To GP's point, at my office, I have a desktop with 2 monitors, at my home office, I have a desktop with... 2 monitors. Traveling, I'm stuck with either a VERY heavy 17" laptop or a less heavy 15" laptop, or an incredibly light 12" laptop. Any way I go about it, I don't have my dual 27 inch laptops.

So? Unless you are a graphic designer, why would that matter?

It might be convenient, but hackers for decades had just had 14" (or less) monochromatic monitors and they've built masterpieces on them.

If "dual 27 inch monitors" are so important to your work, then (a) I don't see how you'd be able to be a programmer in the 80s and 90s when those things either didn't exist or costed a fortune, (b) fine, don't travel.

The "very heavy" part (for the 17" laptop) doesn't matter, as you're not supposed to backpack everywhere with it. Just keep it at your hotel/rent house/bangalow in the different cities you visit and work from there. You can still visit the city and explore all the other hours.

Besides, if it's that important, then anywhere you go and stay for a month or more (and nomads can spend several months on each country or more), you could buy a $200 24" monitor -- and then just give it away to some friend you've made, charity or sell it.

I wouldn't be able to program in the 80s and I don't want to go back to the 90s. I'm sorry but having my IDE on one half of one screen, debug console on the second half then browser on the other monitor is a big convenience that I have gotten used to.

Its like saying, oh you like your power steering, and automatic transmissions? Well then you couldn't drive a Model-T.

That viewpoint that progress makes you weak is a very bad way to view the world. Progress makes us all better at what we do by making us more efficient.

>Its like saying, oh you like your power steering, and automatic transmissions? Well then you couldn't drive a Model-T.

No, I think it's more like saying "most of those efficiencies are probably cargo cult" especially since programmers with just a 12" laptop and Vim can (and do) run circles around people with double and triple monitor setups and fancy IDEs.

So nothing especially efficiency improving that wouldn't be trumped by simply more skills.

(Not saying that you don't have skills. You might be better than Linus. Saying that multiple monitors are not the reason for that).

Yes, it's nice to have a big screen, but not really essential. As for the second screen, it gets all marginal returns from there.

You can use an iPad as your second screen. Not as good. But that's not the point. The point is good enough for know the world while you're still alive.

Understood that especially in front-end work, dual screens are pretty much necessary for testing & debugging and just being able to work efficiently.

FWIW, a 24" monitor in original box will fit in a checked bag-- takes up half of the medium-large hardshell luggage I have-- and yes I've traveled with an extra screen.

I wonder if good a VR headset would some day change this.

I can only hope so. Ever since I played with a Virtual Boy Headset in the mid-late 90s, I have wanted a VR world that would replace my physical desk.

Just bring them in checked luggage. As another comment points out, you're not backpacking.

Consider it like traveling with a bicycle, which people do quite successfully.

As a front-end dev, the extra screen is a nice productivity boost. You shouldn't lug around extra monitor, too many kgs/lbs.

Get the portable Asus MB168B+, goes in your backpack. Lugged this bad boy around 13 countries over the past 2 years. No Flux support though!!!