Calling all iBook G4 Users!

[michaelrjohnson]

Have any of you had any experience (positive or negative) with using SwitchRex X (click here) on your iBook? These darn 'Books are limited to 1024x768 resolution and SwitchRes enables more resolutions on many machines. So, any G4 iBook user has used (or is trying it for this thread) SwitchRes X: does it work? How high can you go? (do you have 12 or 14in model?)

THANK YOU ALL!!!!

 

[nargot]

no havn't tried, i'll d/l it now and have a squiz

 

[michaelrjohnson]

apparently, all the ibook users fell off the face of the earth... today!

 

[bennetsaysargh]

i know i want an ibook, but the resolution would be a problem for me.. i don't want a 12", i want a 14". they both have 1024x768 resolutions, which means on the 14" ones, everything will be a bit bigger. i wish it had a better resolution. the next size screen up it a 15 inch powerbook, and i don't have that kind of money. if this works, and gives good resolution, i might be closer to getting one.

 

[mkrishnan]

Have any of you had any experience (positive or negative) with using SwitchRex X (click here) on your iBook? These darn 'Books are limited to 1024x768 resolution and SwitchRes enables more resolutions on many machines. So, any G4 iBook user has used (or is trying it for this thread) SwitchRes X: does it work? How high can you go? (do you have 12 or 14in model?)

THANK YOU ALL!!!!

I looked at the web page, but I'm confused. What exactly does this software do for you? I understand that it might unlock resolution modes for a CRT or projector that are not visible per the OS, but it doesn't try to up the res on an LCD, does it? That's not really physically possible. I guess it could use some scanning trick, but it ought to be rather blurry as a result, and since you can't jitter the pixels like you do with interlace, I don't see it being terribly valuable.

Then again, although I am thinking about buying a living room projector, the only monitor in my house is also an LCD on my win PC, and is also 1024x768....

 

[BrandonRP0123]

Have any of you had any experience (positive or negative) with using SwitchRex X (click here) on your iBook? These darn 'Books are limited to 1024x768 resolution and SwitchRes enables more resolutions on many machines. So, any G4 iBook user has used (or is trying it for this thread) SwitchRes X: does it work? How high can you go? (do you have 12 or 14in model?)

THANK YOU ALL!!!!

Doesn't give me anything higher than I've seen before (SwitchRes X, PowerBook G4 12" original)

 

[lasuther]

I downloaded the program and installed it. It did not automatically increase the resolution. There is a custom section that you can set your own resolution, but it requires a lot of information to enter that I didn't know. There is also the disclaimer that you can destroy your display by using the wrong setting. After reading that I decided to uninstall the program. I would like a higher resolution, but I'm not going to risk messing up my screen.

If anyone has any luck, post how you did it.

lasuther

 

[michaelrjohnson]

yeah, i wasn't sure if it worked for LCD's.

 

[jumpman25]

I've used a program like this for my compaq laptop a while ago, and it didn't really work all that well. Basically with the program I used, it made the computer think that the monitor had a higher resolution than it really had. My native resolution is 800x600, and I could go all the way up to 1600x1200, however it would only show 800x600 of the 1600x1200 screen. In other words, most of the stuff on the screen was not on the screen but above, below, and to the sides of the actual viewing area. There is really no way to make your resolution any higher on an LCD as it has a physical amount of pixils.

 

[mkrishnan]

I've used a program like this for my compaq laptop a while ago, and it didn't really work all that well. Basically with the program I used, it made the computer think that the monitor had a higher resolution than it really had. My native resolution is 800x600, and I could go all the way up to 1600x1200, however it would only show 800x600 of the 1600x1200 screen. In other words, most of the stuff on the screen was not on the screen but above, below, and to the sides of the actual viewing area. There is really no way to make your resolution any higher on an LCD as it has a physical amount of pixils.

On Linux, there's a utility that lets you set a virtual screen size -- it's just like you describe, except when you move the mouse to the sides of the screen, the whole screen scrolls over. The advantage is that you can lay out a large number of windows without having them overlap, and you can see them without having to swap their order. Then again, Linux didn't have Expose, at least not then.... Does this exist for MacOS X?

 

[blue&whiteman]

i know i want an ibook, but the resolution would be a problem for me.. i don't want a 12", i want a 14". they both have 1024x768 resolutions, which means on the 14" ones, everything will be a bit bigger. i wish it had a better resolution. the next size screen up it a 15 inch powerbook, and i don't have that kind of money. if this works, and gives good resolution, i might be closer to getting one.

I have never saw the point of apple offering a larger display with the same res. as the smaller one. whats the point? I would not be able to stand using 1024x768 on a 14" lcd. hell, when I ran a 15" crt I ran it at 1280x1024 and the viewing area on it was .2 inches smaller than the ibook 14". I hate these huge big blocky resolutions. some people use such a small res that it makes you think their eyes don't work well. I run a 19" crt @ 1920x1440 because I like extra room and because i'm not blind

 

[mkrishnan]

I have never saw the point of apple offering a larger display with the same res. as the smaller one. whats the point? I would not be able to stand using 1024x768 on a 14" lcd. hell, when I ran a 15" crt I ran it at 1280x1024 and the viewing area on it was .2 inches smaller than the ibook 14". I hate these huge big blocky resolutions. some people use such a small res that it makes you think their eyes don't work well. I run a 19" crt @ 1920x1440 because I like extra room and because i'm not blind

I think a lot of older users think that way (prefer a big screen with few pixels). They're also usually the ones for whom going to a higher res and upping font / icon sizes so you get a sharper but bigger picture would be too complicated. FWIW I'm with you -- I prefer 12" 1024x768 to my 15" desktop LCD of the same res, aside from the better brightness and contrast on the desktop LCD.