Web Developer craving new gadgets!

[dsgnr]

Hi everyone, I am sure this question gets asked a lot but here goes. I am a front-end web developer and I am craving new tools/gadgets to help improve my workflow, speed up time etc.

Here is my current setup:
Latest MacBook Pro 15" Retina display
23" (old style) Apple Cinema Display
The Apple Airport Extreme (AC version)
Synology DS214+ (2-bay) NAS
Apple Magic Mouse and keyboard

Softwares:
Adobe CS6
Coda 2
iTerm
JPEGmini Pro
Parallels Desktop
Git etc
Mamp Pro

The Synology is used for Time Machine and for an SSH backup of all websites I host from my dedicated server. I don't have a firewall sitting in front of it…should I?

I don't NEED anything new but I have some money to spend to upgrade certain elements (cost within reason) so just wondering what everyone else uses to make their day a little better. This isn't a full time venture as I work full time as a graphic designer for a printing company. I am steadily growing in my dev business so want to try and make myself as efficient as possible.

Thanks everyone!

 

[olup]

Hi everyone, I am sure this question gets asked a lot but here goes. I am a front-end web developer and I am craving new tools/gadgets to help improve my workflow, speed up time etc.

Here is my current setup:
Latest MacBook Pro 15" Retina display
23" (old style) Apple Cinema Display
The Apple Airport Extreme (AC version)
Synology DS214+ (2-bay) NAS
Apple Magic Mouse and keyboard

Softwares:
Adobe CS6
Coda 2
iTerm
JPEGmini Pro
Parallels Desktop
Git etc
Mamp Pro

The Synology is used for Time Machine and for an SSH backup of all websites I host from my dedicated server. I don't have a firewall sitting in front of it…should I?

I don't NEED anything new but I have some money to spend to upgrade certain elements (cost within reason) so just wondering what everyone else uses to make their day a little better. This isn't a full time venture as I work full time as a graphic designer for a printing company. I am steadily growing in my dev business so want to try and make myself as efficient as possible.

Thanks everyone!

Heard good things about the Dell Ultrasharp monitors and I'm considering a 2515h actually.

 

[dsgnr]

Heard good things about the Dell Ultrasharp monitors and I'm considering a 2515h actually.

I'd love a new monitor. I have the super old grey monitor at the moment!

I'd love to get two 25" Dells but I don't think I'd have the room so I think I'd have to get either one 25" or a 27" 1440p.

Do you think a 4K monitor is a little overkill for programming/web-development? Just looking at the price difference between the 1440p and the 4K.

 

[olup]

I'd love a new monitor. I have the super old grey monitor at the moment!

I'd love to get two 25" Dells but I don't think I'd have the room so I think I'd have to get either one 25" or a 27" 1440p.

Do you think a 4K monitor is a little overkill for programming/web-development? Just looking at the price difference between the 1440p and the 4K.

If I recall correctly, the guy at the store told me that it's not possible to daisy chain the dell ultrasharps, but don't take my word for it. Better go down to a store and ask.

For me personally one of the 25" would do because my desk isn't super large.

 

[dsgnr]

I'll try and find a shop that has them on display. Difficult to find actual shops that sell Dell in person in the UK

 

[dsgnr]

I've been doing some research today. The 25" does seem like the better choice than the 27". I'm getting used to using my retina screen so going to a lower res screen is a bit of a concern of mine.

I know it won't be as good as the retina screen from the 15" MBP but can anyone clarify whether it's a noticeable step down? I can't seem to find any pixel density information anywhere to compare the MBP screen to the dell.

I can say though that I now want the Dell u2515 lol. Just noticing the pixels may be an issue. But I guess going from the 21" silver Cinema Display to a 1440p IPS (will be my first IPS monitor) is probably going to be a good improvement.

 

[olup]

I've been doing some research today. The 25" does seem like the better choice than the 27". I'm getting used to using my retina screen so going to a lower res screen is a bit of a concern of mine.

I know it won't be as good as the retina screen from the 15" MBP but can anyone clarify whether it's a noticeable step down? I can't seem to find any pixel density information anywhere to compare the MBP screen to the dell.

I can say though that I now want the Dell u2515 lol. Just noticing the pixels may be an issue. But I guess going from the 21" silver Cinema Display to a 1440p IPS (will be my first IPS monitor) is probably going to be a good improvement.

It'll definitely be an improvement. Have you found/read the review on http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2515h.htm yet?

 

[dsgnr]

Yes I have, was a good read, thanks!

Although everywhere says everything is sharp with the Dell, my 20" Apple cinema display 1680 x 1050 has a ppi of around 99 whereas the Dell is 117 whereas the MBPr is 228!!!

