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Anti-glare screen owners, please help.

M

mythdemon

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 26, 2011
28
27
San Diego, California
Hey guys, this is my first thread on MacRumors although I have been browsing these forums for quite some time now!

I'll be going to the US for my Masters program in Computer Science this fall and have decided to go with a 2.2GHz 15" MBP (had a tough time deciding between the 15" and the 17", but that's resolved now :D)

After reading countless 'anti-glare Vs glossy' (the Apple stores in my country do not stock anti-glare models so I couldn't see the two side by side :() threads I guess I'm leaning more towards the high-res anti-glare but the only thing that's bothering me is the issue of cleaning an anti-glare screen. Is it difficult to clean? Is it too delicate? Will I always have to use distilled water? I have heard about annoying streaks that can appear on the screen if not cleaned properly.

Now I'm not paranoid about keeping my screen spotless but since I plan to use my MBP for a long time I thought I'd ask.

Also, I will be doing a lot of coding. The anti glare screen will not be a problem right?
 
Happy Anti-Glare Programmer here :)

Well, addressing your questions:
1. Cleaning: It's not difficult to clean, just watch out for sharp things, nothing else. As long as you don't clean your AG screen with a knife, you won't have a problem. I just use the cloth I use to clean my glasses, put some alcohol on it, and then clean it normally. No problem at all, no scratches. But just my experience, you'll have to see by yourself.

There's a lot of dust where I live, so dust + screen = streaks is not true here. Though, you'll still have to watch out. The AG screen is more fragile than that glass.

2. Coding. The 1050p resolution is absolutely not a problem, it took me a while to get used to, but now I love it. More *sharp* text on-screen, and with Lion's scaling systems if you can't read things properly just double tap to zoom on. Pretty easy to handle :)
I did get a problem with the high density though. When I went back to the 86dpi Windows screen it was like "omgwtf this text is so big and unsharp" D:

No more problems though. Oh, and this screen *is* anti-glare. Under bright sunlight, this awesome screen totally pwns the glossy. :D
 
I have the glossy screen and can't wait to upgrade to a anti-glare screen. If you look at the For Sale threads on here as well, the anti glare go rather quickly. I say its a good choice!
 
Your probably over thinking this. Haven't you ever owned another laptop that doesn't have the useless, ridiculous, glass covering it (oh, i'm sorry, it's good for protecting against babies throwing cereal).

Unless your a total klutz you should be fine.

Are you a total klutz, or do you live with one? (hint: girlfriend) :D
 
mythdemon said:
Hey guys, this is my first thread on MacRumors although I have been browsing these forums for quite some time now!

I'll be going to the US for my Masters program in Computer Science this fall and have decided to go with a 2.2GHz 15" MBP (had a tough time deciding between the 15" and the 17", but that's resolved now :D)

After reading countless 'anti-glare Vs glossy' (the Apple stores in my country do not stock anti-glare models so I couldn't see the two side by side :() threads I guess I'm leaning more towards the high-res anti-glare but the only thing that's bothering me is the issue of cleaning an anti-glare screen. Is it difficult to clean? Is it too delicate? Will I always have to use distilled water? I have heard about annoying streaks that can appear on the screen if not cleaned properly.

Now I'm not paranoid about keeping my screen spotless but since I plan to use my MBP for a long time I thought I'd ask.

Also, I will be doing a lot of coding. The anti glare screen will not be a problem right?
Click to expand...

What country are you in? I believe even if they dont have it in stock, you can still order it through store.apple.com/___

__= put in your country code. the price will have no difference to what you can buy in the store.
 
I have the anti-glare 23" Cinema Display and it works quite well. However, my setup is such that even the glossy monitor wouldn't really be a problem for me either.

In fact....if someone really needs an anti-glare, I could be coerced into trading.



...sT
 
I clean mine by using a slightly damp and softest piece of clothing I can find in my drawer that won't scratch the display and use the dry part to take off any residual water trails. Easy and works for me.

I don't tend to clean my screen that often as I find I don't really see the dust and marks on the screen unless the display is off. It's only when I get a 'Jeez, that's disgusting!' moment when I do something about it. :)
 
AG is not difficult to clean it is just not as simple as a glass which can stand pretty much any treatment.
It is not wise to use sandpaper to remove a speck of dirt on screen naturally. But other than that almost any cloth serves get it a little wet and if there is some stubborn grease on it just add a little dish-washing detergent.
 
AG all the way, if you don't touch the screen you shouldn't need to clean it often and when you do a quick wipe with a lint free terry cloth (or something like you would get with a pair of eye glasses) works for me.
 
i have a 2010 15" glossy mbp, my Girlfriend has a 2011 15" mbp and i just CANT WAIT TO CHANGE MINE!!!!

no one tells other thing, contrast and color is the same on both screens is almost no changes!!

Anti glare AAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL the way :D

algo, the hi res REALLY matters
 
Thanks a lot for your replies! Really appreciate it! :)

jimmie32 said:
Happy Anti-Glare Programmer here :)

Well, addressing your questions:
1. Cleaning: It's not difficult to clean, just watch out for sharp things, nothing else. As long as you don't clean your AG screen with a knife, you won't have a problem. I just use the cloth I use to clean my glasses, put some alcohol on it, and then clean it normally. No problem at all, no scratches. But just my experience, you'll have to see by yourself.

