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I don't consider what my employer provides, because I have no say in it.
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Dev Environment as a virtual machine appliance maintained and cloned for each dev..
- Massive power accessable from everywhere trough all systems providing an RDP Client -> home office
- Copy/Clone/Snapshot your env, never again kill your machine and your time!
anyone else using this?
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Testing 64-bit code still has to be done on bare metal, because none of my machines have hardware virtualisation yet. But using a Virtual Machine is a great time saver, because it only takes an hour to get up and running again compared to 5-6 hours re-installation and going through the motions of configuration. 
There is one small fly in the ointment. When using SSDs exclusively, you may also have to consider disk usage of the VMs too.  But I've switched back to conventional HDDs for the moment.
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Yep ... my Alienware x51 runs server 2012, wired to 2x 42" screens. The windows session on my server is set to automatically log into the virtual machine hosted on it. I also access it remotely via RDP.
EDIT: I should also state that I do remote development on the VM... but local development for some projects on the host OS of the server also (since I develop video jukebox software RDP is too poor video wise).
Hourly snapshots, all backed up daily at 5:00 am onto a rotate-able set of HDDs; so basically I can go back to any hour for the last 42 days (since my last major upgrade to a new 512GB SSD and Server 2012)... and only using ~100GB for 42 days.
Kris
modified 23-Jun-13 21:05pm.
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Sound's Great! Do you use powershell scripts to do the snapshots?
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Just have them scheduled hourly...
Then the vhdx is backed up daily.
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For me, two monitors are essential:
- when debugging: one for the application, one for the debugger
- when doing analysis: one for Word, one for browsing and looking up the information
- when developing: one for Visual Studio, one for the technical analysis document and looking up information
I would even like 3 monitors, but that's not within budget 
Enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal !!!
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100% agree
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More to the point:
As many monitors as one is able to accommodate.
I develop using 4 big monitors, but would prefer an additional 2.
Having the ability to keep many sub-windows open at a time, but in a very readable fashion has dramatically increased my programming productivity, and paid for the investment in under 3 months.
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PC supports 4 but have 3 - which seems to be enough for my usage.
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The Mac has been able to support 2 monitors providing a single Desktop since the MacSE[^] was intro'd in 1987.
I've been using *at least* 2 monitors since 1988, Boyz!
It was way cooler when the Mac II [^]came out with 6 NuBus slots. We added 6 video cards and [with *NO* change to the OS needed] Voila! We had a 6-monitor Desktop!!
Here's a fun "multi-monitor" story for ya:
I was at an Education-focused computer trade show (NECC at the time) in Dallas, TX, in 1990. I was there to do tech stuff for the Apple booth and set up a Mac-based Kiosk (we called it "HyperKiosk) system for show attendees.
I'm in the "Executive Briefing Ceneter" [a dedicated area Apple used to do it's sales pitches; it opens 10am] around 9:40am and a knock comes at the main door. The actual sales staff aren't around (yet) and this group looked "important". I'm dressed business casual, so I put my Apple Badge on and answer the door.
I learn they're there for a 10:00am appt. I check their credentials and let them in (things were casual back then; none of today's security crap) and invite them to look around; I had already turned on some Macs the could 'play around' with.
One guy was looking at the Mac IIci [^], which had internal video and 3 NuBus expansion slots. I keyed in this guy was involved in IT of the major School District they represented.
He asked me about the "video" difference between the Mac IIcx [^] which has no internal video but 3 NuBus slots and the Mac IIci's internal video + 3 NuBus slots.
I noted they both technically had practically the same video chips.
"I can show you them side-by-side, if you'd like," I noted.
"Sure, that'd be great," he responded, "I've never used Macs; not exactly impressed by their limited abilities."
I then shut the systems down. I glanced at him and he had a slightly perplexed look.
I then took the video card out of the IIcx. Another glance at him and he was getting more perplexed
I then put the video card into the IIci. Another glace his direction and he's really perplexed.
I then powered on the IIci. Both monitors were on, 1 monitor with the menubar, hard disk icon and Trash. The other had only basic gray desktop with no other objects on it.
I double-clicked the disk, showed the Finder window, then double-clicked into a MacWrite document. I then found a small MacPaint file (a sailing ship) and open it up. I then opened a new MacWrite document. All 3 documents were on the same monitor.
These next steps happened lightening-fast (well, the then "lightening-fast" speed of computers!).
