20" Monitor
    http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html
  • jejones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Alas, the work in the study was, aside from generic moving/copying files and such, graphics work. I have doubts that boss or wife will believe that necessarily carries over to programming.
  • sdbillin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I find synergy much better for sharing a single keyboard & mouse between two systems (in my case WinXP & Linux).

    It has the added benefit of allowing you to copy & paste text between systems.

    http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/
  • astx813, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Or go to an eye doctor. When I worked for an Illinois governmental purchasing office, I must have processed 50 requests for larger lcds for people who had doctors' notes saying they were suffering eye-strain. Somehow, with ADA and other such rules, we were obligated to provide the upgrades every time.
  • altidude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'd be happy with a 19" monitor and can't even get that! I'm stuck with this god-damned 17" CRT unless I pay to upgrade it myself. Die CRT! Die!
  • jlbraun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I have a 65" DLP 1920x1080 TV with DVI that I use for my CAD work. Solidworks and Allegro never were so fun to use!
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