Melbourne-based developer xssfox has championed a unique “diagonal mode” for monitors using Linux’s xrandr (resize and rotate) tool, finding a 22-degree tilt to the left to be the ideal angle for the software development on its 32:9 aspect. report monitor. As Tom’s Hardware notes, Linux is “the only operating system to support a diagonal monitor mode, which you can customize to your preferred tilt.” This begs the question: could 2024 be the year of the Linux diagonal desktop? Extract from the report: Xssfox designed a consistent method for evaluating different screen rotations, working on legacy landscape and portrait modes, before deploying xrandr to test rotations such as 1 degree slightly asymmetrical and 45 degrees indecisive. These produced mixed results and questionable benefits, so the search for the Goldilocks solution continued. It turns out that a 22 degree tilt to the left was the ideal solution for xssfox. This rotation provided the best working screen space on what looks like a 32:9 aspect ratio monitor from Dell. “So I think this is the best monitor orientation for software development,” the developer commented. “It provides the longest row lengths and you no longer have to worry about that pesky 80 column limit.”
If you have a monitor with the same aspect ratio, the 22-degree angle might also work for you. However, people with other unconventional monitor rotation needs can use xssfox’s javascript calculator to generate the xrandr command for given inputs. People with an almost perfectly square LG DualUp 28MQ780 might be tempted to try “diamond mode”, for example. We note that Windows users with AMD and Nvidia drivers are currently forced to apply screen rotations in 90 degree increments. MacOS users apparently face the same restrictions.
Gn tech
