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I NEED A NEW LAPTOP BUT I DEFINITELY DON"T WANT A GLOSSY SCREEN!!! :mad:
Would the glossy/matte poll on this forum represent all professional users of Macbook Pro's? 70% preferring matte?
Can't we force Apple somehow into offering the matte screen BTO? :confused:

It's not that I like the glare, but I do want a glass panel over my screen to protect it from bumps. Regular LCD panels are very fragile. P.S. I find it difficult to believe that there are no such thing as clear, thin, MATTE screen-protector sheets for five dollars somewhere. :rolleyes:
 
All I can say is that my aversion to glossy screens has been cured completely. I posted here several times with anti-glossy rants in the past, but not any more. Having been delighted with the glass iMac screen, I was keen to check out the glass screens on the new laptops. They are excellent. The lighting at Apple Stores doesn't give a very favorable impression of the screens, but such unusually complex lighting won't be found in any normal working or home situation (or in nature). My experience with a glass glossy screen in direct sunlight is that the image is FAR crisper and usable, and any matte screen I've used in the same conditions is washed out in comparison. The glass is also very easy to clean, which I appreciate a great deal.

I should add that I am a creative advertising/marketing professional with constant need for accuracy in graphic and photographic imagery. Design studios I have worked in have always provided matte monitors and this contributed greatly to my previous distrust and negativity towards glossy. But I am now completely satisfied with the glass screens and would not buy another matte. I can report only benefits since using glossy glass screens and I would say the fear some have about excessive reflections is misplaced – in use I have never once found this to be a problem.

My positive comments relate to the GLASS screens on the iMac and new Macbook Pro. I do not like the coated "plastic" glossy screens on other models which for some reason seem to be eye strainers.
 
All I can say is that my aversion to glossy screens has been cured completely. I posted here several times with anti-glossy rants in the past, but not any more.

See? Just like...the end of segregation, or letting women vote...it's a little jarring for some....but people adjust and the wheels of time move people in a progressive direction.

Heh. Yeah, I compared the unhappy people in this thread to segregationists. That just happened.

I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY KIDS WILL LIVE IN A WORLD WITH ONE SCREEN.

It's so late. Clearly, I'm kidding.
 
All I can say is that my aversion to glossy screens has been cured completely. I posted here several times with anti-glossy rants in the past, but not any more. Having been delighted with the glass iMac screen, I was keen to check out the glass screens on the new laptops. They are excellent. The lighting at Apple Stores doesn't give a very favorable impression of the screens, but such unusually complex lighting won't be found in any normal working or home situation (or in nature).

My experience with a glass glossy screen in direct sunlight is that the image is FAR crisper and usable, and any matte screen I've used in the same conditions is washed out in comparison. The glass is also very easy to clean, which I appreciate a great deal.

I should add that I am a creative advertising/marketing professional with constant need for accuracy in graphic and photographic imagery. Design studios I have worked in have always provided matte monitors and this contributed greatly to my previous distrust and negativity towards glossy. But I am now completely satisfied with the glass screens and would not buy another matte. I can report only benefits since using glossy glass screens and I would say the fear some have about excessive reflections is misplaced – in use I have never once found this to be a problem.

My positive comments relate to the GLASS screens on the iMac and new Macbook Pro. I do not like the coated "plastic" glossy screens on other models which for some reason seem to be eye strainers.

Well, this is good to hear from someone who formerly didn't think they'd like the newer glossy/glass screens. At least there's hope that we may all come to like it... eventually. Thanks for your objective feedback. I'd still like a choice because old habits and beliefs sometimes die slowly. :)
 
See? Just like...the end of segregation, or letting women vote...it's a little jarring for some....but people adjust and the wheels of time move people in a progressive direction.

Heh. Yeah, I compared the unhappy people in this thread to segregationists. That just happened.

I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY KIDS WILL LIVE IN A WORLD WITH ONE SCREEN.

It's so late. Clearly, I'm kidding.

Yup... you're kidding. That's fine. Just remember that world your kids will live in... the one with one screen... will also have one button, one port, one size, one OS, one color, one choice... no, wait! If it's only one choice, it's really no choice, is it? So we all become just like those zombie-like characters in the classic Macintosh ad, all marching to the exact same tune, mindlessly, all being soothed and told it's the right path, hypnotized and enslaved. We entrust our well-being to the almighty decider-of-all-things-Mac because he loves us and we don't need to know anything more than that.... it makes me all warm and fuzzy. :rolleyes:
 
If you want the matte screen because it's more colour accurate, then forget it. Buy an external screen that was meant for accurate colour work, because no laptop screen is meant for colour accuracy, not even the new laptops with screens claiming to have a wider colour gamut.


If you are like me, you want the matte screen because you don't like the reflection that you get, and this is an issue that you can't really argue against. Glossy screens have a strong reflection. That's how they are.

I don't think many real professionals, not those who just "call" themselves "pros", are complaining because of poor colour accuracy of glossy displays. If it's important, then they can find time to plug into a quality external LCD or CRT to check the colours, because if their work was important, then the 40-45% colour gamut, and 6-bit (times 3) LCDs in all laptop LCDs (as far as I know) aren't going to give you quality results, whether you choose matte or glossy.


akashhhhhh said:
See? Just like...the end of segregation, or letting women vote...it's a little jarring for some....but people adjust and the wheels of time move people in a progressive direction.

