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Great. Now, when can I get one with a screen taller/squarer than 16:9? I really dislike TV aspect ratios for code.

by Zak 14y ago

rplnt 14y ago
Everyone does. But due to users being told to love wide displays (and they are good for movies) these are the only one in production. If they were to put 4:3 in it, it would probably get really expensive. PS: wide is not a problem on big screens, but for 13", 14" or even 15" it just doesn't make much sense (except for watching movies).
- Zak 14y ago
  I'm inclined to think that this is more a matter of commodity PC manufacturers lacking the courage to do anything different. I'm sure if Dell wanted a large number of good-quality high-resolution 4:3 IPS panels, they could get a reasonable price. Yes, they'd be more expensive than 16:9. Even if the quantity was high, 4:3 is inherently a little more because it's more area for the same diagonal measurement. Everyone's strategy for the past few years seems to be "watch what Apple does and try to make a cheaper version of it". There actually are two current production laptops I know of with 4:3 screens: the OLPC XO, and the Panasonic Toughbook 31.
lucian1900 14y ago
I quite like wide screens for programming, I just have two panes of code side by side.
- Zak 14y ago
  I have two panes of code side by side on a 15" 1600x1200 laptop. I've used 15.4" 1680x1050 laptops for programming and find them to be worse. I imagine 15.6" 1600x900 or 1920x1080 would be worse still. Maybe the wider format works better in the 13" size, but at 15" it gains me nothing I want at a loss of valuable height.
  - lucian1900 14y ago
    For the same width you get a smaller device, as long as you find the height acceptable. I tend to like that at both 13" and 15".
    - Zak 14y ago
      For the same height, you get a larger device. Either way, we're stating the obvious: if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for you, it's a good trade. If they don't, it's not.

Great. Now, when can I get one with a screen taller/squarer than 16:9? I really dislike TV aspect ratios for code.

by Zak 14y ago

Great. Now, when can I get one with a screen taller/squarer than 16:9? I really dislike TV aspect ratios for code.

rplnt 14y ago

Everyone does. But due to users being told to love wide displays (and they are good for movies) these are the only one in production. If they were to put 4:3 in it, it would probably get really expensive. PS: wide is not a problem on big screens, but for 13", 14" or even 15" it just doesn't make much sense (except for watching movies).

Zak 14y ago
I'm inclined to think that this is more a matter of commodity PC manufacturers lacking the courage to do anything different. I'm sure if Dell wanted a large number of good-quality high-resolution 4:3 IPS panels, they could get a reasonable price. Yes, they'd be more expensive than 16:9. Even if the quantity was high, 4:3 is inherently a little more because it's more area for the same diagonal measurement. Everyone's strategy for the past few years seems to be "watch what Apple does and try to make a cheaper version of it". There actually are two current production laptops I know of with 4:3 screens: the OLPC XO, and the Panasonic Toughbook 31.

lucian1900 14y ago

I quite like wide screens for programming, I just have two panes of code side by side.

Zak 14y ago
I have two panes of code side by side on a 15" 1600x1200 laptop. I've used 15.4" 1680x1050 laptops for programming and find them to be worse. I imagine 15.6" 1600x900 or 1920x1080 would be worse still. Maybe the wider format works better in the 13" size, but at 15" it gains me nothing I want at a loss of valuable height.
- lucian1900 14y ago
  For the same width you get a smaller device, as long as you find the height acceptable. I tend to like that at both 13" and 15".
  - Zak 14y ago
    For the same height, you get a larger device. Either way, we're stating the obvious: if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for you, it's a good trade. If they don't, it's not.