Giving this a shot - I love the idea of this. Tabs are just not a great way to stay organized for me. I'm a few minutes in and have a good feeling about it already!
I've developed on a remote server for about 8 years now. It started when I was a contractor and my machine was simply too slow to run the project I was assigned. I did not have the money for a new laptop, but I could afford the ~55/month for a dedicated server with 32GB and 4cores. I have worked that way ever since. I've been fortunate enough to work at companies that run their own VM infrastructure which allow me to work this way. And as someone who likes to work in different places, like the park, being able to download docker images while on a Hotspot and it not go through my data plan is amazing.
I recently set up a home Linux server and I've been doing my personal projects on it via VSCode's remote development (from my MacBook and my Windows desktop). The server isn't actually as powerful as those machines, but the convenience of having a single env regardless of client has still been fantastic (not to mention getting all the Linux niceties despite working from Windows).
Doing it in the cloud probably carries some risks for a business that need to be factored in, but I'm sold on the thin-client dev workflow. I'm wishing I could do it at my day job so my laptop stops screaming at me from all the Docker containers.
This mirrors my experience. It is nice not really having to care what type of machine I am given by my employer since my environment is going to feel exactly the same regardless.
And who knows maybe since you have your server running headless it is effectively on par with your laptops. These days most of my cpu cycles on my laptop are spent on Slack or Chrome!
Agreed, this setup is super nice for personal work! Adding a raspberry pi as a jump box with wake on lan saves some money on electricity too. I've been using that with a big desktop computer instead of a server and it pretty much works for remote development while out of the house.
I'd like to set it up for out-of-house stuff, I just haven't gotten around to messing with port forwarding, static IP, etc, not to mention guarding against all the potential security issues
a way that I've found to do this securely is to have a small constantly running cloud server $5 pm with OpenVPN on it. Then have your server connect and join the VPN on both laptop and server. If it's configured properly you'll be able to get them to communicate
I've been doing something similar for the past few years. I have a development machine running tmux + vim that I can connect to via ssh / mosh. Biggest issue I've run into was high latency while in Europe (since my box is in the US), but otherwise it works great, even on flaky connections. The ability to download / build large docker images with a beefy computer is a very nice feature as you mentioned.
If you work from a park how do you manage your latency/connectivity to a remote server? It must get annoying fast when a pigeon flies over causing your hotspot to cut out.
I think the point is that a small random drop in latency affects the local connection, but not the remote server. So, if your SSH connection is a little flakey for a minute, that’s fine. The remote server is itself stable. It is also likely connected to a much bigger pipe, so pulling in a remote container is much faster than if you were doing the same thing from your laptop in the park.
If you’re worried about your SSH connection being stable, mosh is another option.
If latency is high/nondeterministic every time you hit refresh in your browser to see your dev changes the delay gets compounded, productivity suffers and frustration intensifies.
Hah! Thankfully that doesn't happen too often. Worst thing that happens is I forget to turn off my Hotspot when I get home and drop into a Zoom meeting on it and use all my 4g data on accident.
I don't know what you mean by this. I've often worked in the park so I can be around my kids playing and get some more glimpses of them growing up than I otherwise would in an office. Plenty of commits have been made at a picnic table.
I've never been one to go 8 hours straight. The refresher pays off in the long run. Not to say my way of working is any better, but the things get done and I'm more satisfied with my work life balance.
And with us soon going back to home schooling (thanks delta...) children happily playing outside is much less distracting than pent up children yelling inside. And mama can't do it all.
> I could afford the ~55/month for a dedicated server with 32GB and 4cores
Umm... you spent 55128 = ~$5000 over 8 years. You could have bought 3 top-specced laptops. A good $1500 laptop will last at least 2-3 years. You would also get some resale value out of your laptop when you upgrade.
It hasn't been the same remote server for 8 years :) I don't pay for a server like that anymore now that I'm employed full time and one is provided for me.
And I was barely coming out of homelessness at the time. 1500 doesn't just pop out of nowhere.
You did just remind me of the time when I was contracting for that company, they flew me out to California but I didn't have enough money on my card to cover the incidentals fee at the hotel they booked for me. Thankfully an employee came through for me. That was pretty embarrassing.
I'm not sure why you're phrasing that math as if it somehow shows it was a bad idea. It is in fact possible to be able to afford a small monthly cost, but not have enough in the bank to immediately drop ~$1500 on a laptop, especially if you're just starting your career.
According to you they paid roughly the same amount as it would have cost to buy laptops and upgrade them relatively frequently, but amortized over much smaller monthly installments.
And their system would have been elastically upgradeable.
On top of that holding on to money and spending it later is generally better than spending it now, because $X is usually worth > X future $ because of inflation/lost ability to invest.
That sounds awesome. I haven't produced content in so long because I'm super particular about technical explanations and have to start over if I don't get it exactly right.
Blaston is really awesome and I don't think they deserved the backlash they got when the ad debacle started, but I am happy they got through it.
BTW: if you are using your headset for exercise and want to give our open source VR fitness game a try you can check it out on AppLab https://quest.vrworkout.at
It's not a true game but an hand tracking based exercise game disguised as a bit of a game
I agree with you here. I'm honestly not educated on history enough to know if such a reform is feasible in a single pass - an entire redesign vs incremental change. It would be cool if a major rework could happen all at once.
The best approach I know of is for the government or other large employers to make the shift to a 4 day workweek. Once 10s of millions are doing it, it’ll become more of a cultural norm.
I move around quite a bit during the day. Living room table, couch, play room with the kids, etc. I have a portable desk I'll pop open outside to spend time with the dog. I experimented working within VR on the oculus quest but the neck strain was too much and the resolution too low. But occasionally I would lay down with the headset on and a keyboard in my lap.
Changing my scenery helps me stay engaged. But I feel for others who do not operate that way and cannot afford a setup that accommodates how their brain works. That would be very frustrating.
Any chance you could link your portable desk? I've been contemplating getting one so my work at home could be a bit nicer (move to different parts of the home, in particular, the loft gets very hot during the summer) without having to actually set up a proper desk, or sit with a computer in my lap (I need two, both laptops, so that's not actually an option presently).
I totally recommend everyone read Dave Ramsay's work to understand how to approach money. It was an eye opener for me.
But you have to understand that consumerism is pushed down our throats from all around starting at a very young age. Dave Ramsay doesn't just come into your consciousness like advertising does, and unless one is close to someone who is very anti consumerism and advertising you will likely be subjected to an onslaught of messages aimed at your subconscious that you are completely ill-equipped to fight.
I think many people in these comments are speaking on behalf of the general population who does not have the luxury of taking a year off.
This comment of yours drips with privilege.
Edit: I was introduced to dave Ramsay's work in my 20s by a close friend who was wealthy and had businesses and homes. He volunteered with some organizations to provide financial literacy classes. I was lucky to have been given that reference.
While many here are commenting on the abstract general population, most are speaking about themselves with variations of "must be nice!"
When you fly, the emergency briefing tells you to put on your own mask before helping others. In lifeguard training, you're taught to keep yourself afloat before the victim.
If you don't have your own finances in order, your opinion on others' finances is just noise and about as valuable.
A drowning victim will instinctively push the rescuer under the water, so the rescuer must have a secure flotation device. It was (probably still is) taught to pull the rescue-e to land by having the victim facing away with your arm around their neck and under the armpit facing away. This is to keep them from drowning you.
This is also biblical - take the splitter out of your own eye before you take the splinter out of another's eye (paraphrasing).
