Ultimate Environment

The Monitor(s)

Contrary to what many people in business think, this is not a luxury (ok, maybe some of these are!), but in general a developer requires a minimum of two monitors to be efficient.

For those who may not be familiar with the reasons, a typical developer needs to be able to simultaneously look at the code they are writing, watch the program actually run, monitor debug information screens, view performance metrics on the machine (network activity, memory usage, hard drive access), look at documentation and a variety of other items.

Switching back and forth on the same screen can seriously prolong the development/debugging cycle and depending on the complexity, can at times be virtually impossible without multi-monitor support.
Cine Massive Displays


This company provides large screen (and small) setup including the stands, monitors and software. All monitors are highest quality and come with a zero dead pixel guarentee.

Dell 2709

For the rest of us, here is something a bit more down to earth (and likely) a pair of 27" flat screen monitors. These are Dell's, but choose any that you like. Whatever you do, don't skimp and get an off brand thinking that you are saving a few bucks, it's not worth it.

The Chair

You spend 40-60 hours per week sitting in this thing, so let's at least find a good one.

Herman Miller Aeron Chair


Vision One

The chair(s) are actual car seats (Porsche is top favorite) all hooked up so you can work the controls. I admit, this might be a difficult sell for the office, but if you manage to get one, let me know!

The Keyboard

You type all day long, it's the tool that a programmer uses more than any other. A bad keyboard can effect the quality of your typing and well as the speed. It can also wreck havoc with you fingers, wrist and arm and eyes (for those of us who never passed a touch typing course).

Here are a few of my favorites, most hover around $150 except for the Optimus Maximus which comes in around $1600 and no, that's not a typo!

Das Keyboard

Sets itself apart because of its spectacular build quality. Marketed as the "best mechanical key switches available," the keys are composed of German-engineered, gold-plated key switches: You hear every click. The keys are easily removed and cleaned, and even those with a light touch will love the responsiveness. Not only did the keyboard do away with any unnecessary features (dedicated volume and e-mail buttons, and the like), it even did away with the most basic feature of all: letters on the keys.