Go big or go home
Muse #361 - productivity wonders
I am a sucker for new technology. I am usually not an early adopter, but I look for decent technology, if not top of the line. But I follow the market well enough to be aware of what is available, what the options and how the value curve is trending by looking at the patterns of demand-supply.
For example, recently cheap 4K TVs broke the $500 barrier at 55-inches and $1000 barrier at the 82-inch level. And next year, the next size will be at this price point or these will be cheaper (or both). But then again, one does not buy a TV every year, and large screen TVs last easily between ten to fifteen years or more.
So do my computer monitors. But I have been following the large screen monitor market for a large time. A few years ago I bought myself two 27 inches 4K monitors but at my age unable to use them at full resolution as the font sizes are too small.
Therefore the realization was that resolution is less important than size. And one needs a larger monitor with a lower resolution to work with, especially for work. I end up using these monitors at a lower 2560x1440 resolution. But to read them well, end up keeping them closer in order to read them well. And this introduced another problem, moving my head up and down to read either the top part, or the bottom part of the screens. That led to neck pain.
As much as I love technology, I also love ergonomics. The right height. The right posture. The right distance from the screen. The right screen size at the right distance at the right resolution, that offers the right font size. Right by me at least. All these “rights” are of course individual preference and what works in one’s context. The right balance in one’s context.
So finally this pre-Christmas sale period (I always seem to be buying the most expensive things only during the year end holiday sale period once a year), I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a 34-inch widescreen curved monitor with a 3440 x 1440 resolution and this is roughly equivalent of two 27 monitors side by side. And it makes a great amount of difference in doing my work, with my eyes filled with work area in one sweeping look. And the curvature makes it easy to read left and right (unlike on a flat surface).
These are gaming monitors, but then again they are not going to see any gaming on it unless I pass it down to others who might use it for other purposes. And I am sure that this monitor is going to be around with me for some time to come and more. I am happy with my decision on it after a month or so of use now. So hugely recommended as a productivity tool. And that is a good feeling of something well suited.