On the other hand, the ability to switch virtual desktops independently between monitors as macOS has been able to for ages remains absent on Windows and is present only on some Linux desktops which feels insane to me. That single feature reduces the amount of twiddling with window arrangements and such I need to do to almost nothing.
Every year I spend a month trying out Linux distros to see if it’s in a good enough place to switch back to. Every time I do this, I’m surprised by how few desktop environments supports this. Either it’s not popular or using multiple monitors isn’t common. This isn’t the only reason I haven’t switched back, but it’s one of the more surprising ones because it feels so natural to treat monitors and workspaces like this.
My guess is that among Linux users, multimonitor is unusual. Even most Linux laptop users seem to prefer single monitor clamshell mode vs. keeping the laptop open as a secondary screen. There’s a fair number of Macbook users who do clamshell too but secondary-laptop-screen setups are much much more common in the Mac crowd.
At some point I realized I’d rather one large 4K screen to any multi monitor setup I ever had.
I’m not sure if it’s a coping mechanism for using Linux desktops or not, but it does avoid a few issues.
It also makes window management simpler in the sense I can just sprawl them out and still see everything. Kind of like moving your project from a small desk to a big kitchen table.
I tend to have two workspaces. One for what I’m doing. One for background stuff, like mail and music.
I really like having 2 4K 27" displays. I even have a third monitor in vertical orientation but don’t use it that often.
Most often I have my editor on one screen and my browser with developer tools on the other screen.
I’m not sure that a single large screen would work for me. The value in both separate physical monitors and virtual desktops is the ability to distribute windows across screens and desktops according to purpose. Size factors in here too; I think my cap for usability sits at about 32” (preferably at 6k), with anything larger than that making me likely to get lost at sea in an ocean of windows.
This seems to confirm my lived experiences (ran Linux as my main OS for about a decade). I remember spending so much time hand configuring X11, installing drivers, and endlessly debugging things to get my triple monitor setup working in the past. It was fun and it led me to my distrohopping hobby, but eventually I realized that not many people ran a setup like mine. So I moved away to Apple which has much better multi-monitor & workspace ergonomics (for me).
I can't think of a single Linux user I know who doesn't use a multi-monitor setup. I have three monitors on my desktop and it works fine on Cinnamon and Plasma. Maybe the dozen I know are outliers, but I think multi-monitor setups are fairly common.
