About three years ago I purchased a Sony PCG-300 notebook. It has
a 1400 x 1050 screen. I have been squinting at the screen ever since
I bought it, but I do like the tremendous amount of information it
can present.

I am considering purchasing a new notebook. I thought this time
I would get a 1024 x 768 screen to eliminate the squinting. This
morining I thought to myself, "Geez, I wonder if you can fiddle
with the display resolution?" I found out you can. You can make
a 1400 x 1050 screen display as a 1400 x 1050 screen or a
1024 x 768 screen.

The question is, why would one purchase a 1024 x 768 screen if
you can get a 1400 x 1050 screen for the same price?

Al wrote:
Because running an LCD at other than its native resolution looks like shite!

Regards,

James

Al wrote:
Have a look-see at the newer bright, high contrast LCDs on laptops.
1280x1024 is more of a base now than is 1024x768, but at any resolution
the newer LCDs are much more readable that say a screen from 3-5 years
ago at the same resolution. It still boils down to a matter of personal
preference, but the technology is much better now.

Q

"Al" <ecarecar@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:11dntrg2v29e5c8@corp.supernews.com...
Squinting..? Then why bother using such a machine...
BTW - have you tried increasing the font size (if you are using Windoze...)


Because LCDs run best at their native resolution. Buy the laptop which suits you
100% or you'll be unhappy. 1400x1050 too small (even with a big font..?) then go for
a lower resolution. I use both 140x1050 and 1600x1200, both on a 15" screen
(ThinkPad A31, and A31p and T43p respectively) and find myself working on the latter
more and with greater "optical/visual" pleasure (oh yes - I'm older than dirt and
wear progressive bifocals...) When I need to work on my small (10.6") Fujitsu with
1280x768 wide-aspect screen I feel cramped (not because of the screen size but
because I'm so used to displaying more on the screen.)
YMMV.
--

"Al" <ecarecar@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11dntrg2v29e5c8@corp.supernews.com...

I thought the same: more is better.

Then I found that a lot of things looked crap.

Simple HTML pages looked fine, one can set the font size to largest, but
fancy web pages specify font sizes which Explorer obeys above your font size
request. Many website designers try to cram loads onto a screen by using
tiny text, which gets even smaller on a hi-res screen.

Sure I can set my screen to a lower-res non-native resolution but the pixel
stretching hardware blurs some pixels and thus text can look partially
blurred.

I think the key thing is that the absolute pixel size should not be too
small.
I have 1400x1050 on a 12" x 9" (15" diagonal) screen at arm's length away.
It would be less of a problem with bigger screens.

Incidentally, 1400 x 1050 is about 106 dpi on a 15" screen.

Scanners are a bit more standardised at 100 and 300 dpi resolutions.

Thus to view 100 dpi scans on 100 dpi screens,

Display:

Pixels => Diagonal
1024x 768 12.8"
1280x1024 16.4"
1400x1050 17.5"


100 dpi corresponds to an integer value of 254 micrometre pixel pitch.
200 dpi -> 127 um

Gets a bit messy for other values... :-)

It's possible to change the size of things while still running the
display panel at it's native resolution.


JHEM wrote:

JHEM wrote:
How can you tell?

eM eL wrote:
Well, I'm "older," too. And I just don't think I want bifocals. So, I
think I'll get the 1024 screen, and, maybe, later get a 1600 x 1400
monitor. I'm tired of paying for the fancy notebook screen and
dumping it when the computer technology and computer get a little
old and tired, and then buying another screen.

Al wrote:
Is that a rhetorical question?

You set your LCD display to something other than its native resolution and
attempt to use it for any period of time.

http://news.designtechnica.com/featu...le6_page2.html

Regards,

James

Good article!

Thanks!

"Kryten" <kryten_droid_obfusticator@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:GyXCe.10855$Ag3.4625@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...
Assuming 100dpi for good viewing is false - it all depends what the OS
decides to show fonts at. This can be changed by the dpi value in settings,
but it isn't completely universal.

There are actually few things that require a high resolution, such as
1400x1050 to be fit in a 15" screen. Even photos look fine on 1024. And if
you're editing, you just adjust the zoom value.

Duncan.