I dragged the new MacWrite doc to the 2nd monitor. I then copied the sailing ship and pasted it into the new MacWrite doc, then copied some of the content from other MacWrite doc and pasted it into the new MacWrite doc.
"What did you just do?!" he exclaimed, seeming hard to hold his lower-jaw back up, for I guess it dropped to the floor.
In about 5 minutes, I explained awesomeness of a multi-monitor computer system.
It was 9:55am and the Sales Executive came in (I met him the day before).
I said my customary "Howdy" and noted what I just demo'd. "Wow, I didn't know you could do that," he quietly noted.
I left and went about my business for the day.
2 weeks later I learned that the large School District, of whom I gave that 2-monitor demo to their chief IT dude, moved forward with a multi-year multi-million dollar contract, of which the School District execs noted their decision was majorly based on my "demo". All I got was a "Thank You" T-shirt from the Sales Executive. Ce La-vie!
==== END story
Then things got totally radical when the Mac IIfx[^] came out and NEC had a NuBus 6-port expansion setup.
We got a-hold of 6 of these 6-port NuBux expansion bays and slapped in 36 video cards. Now, this did require a change to the video-portion of the then Mac OS Toolbox and a rebuild of the Mac OS; that change stayed in.
PRESTO! A 36-monitor desktop. We dubbed it "MacFly Vision".
Man, dem wuz da dayz!
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interesting story you shared...thnk you
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Me too, I use two monitors. Two is enough for me.
Roberto
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I like two monitors but I prefer 4:3 rather than the two 1080p widescreen god awful things I have on my desk at work.
Firstly, I like vertical space not horizontal, and rotating a 1080p through 90 degrees just marks you out as some sort of deviant.
Secondly I keep losing the cursor as it goes out of my peripheral vision, two 1080p monitors side by side are just too wide.
I keep asking toying with the idea of a single 27" with a 2560x1440 resolution, but then would I just want a 2560x1600, which I can't afford at present?
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Gee, what's up with you CP poll makers? that's the best option for development, and by far my best pick in the last few years!
What's the point of developing on my slow limited local machine, unless you have to?
Never underestimate the difference U can make in the lives of others.
∫(Edo )dx = Tzumer
∑k( this.Kid) k = this. ♥
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I also considered this alternative, but only if you can do everything on the remote server (even watching movies on Microsoft's Channel9), and if you can use two monitors in the Remote Desktop connection.
Enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal !!!
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Edo Tzumer wrote: What's the point of developing on my slow limited local machine
Well, why do you have a slow limited local machine and a powerful remote one in the first place?
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First thing's first - I only need an RDP and I work from any place I wish.
This is besides the fact that keeping a powerful server as your desktop isn't in most cases an option.
Never underestimate the difference U can make in the lives of others.
∫(Edo )dx = Tzumer
∑k( this.Kid) k = this. ♥
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What's the machine your RDP into?
Your thin client isn't a development machine. It's a thin client into a development machine.
So what is really missing is "[ ] Workstation or Supercomputer".
Except I challenge any single developer here to say that that's what they'd buy if they needed a new development machine for themselves.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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The machine I RDP is usually project dependent,
the current one is Xeon(R) E5530 @ 2.4GHzX2.4GHz, with 36.0 GB (with Win2k8 R2 as OS), (which is [at the moment] too expensive for me to get as a desktop  )
I accept the citation on the missing option 
However:Chris wrote: Except I challenge any single developer here to say that...
I challenge any\most single developers here owns their LTD\LLC and are working from home...
Never underestimate the difference U can make in the lives of others.
∫(Edo )dx = Tzumer
∑k( this.Kid) k = this. ♥
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What's the point of developing on my slow limited local machine, unless you have to?
Gee, could slow and expensive network bandwidth have anything to do with it? 
To iterate is human, to recurse divine.
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Edo Tzumer wrote: my slow limited local machine
I actually have a powerful local machine, with an SSD, 16 GB RAM, a 23' and a 24' screen.
Fair enough, a physical whiteboard for notes beside my desk does a wonderful job as notepad.
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Marco wrote: SSD, 16 GB RAM
This is great 
However most of us don't get as powerful PC as (the usually) many available servers at work.
Never underestimate the difference U can make in the lives of others.
∫(Edo )dx = Tzumer
∑k( this.Kid) k = this. ♥
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