[maya1000]

Will a widescreen screen be practical for doing things like word processing? Having an incredibly wide screen sounds like a negative for anything besides watching movies. Are any of the current laptops widescreen? Do wide screens look nice? Thanks!

[griffman]

Widescreen is fine for everything. Unlike Windows tends to do, you'll learn not to expand your windows to maximum screen size. Just size the window to fit the printed page, and you can view two side by side, if you wish /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
-rob.

[macnuke]

widescreen = heaven

[Nobody]

Agreed, can't do without them! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[maflynn]

In reply to:

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Unlike Windows tends to do, you'll learn not to expand your windows to maximum screen size.

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I guess I'm weird - I do expand my windows to the maximum size - of course my eyes are rather bad /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Typhoon14]

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I guess I'm weird - I do expand my windows to the maximum size - of course my eyes are rather bad

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As do I. Actually, my primary reason for buying a larger display was simply so I could use larger display fonts. Computers are still not terribly friendly to the visually-impaired.

[griffman]

I think we need to clarify something -- what I'm describing has nothing to do with the displayed size of the text or images on the screen. It just has to do with the size of the window containing that text. Making a Word window cover the entire 23" screen size can be done, regardless of whether you're Word zoom is set to 50%, 100%, or 300% ... or your font sizes are 10pt, 20pt, or 98pt.
But conceptually, I just find it weird to want to cover an entire 23" screen with one super-huge Word window, when even if you zoom the text, it won't possibly use that width to display the page -- unless you're planning on zooming it to the point where you'll see about three horizontal rows.
Instead, what I'm saying is ... make the font and/or zoom as large as necessary for your comfortable vision. Then set the window containing that view to just a bit larger. Then you can use the extra screen real estate for other apps, widgets, etc.
That's all; window size zoom level...
-rob.

[Typhoon14]

Granted, there are some apps that simply don't require the entire screen for any reason.
This brings me to another issue though - How often do you actually use windows from multiple applications at the same time? (this is neither rhetorical nor sarcastic) When I'm computing, I'm generally only interested in the windows related to the application I'm currently working in. If I'm browsing, I want to see the browser window, if I'm writing, I want the text window. When I want to switch tasks, I can just click the dock icon to bring the windows for the application I want to use forward. Occasionally I might want the windows for two different applications visible at once (showing a photoshop project alongside an indesign one, for example), but I can't really think of any time when I need more that a couple different applications windows frontmost at once.
So, how do you people with the enormous displays organise your workflow? Do you do a dashboard kind of thing where the windows for every open application are onscreen at once?

[Nobody]

I seem to have a need of multiple applications fairly often... usually 4-6 applications are running concurrently and at least three have their windows open on the desktop.

[sereluna]

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How often do you actually use windows from multiple applications at the same time?

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I do, quite a lot (or I would, if I wasn't stuck on a 1024x768 screen, see below). At any rate I have several windows from the same app open -- two TextEdit documents side-by-side, or a TextEdit doc and one (or more) in BBEdit, and multiple palettes, or images/screenshots/webpages for reference. I long to be able to display a full PDF (or two) next to my TextEdit window, both at a readable size. I end up printing stuff or using command-tab a lot instead, which brings me to my next question:
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Does Apple make screens of lower resolutions than other manufacturers? I was thinking of getting a desktop as my next computer just for the extra screen space (scary: I've never owned a desktop computer before), but the resolutions of the Apple displays don't look very high. I hate being able to see individual pixels.
If I had to buy a screen from some other manufacturer (which would hopefully end up cheaper, too), do people have experience of them working? I've recently seen two people with Mac Minis and non-Apple displays, and one's very washed-out and on the other the picture bobs up and down. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif (I don't know if they're cheap; I don't know if they use DVI.)
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I expand most windows in Safari, Mail, and NNW to fill my screen, but that's because it's so small.

[moose_n_squirrel]

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Does Apple make screens of lower resolutions than other manufacturers? I was thinking of getting a desktop as my next computer just for the extra screen space (scary: I've never owned a desktop computer before), but the resolutions of the Apple displays don't look very high. I hate being able to see individual pixels.

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Apple display res for the laptops is on the low end. When PC makers had 1600x1200 laptops, Apple offered nothing more than 1280x854 for the longest time. Now Apple has 1440x900 on the 15" and 1680x1050 on the 17."
On the low end, it's comparable between platforms. Apple still sells a measly 1024x768 on the low end, but it's the same on Windows. I saw a friend's Dell with a huge 15" screen and it was only 1024x768. I thought, what a waste! You can upgrade a Dell's screen to more pixels when you order them, though. With Macs there is no build-to-order upgrade option on the screens.
If you were considering a desktop, the number onboard pixels on the laptop is not a big concern. just get a PowerBook/MacBook with just enough res for portable use, and when you get home, plug in a big-a monitor for all the pixels you need.

[macnuke]

same here.. I usually have 4-6 open.
and that's on my 12" powerbook

[sereluna]

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Apple display res for the laptops is on the low end.

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So is the resolution of desktop systems okay? I've just been looking through the Macworld display reviews, and there's nothing listed higher than the Apple displays. Can you get plasma screens for computers?

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just get a PowerBook/MacBook with just enough res for portable use, and when you get home, plug in a big-a monitor for all the pixels you need

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I can't afford a big display and a laptop... I can't really even afford a big display.
People who do plug laptops into external displays: doesn't it seem weird, looking over the laptop screen? Do you type on the laptop's keyboard?

[sereluna]

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usually 4-6 applications are running

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I usually have about 12 running, though I'm only using about 4. Maybe this is why I think my computer is slow.