Another Screen Resolution Question

[snerkler]

I've been questioning whether to get the standard or hi-res screen on a 15" MBP. I saw the 2 side by side yesterday and found the HR one significantly better in terms of quality, but found menus, web browser search bars and bookmarks on the bookmark bar etc too small. After 5 mins of using a hi-res one in store I had a headache and felt nauseous.

I know you can zoom most things, but I do a lot of stuff on the internet and so the size of the search bar and bookmarks would be a real issue. Are Apple likely to release an update for OS X Lion so that you can change the things as listed above as I know you can't at the moment? I know you can change the screen resolution but this just makes it blurry and defeats the purpose of having the hi-res screen.

Cheers.

 

[heisenberg123]

I've been questioning whether to get the standard or hi-res screen on a 15" MBP. I saw the 2 side by side yesterday and found the HR one significantly better in terms of quality, but found menus, web browser search bars and bookmarks on the bookmark bar etc too small.

I know you can zoom most things, but I do a lot of stuff on the internet and so the size of the search bar and bookmarks would be a real issue. Are Apple likely to release an update for OS X Lion so that you can change the things as listed above as I know you can't at the moment? I know you can change the screen resolution but this just makes it blurry and defeats the purpose of having the hi-res screen.

Cheers.

well the higher resolution is more pixels on the same size screen thats why it makes the fonts smaller to make all those pixels fit

 

[snerkler]

well the higher resolution is more pixels on the same size screen thats why it makes the fonts smaller to make all those pixels fit

Thanks. I do understand that but you can change a lot of different things such as icon size and was wondering if they're likely to release an update that allows you to change the size of menus, search bars etc. If you could increase the size of these then font size would increase with it. For example, if you could make the safari search bar and bookmark bar bigger/deeper then the text on these would appear larger too.

 

[GGJstudios]

Thanks. I do understand that but you can change a lot of different things such as icon size and was wondering if they're likely to release an update that allows you to change the size of menus, search bars etc. If you could increase the size of these then font size would increase with it. For example, if you could make the safari search bar and bookmark bar bigger/deeper then the text on these would appear larger too.

That's not likely to happen. It's much tougher and more problematic to increase the size of GUI elements.

 

[snerkler]

That's not likely to happen. It's much tougher and more problematic to increase the size of GUI elements.

Ok, thanks

 

[snerkler]

For those users that have the current hi-res on the 15" MBP how many really struggled with it at first (eye strain/headaches/nausea) but got used to it for a while? How long did it take to get used to.

In the UK Apple have a 14 day returns policy so I could get the higher res and try it for 2 weeks and see if I get used to it. The trouble with this is whether it takes longer than 2 weeks to get used to.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

That's not likely to happen. It's much tougher and more problematic to increase the size of GUI elements.

It's called resolution independence and Apple has been working on it for years. There's rudimentary support for it in Leopard, slightly better in Snow Leopard, and even more improvement in Lion. You can only access it through the terminal, though, so it is by no means an official feature.

 

[snerkler]

It's called resolution independence and Apple has been working on it for years. There's rudimentary support for it in Leopard, slightly better in Snow Leopard, and even more improvement in Lion. You can only access it through the terminal, though, so it is by no means an official feature.

So are you saying you can increase the size of the menus etc? Could you explain what you mean when you say you can only access it through the terminal please? What's the terminal?

 

[bscott45]

For those users that have the current hi-res on the 15" MBP how many really struggled with it at first (eye strain/headaches/nausea) but got used to it for a while? How long did it take to get used to.

In the UK Apple have a 14 day returns policy so I could get the higher res and try it for 2 weeks and see if I get used to it. The trouble with this is whether it takes longer than 2 weeks to get used to.

I bought a 15inch MPB 3 weeks ago with hi-res matte screen and have had no problems at all in reading the smaller text and have not noticed the effects of eye strain etc.

I have absolutely no regrets on my choice of screen. Although the text is smaller than on the standard screen I find it sharp and easy to read and at 67 years of age I don't have particularly keen eyesight.

I am sure that if you can spend some time in the Apple Store comparing the two side by side you would know whether or not the hi-res would be suitable for you and as you say you then have a 14 day window to return it which I think would be plenty long enough.

 

[snerkler]

I bought a 15inch MPB 3 weeks ago with hi-res matte screen and have had no problems at all in reading the smaller text and have not noticed the effects of eye strain etc.

I have absolutely no regrets on my choice of screen. Although the text is smaller than on the standard screen I find it sharp and easy to read and at 67 years of age I don't have particularly keen eyesight.

I am sure that if you can spend some time in the Apple Store comparing the two side by side you would know whether or not the hi-res would be suitable for you and as you say you then have a 14 day window to return it which I think would be plenty long enough.

Thanks. As you'll see from my initial post I did compare the 2 side by side and did struggle with the hi-res. However, in store it's somewhat of an artificial environment with the fluorescent lighting etc. Plus my other thoughts are that it could be something you get used to. Maybe a 14 day 'trial' is the way to go.