[Tfug] Laptop options

[erich]

Adrian wrote:
> On Friday 18 November 2011 20:20, Tyler Kilian wrote:
>   
>> Not trying to be contrary, but why not just embrace widescreen?   The
>> boat has sailed on this one.  4:3 isn't coming back, so why not spend
>> your money on a superior machine with widescreen?   I'm also curious,
>> why can't you do work on a widescreen?  Millions of people are able
>> to work on widescreen just fine.
>>
>>     
>
> Display a full page of text in portrait mode? Display 4 non-overlapping 110x30 
> command windows on the desktop at the same time?
>
> The widescreens common on most laptops these days are 1366x768, that is 28% 
> less pixel information and 27% less vertical space in a 15" display than my 4 
> year old 1400x1050 laptop. Given the difference in screen ratios, it also 
> means that a given 15.4" 16:9 display is also physically approx 1" - 1-1/2" 
> shorter than an equivalent 15.4" 4:3 display.
>
> The next basic step up is 1600x900 which is still 14% less vertical resolution 
> than my 4 year old laptop... I have tried one and don't care for it, the 
> pixels tend to be squashed meaning you just have to upscale everything to be 
> able to ready text comfortably anyways, which negates the point of having a 
> higher resolution in the first place. I believe pixel resolution should be 
> just below your eye resolution at a given working distance, beyond that 
> additional resolution gains you nothing. Without zooming in, can you tell the 
> difference between a typical 1Mpix camera shot and a 4Mpix camera shot? Sure, 
> the later is a bit sharper and more defined. Can you tell the same between a 
> 4Mpix and a 14Mpix? No you can not...
>
> The next step is 1920x1050 which is horribly small on a 15" display. On a 17" 
> display I find it quite usable. Unfortunately, a 17" laptop (particularly a 
> 17" widescreen) is no longer portable. I carry around 2 laptops, several 
> paper notebooks, and 40lbs of network tools and materials every day... I'm 
> not putting a large (read - much more fragile) display in with all of that.
>
>
> Adrian
>
>
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>   

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vector_Video_Standards2.svg

I don't use laptops/tablets. I'm not a road warrior. However these old
CRT displays I have are wearing out, and some are really bulky &
heavy.  I went to RISE recycling and bout a flat screen for cheap,

see:
    http://riseequipmentrecycling.org/

and, you guessed it, the aspect ratio was not 4x3. So I've been
peaking & tweaking xorg.conf scripts to adopt.


                                                                                    
Erich