There's a lot of dust where I live, so dust + screen = streaks is not true here. Though, you'll still have to watch out. The AG screen is more fragile than that glass.

2. Coding. The 1050p resolution is absolutely not a problem, it took me a while to get used to, but now I love it. More *sharp* text on-screen, and with Lion's scaling systems if you can't read things properly just double tap to zoom on. Pretty easy to handle :)
I did get a problem with the high density though. When I went back to the 86dpi Windows screen it was like "omgwtf this text is so big and unsharp" D:

No more problems though. Oh, and this screen *is* anti-glare. Under bright sunlight, this awesome screen totally pwns the glossy. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! I was wondering how 'small' the text size would be without zooming.

mac jones said:
Your probably over thinking this. Haven't you ever owned another laptop that doesn't have the useless, ridiculous, glass covering it (oh, i'm sorry, it's good for protecting against babies throwing cereal).

Unless your a total klutz you should be fine.

Are you a total klutz, or do you live with one? (hint: girlfriend) :D
Click to expand...

LOL, not really. In fact, I'm quite good at maintaining my devices :D. And no, I've only owned custom-made gaming desktops as computers so far! Windows based :eek:

NZed said:
What country are you in? I believe even if they dont have it in stock, you can still order it through store.apple.com/___

__= put in your country code. the price will have no difference to what you can buy in the store.
Click to expand...

I'm in India and we don't have an online store! We can just browse the standard products (no BTO option) and check the ridiculously high prices! :mad:
 
I've had both the glossy and the anti-glare. I like the antiglare more.

It's actually easier to clean. It's not as easy to see smudges and such on the screen so you don't have to clean it as often. I just use some spray for LCD monitors and the microfiber cloth that comes with the computer. Clean it once and wait till next month to clean it again.
 
satchow said:
I've had both the glossy and the anti-glare. I like the antiglare more.

It's actually easier to clean. It's not as easy to see smudges and such on the screen so you don't have to clean it as often. I just use some spray for LCD monitors and the microfiber cloth that comes with the computer. Clean it once and wait till next month to clean it again.
Click to expand...

i have a 15inch glossy AND anti glare. will say the anti glre is taking some getting use to. (just got ityesterday). text is a tad smaller so my eyes are still adjusting to the new resolution.

i will say in terms of astectics, the glossy is so much sexier looking LOL
 
u don't need any extra cleaning solutions... don't buy those junk... in my opinion it's a waste of money.

just get some microfiber clothes that u get when u buy new glasses... put a drop or two of water on the microfiber and clean in a circular motion.

that's it. don't use windex or similar chemicals because that will actually make ur screen worse.

lastly just as an fyi.... i've been a long time mac user and most of apple's old school laptops were allllllllllllll using antiglare... i believe the first glossy screen apple came out with was the white macbook's... then apple started using it on all their laptop lines (also if u haven't noticed, alllllllll of apple's external screen's are anitglare... they don't make glossy external screens).

in my opinion, the antiglare's are much easier to clean compared to glossy screens.
 
head honcho 123 said:
u don't need any extra cleaning solutions... don't buy those junk... in my opinion it's a waste of money.

just get some microfiber clothes that u get when u buy new glasses... put a drop or two of water on the microfiber and clean in a circular motion.

that's it. don't use windex or similar chemicals because that will actually make ur screen worse.

lastly just as an fyi.... i've been a long time mac user and most of apple's old school laptops were allllllllllllll using antiglare... i believe the first glossy screen apple came out with was the white macbook's... then apple started using it on all their laptop lines (also if u haven't noticed, alllllllll of apple's external screen's are anitglare... they don't make glossy external screens).

in my opinion, the antiglare's are much easier to clean compared to glossy screens.
Click to expand...

what are you talking about? the apple cinimea displays are all GLOSSY like crazy. u have to admit, glossy looks sexier XD
 
head honcho 123 said:
just get some microfiber clothes that u get when u buy new glasses... put a drop or two of water on the microfiber and clean in a circular motion.
Click to expand...

You should not be using circular motions, especially on an anti-glare filter. You risk both scratching the screen or rubbing it to a haze.

The most important thing to do is to make sure you remove any dust and dirt off the screen before you wipe it down. Use a blower bulb to blow off some bits or at least loosen them and then lightly remove any remaining dust with microfiber cloth. Then use something like distilled water or a small amount of cleaner (like iKlear or similar) on a clean microfiber cloth; apply to a section with the lightly damp cloth and dry it with another cloth.

Try to keep the screen as clean as possible, because properly cleaning it is significantly harder than cleaning the glossy display.

head honcho 123 said:
also if u haven't noticed, alllllllll of apple's external screen's are anitglare... they don't make glossy external screens
Click to expand...

I have not noticed that, actually.
 
i'll chime in again.

Actually, I bought the AG because of the weight difference. I believe (I may be wrong) that the weight difference is around 5 OZ. My reasoning was that it doesn't really make any difference in most lighting situations (or at least the ones I'm mostly in), and so I thought I'd shave off some weight.

I think the AG 15" comes in at 5 lbs.

Now that i've owned it a while (and i've had a few of the glossy), I can tell you I don't notice it one way of the other.

My belief is that if there are no 'glaring' (no pun int.) issues with any of these devices, after a while you just use them; instead of agonizing over details. :D
 
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