Is the Dell really going to be noticeably different/sharper to the Cinema Display?

I find the screen of my Cinema Display to be the equivalent of going from an iPhone/iPad with retina to a non retina.

If this wasn't my concern, I'd be unboxing it right now!

 

[olup]

Yes I have, was a good read, thanks!

Although everywhere says everything is sharp with the Dell, my 20" Apple cinema display 1680 x 1050 has a ppi of around 99 whereas the Dell is 117 whereas the MBPr is 228!!!

Is the Dell really going to be noticeably different/sharper to the Cinema Display?

I find the screen of my Cinema Display to be the equivalent of going from an iPhone/iPad with retina to a non retina.

If this wasn't my concern, I'd be unboxing it right now!

Only one way to find out

Probably better to get in touch with Dell's support to get a decent answer for this.

 

[Starfia]

dsgnr,

Even if you don't use Bryan Jones' CodeKit, I'd suggest at least knowing what it is if you're on an enthusiastic search for tool options.

My preferred preprocessed languages are Jade, Stylus and Coffeescript, and CodeKit is responsible for automatically compiling all those files as I work on them. (Even if you don't use any, or use different ones, CodeKit is cool in a number of related ways.)

 

[dsgnr]

Only one way to find out

I bit the bullet and ordered it on Amazon. Should come Wednesday so will report back!

dsgnr,

Even if you don't use Bryan Jones' CodeKit, I'd suggest at least knowing what it is if you're on an enthusiastic search for tool options.

My preferred preprocessed languages are Jade, Stylus and Coffeescript, and CodeKit is responsible for automatically compiling all those files as I work on them. (Even if you don't use any, or use different ones, CodeKit is cool in a number of related ways.)

Thank you for suggesting Codekit. I currently use Gulp to compile my Sass code into CSS, add prefixers, minify JS and CSS and reload browsers whilst developing. I did look at Codekit when I started out using Gulp but they're pretty much the same thing (unless you know of anything gulp doesn't do that Codekit does?). Also as I spend half the time in iTerm for Git and WP-cli, it was ideal to use gulp!

 

[olup]

I bit the bullet and ordered it on Amazon. Should come Wednesday so will report back!

Nice, hope you enjoy it!

 

[dsgnr]

Received this today.

The text is a little smaller than I was expecting but it won't take long to get used to it. Obviously it's not a retina screen but definitely a step up from my old faded cinema display!

 

[olup]

Received this today.

The text is a little smaller than I was expecting but it won't take long to get used to it. Obviously it's not a retina screen but definitely a step up from my old faded cinema display!

awesome, is the packaging still as terrible as portrayed in unboxing videos or has it improved?

 

[dsgnr]

awesome, is the packaging still as terrible as portrayed in unboxing videos or has it improved?

Haha yes, however, I didn't actually look at un boxing videos this time (probably should have done) so it took me a good 15 minutes to get everything out and I ended up having to break the cardboard in order to remove items. I suppose it's better than just a bit of polystyrene though!

I've tweaked the settings a little now and seemed to have improved the fizzy-ness of the text. Either that or I got used to it pretty quickly!

Everything being smaller will take some time to get used to though but I suppose it would be like that on the 27" iMac which is very small or any other screen of that resolution

 

[jonnysods]

I use my 15" 2013 rMBP, a 27" Thunderbolt Display, an old 24" Samsung hooked up to the 2nd TB port and I got this this the other day, a 15" USB powered monitor running off the port of my TB display.

As a guy that does web and graphic design, 4 monitors is pure gold for work speed.

 

[olup]

I use my 15" 2013 rMBP, a 27" Thunderbolt Display, an old 24" Samsung hooked up to the 2nd TB port and I got this this the other day, a 15" USB powered monitor running off the port of my TB display.

As a guy that does web and graphic design, 4 monitors is pure gold for work speed.

cool setup, do you only have the calendar on the 15" or other stuff as well?

 

[960design]

Softwares:
Adobe CS6
Coda 2
iTerm
JPEGmini Pro
Parallels Desktop
Git etc
Mamp Pro

Almost the same setup as you: just throw in a couple of iPads ( iPad2, iPad Air2, iPad Pro 9.7 - just delivered ), couple of Apple Watches and a Nexus10 running Ubuntu Touch.

I dropped Adobe several years ago and only use Pixelmator and Sketch.
Only had Parallels for about 5 minutes, now just run Virtual Box so that I can run/test on several OS at the same time.

I only use 1 monitor and take advantage of OSX workspaces: usually run about 5 spaces.
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21872?locale=en_US

Three finger swipe to happiness.

 

[jonnysods]

cool setup, do you only have the calendar on the 15" or other stuff as well?

Either messages and Fantastical, or Evernote. Still figuring that out.