Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!ucsd!sdcsvax!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hplabsz!taylor
From: delatizk@bbn.com (Jonathan Delatizky)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: CRT vs. Paper
Message-ID: <1908@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 19 Apr 88 21:44:53 GMT
Sender: taylor@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM
Organization: BBN Labyrinths Inc., Cambridge, MA.
Lines: 20
Approved: taylor@hplabs

The increase in productivity supported by a large screen is very
substantial, at least in my case.  I am fortunate to have a Sun 3/50 on
my desk; I have the screen configured with a 68-line emacs window on one
side, and two terminal windows on the other.  The larger of these is 66
lines.  And of course I can pop up additional windows whenever I like.
This makes reading mail (or news) very pleasant.  More importantly, I
can write and edit code in a large window probably twice as fast as I
ever could on a 24 line terminal.  I can generally get by without any
hardcopies.

For writing text, the large screen makes it easy to retain a sense of
context at all times, again without any paper.

The small screen has been my only real gripe with the design of the
Macintosh, which in all other respects is a much more pleasant
environment for working productively than any terminal or PC of
comparable cost.

Let's hope for the day when all terminals provide 48 or more lines.

Jonathan Delatizky