Tonight I was working through more of the Big Nerd Ranch iOS Programming guide and my 13″ screen finally came to bite me in the butt.
I was opening up a header file alongside the interface file and … poof … I really couldn’t work in either. I just ran out of room (as far as width is concerned). 1280 pixels wide is just not quite enough to get both of the files open so that I can connect the disparate pieces together.
That’s the benefits of wide screens. I’m not sure if 1440 pixels would be enough to make up the difference, but I’m looking again at trying to work in my 23″ monitor here at home. Sadly, that means I need to find a working adapter since the cable I purchase last year is quite flaky and annoying.
This is making me reconsider some of my plans for my next computer purchase. While a new 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina display would be great, I’m not sure if it would have enough logical space for me to work with Xcode. It looks like that Mac mini with a traditional display (or two) might be the best interim option until Apple releases desktops which are Retina ready or the logical pixels densities on the portables grow a little more.