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Why aren't computer monitors more commonly square, specifically in the workplace? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Almost all business applications have horizontal menus and ribbons that take up a decent percentage of a landscape monitor instead of utilising the "spare" screen space on the left or right, and a taskbar usually sits at the bottom or top of the screen eating up even more space (yes I know this can be changed but it's not the default).

Documents are traditionally printed/read in portrait which is reflected on digital documents.

Programmers often rotate their screens to be portrait in order to see more of the code.

Most web pages rarely seem to make use of horizontal real estate, and scrolling is almost universally vertical. Even phones are utilised in portrait for the vast majority of time, and many web pages are designed for mobile first.

Beyond media consumption and production, it feels like the most commonly used workplace productivity apps are less useful in landscape mode. So why aren't more office-based computer screens giant squares instead of horizontal rectangles?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yes, that is my response and I stand by it.

Some applications take advantage of the full widescreen, some don't need it. It's entirely up to you to use the additional space for something else when a single application doesn't need the extra space given to it or you just accept that it's not needed right now.

It's not the user's fault.

Yes, it is the users fault. Because the user is whining that not every single application and piece of media is the exact same form factor like that's at all a reasonable expectation.

You're seriously upset that sometimes you've got more space available than absolutely necessary?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No I'm not upset by anything 😂

It sounds like you're excusing poor UI design by saying "just use the extra space for something else"

If only those apps displayed even less content horizontally, we could get even more of them on the screen and be yet more productive, right!? 😂

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

It sounds like you're excusing poor UI design by saying "just use the extra space for something else"

I'm not excusing poor design, I'm saying in many cases there is no UI design you could implement to use the full space. You have to accept that somethings are a different form factor and either use the extra space for something else yourself or accept that it's just unnecessary space in this particular use case.

I am saying "just use the extra space for something else", because that's exactly what it's for. You have a wide display so that you can display wide content or several pieces of tall/square content. Expecting EVERYTHING to conform to a single form factor is insane.