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Ultimate Software Developer Setup?

Posted by Cliff on from the coding-heaven dept.

wicked coding asks: "I'm a professional software engineer and I'm planning on building my ultimate setup for longer hours coding and hacking, but I'm kinda stuck when it comes with what to choose. What hardware would you choose to use, if money was no object? Obviously there may be some constraints on space. Leave no stone unturned, I'm looking for suggestions on desks, seating, lighting, keyboard and pointing device, monitors and even the computer system itself. Ideally it needs to be as comfortable and ergonomic as possible. What software would you choose to use, if the intended targets were Java and OO PHP5? Currently I'm using Eclipse on Gentoo. Is there a more suitable IDE that works with most popular OSS (and not so OSS) languages including XML, SQL, CSS, PHP, Perl, Java, and C/C++?"

8 of 757 comments (clear)

  1. Paper and pencil by El+Cabri · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you think you're going to produce better code by splurging $$$ on a shiny desk, maybe you should give up programming.

    The accessories you need are a pile of paper and some good pencils, with which you can design your code nicely before you even fire up your IDE.

    1. Re:Paper and pencil by CupBeEmpty · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well that is a little unfair. There are a lot of considerations that while they may not make your code any better, will sure make you feel a lot more comfortable while you do it. Being cursed with being the son of a hand surgeon I know a lot of useless fact about repetative stress injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome. Almost all kind of injuries like that are fixed by ergonmic improvements ranging from getting a track ball, to having the right chair.

      And what good are paper and pencils if you are crammed in some corner on a small desk. I always study/work better when I have lots of space. Its not a high $$$ solution but I have my computer/workspace on two 6' long folding tables in an L shape. That leaves plenty of room for the very useful dual monitor setup (which I find is a real boone for my productivity) and plenty of table real estate for books, notebooks, manuals, etc. etc.

      Basically I understand that as you get older and it starts to be a pain to sit in a folding chair at a cramped desk it helps a lot to have a nice setup (which is going to cost a littel extra).

      My biggest advice is plenty of space, a good chair, and a second work area like an armchair or couch if you need to take a break from the screen for a while.

  2. Screen, Keyboard and Arse by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You need to prioritize. First worry about your fingers, eyes and arse

    1) Get a slick 1600x1200 or better LCD screen
    2) Get more screens to broaden your field of view
    3) Spend $100+ on a really good keyboard. I choose Happy Hacking.
    4) Spend $500+ on a really good office chair (or $5 from a failed startup)

    With this as a starting point, you can feel physically comfortable, freeing you to address your mental confort.

    --
    Evil people are out to get you.
  3. A laptop and some sunshine by nihilogos · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is my personal favourite.

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    :wq
  4. RAM by dubl-u · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A lot of things you mention I don't care much about. But I recommend ridiculous amounts of RAM. Even if you get more than you think you'll need, you'll find a use for it.

    My latest giant RAM sink is VMWare. I run a virtual copy of Windows for browser testing, and a couple more for virtual servers. Virtual servers are much better for testing than real ones: when you're done trying something out, you can revert the virtual disk back to a known clean configuration.

  5. G5, OSX & 30" Cinema Display, Sitting Machine by Fahrvergnuugen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If money were no object, that's what my setup would consist of. A dual G5 and a 30" cinema display (2560 x 1600 resolution!). The apple pro keyboard is sufficient but I would upgrade to a laser mouse of some sort (Maybe one of the new 5 button bluetooth intelli laser mice...) Between OSX and Virtual PC you can test your code in both Windows and OSX. OSX also has x11 if you need it. You mention PHP so I'm guessing you're doing a lot of web development... with this setup you can test every browser Apache AND IIS, Windows AND *nix. I'd buy a license of Zend Studio for PHP development as well as a copy of BBedit (I use both, BBedit has some indispensable features). As for the physical environment, you can't go wrong with one of these: http://www.sittingmachine.com/ Pretty much the most comfortable desk chair ever.

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  6. Big-ass whiteboard by GGardner · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Paper and pencil are nice, but for some things, the big-ass whiteboard is really handy.

  7. Silence is Golden by MarkWPiper · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Having been in constant pursuit of the perfect setup, I have found that silence is golden. The importance of a very quiet computer is critical for my own concentration. I'd put it above having a good keyboard. However, I've found it frustrating to find adequate components at reasonable prices. Although sites like SilentPC do a good job of sorting out what is worthwhile, I simply wish component manufacturers would consider noise levels as a very high priority!

    The thing about this: I think our minds are distracted somewhat unconsciously. Every time the hard drive whirs back up, I'm more likely to become distracted, and more likely to let something slip, but it took me a long time before I recognized this pattern.