Robby on Rails: The Art of the Start, low costs!

The Art of the Start, low costs!

Robby Russell — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 15:39:00 -0600

I finally took a few minutes on my Saturday (working on my book from the office) to take a few photos of my desk area. The Caboose gang has been doing this for a while… so it was long overdue.

Yes… I’m working off of a 5’ folding table. :-)

Why a 5’ table? Well… they are a) easy/light to move.. b) cheap.. c) simple.

The iCurve that I recently picked up has actually been a worthwhile investment. I kept telling myself, “no… it’s not worth $39.99”.. but I eventually just went and purchased one. Now.. I want one at home and at work for when I bring my laptop back and forth.

..another angle with a view of my office windows

See the rest of the caboose desk pictures!

"The Art of the Start, low costs!" by Robby Russell

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 17:28:00 -0600

jcasimir,

For the past 4+ years… as a developer I have always had two monitors. I just recently decided to go to just a one screen setup as I found myself being way too distracted. When I was doing web development prior to Ruby on Rails and testing as I went in a web browser… this was useful. With Unit and Functional tests being a main focus point… I don’t find myself looking in a web browser too often.

Besides… hot keys are your friends and I can flip from desktop A to desktop C in a keystroke. :-)

"The Art of the Start, low costs!" by Peat

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 14:31:15 -0600

One of the best Mac “docking” stations I’ve seen is just using a monitor with peripheral connections. Plug the keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals into the screen. You get to use the laptop’s screen as a secondary work area too (good for tracking adium+irc+mail).

It still requires plugging in DVI+USB+power … but it’s only a few seconds. I wouldn’t complain if Apple made this simpler, but it’s certainly good enough for now. :)

"The Art of the Start, low costs!" by jcasimir

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 21:26:03 -0600

I wonder why Mac users don’t collectively cry that there isn’t real docking-station support in any Apple laptop. I feel bad for devs who spend their whole day sitting at a desk hacking on a laptop.

At least here you’ve got a full-size keyboard and mouse. Looking over the other keyboard seems a little primitive, but at least it is partway there.

I can drop my thinkPad on a docking station (on a shelf above the desk) and instantly have a beautiful dell widescreen, full size keyboard, mouse, printer, ethernet, and sound all in a single connection.

Isn’t a docking station in line with the Mac vibe? Simplicity? Honestly it is one of the big reasons that I haven’t purchased a MacBook Pro. I just don’t get it.

These aren’t trivial concerns. Anyone who supports the Rails load handling philosophy (Throw Hardware at It, Save Development Time) should see that your devs need a great work environment. Everyone I know who’s used a triple-head setup for significant time has become addicted to it.

Thoughts?

"The Art of the Start, low costs!" by Osman

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 13:00:58 -0600

I have that mouse/keyboard combo! :D