That's true, but only if removing the matte option means that things were moving in a progressive direction. It's not. If all screens were matte like they used to be, there wouldn't be a complaint in the world.

Glossy screens are actually easier, and cheaper, for manufacturers to make. I don't know if the colour saturation and contrast are the reasons why computer makers are switching to glossy, or whether it's because of the cost savings.
 
My instructor told the class a few weeks ago that for serious photography work we should get laptops with matte screens. Colors (while cool for consumers) are incorrectly displayed and screen calibration is just about impossible.

Of course, for important work you should have a separate screen, but for a student with limited resources or a photographer on the move it's a question about compromise. At least a good quality matte laptop screen is better than a glossy laptop screen. So much for the "pro" part in "MacBook Pro". Why not give it a new name while you're at it Apple: the "MacBook consumer+".

Now, what would I like to see in a "pro" laptop, which would ultimately replace my 1.67 GHz 15" PowerBook G4?

- two Firewire ports (separate busses)
- matte screen
- true 8 bit (16.7 million colors) screen -not the "fake" 6 bit display they've been using, promoting it as something which can display "millions" of colors while in reality it can only display 262 000 colors at once (
- Blu-Ray burner (not for watching movies, but for storing large amounts of data)
- a real mouse-button

Basically I just want a laptop optimized for photography/graphic work. If Apple won't come up with anything better and I can't live with my Powerbook G4 any longer I'll look into what the PC world has to offer. I don't know how well MacOS X runs on native PC hardware, if it's stable enough to be used professionaly or just something people do for fun, but if it really works, perhaps that's the way to go if we want professional hardware features.
 
The glass covers more than just the screen, it goes over the black bezel. I don't see how you can have a matte screen do that... it would look unbelievably ugly.
 
The glass covers more than just the screen, it goes over the black bezel. I don't see how you can have a matte screen do that... it would look unbelievably ugly.

They just have to mottle or etch or otherwise treat the glass to make it matte. They can still have it be glass. Heck, they could even leave the treatment off of the black bezel part if they must have some glitzy shiny business going on.
 
matte glass?

I always thought those were good choices, but Apple seemed to buck the industry on this and would put nice glossy glass in front of a matte glass screen on the eMacs.

Which means going back to covers, shields, etc. on a screen like the old glossy CRT days.
 
A matte display will not solve your problem. You will always see heavy light on the screen. While the light source is shown sharp on a local area at the glossy screen, the matte screen makes it shining more global, but also bright over a bigger part of the screen.
 
A matte display will not solve your problem. You will always see heavy light on the screen. While the light source is shown sharp on a local area at the glossy screen, the matte screen makes it shining more global, but also bright over a bigger part of the screen.

I am fine with the light landing on the glossy screen. It is easy to move the screen to avoid this. What bugs me are the heavy reflections in dark areas. It's difficult to edit details in a dark image when instead of the image detail I see my own eye.

I went to the apple store yesterday to check out the new MacBook Pros. I have been using a 1.5ghz g4 powerbook for a long time now and I really need a new laptop. The keyboard was fine, the trackpad/button worked surprisingly well (I am a master with the old trackpad and I hardly noticed a difference) and the computer was very fast, but I was annoyed by the dark area reflections. I didn't notice the glossy screen when the image being displayed was bright, like when browsing most websites or working in the finder. But when I brought up a dark image (film noir style) it was obvious this display was behind glass. To see the detail I had to cup my hands around my eyes and press my nose to the screen.

I need a new laptop and as an apple customer my whole life, I cant go anywhere else. Is it really that hard to replace the glass front with treated glass or plexiglass? I mean they already swap in new processors, why cant they cut out a different display cover and inject that into the production line for a little bit. Hell, apple, I would be willing to pay 200$ extra if it meant you ran a small run of matte version Macbook Pros. I dont care if if you color them bright pick i would still buy it. I am really worried that if I buy this version that 6 months from now apple will release a brand new feature called "Matte." I remember the first macbook pros dumped firewire 800, I was a little nervous then that they would scrap it forever. Then low and behold it returned in the next version. Could matte function the same way?

Why apple did you have to get rid of the matte option now?! I don't know if i can wait another 9 months to see if matte returns.
 
They just have to mottle or etch or otherwise treat the glass to make it matte. They can still have it be glass. Heck, they could even leave the treatment off of the black bezel part if they must have some glitzy shiny business going on.

But just think... matte glass...... ew!
 
Not that I am in the market for a laptop, but I was for a desktop. I was considering an iMac, but then they went glossy - and stayed stuck on this 4GB limitation - when software is bloating out of control, thus shortening the lifespan of any machine pegged at 4GB.

Who is Apple kidding?

They want to push the mid-level pro to the higher priced Mac Pro, and now they've taken the matte option from the Macbook Pro.

Do the Cinema Displays go completely glossy?

The end for me is if all the manufacturer's monitors go glossy. I work in the film industry as an electric/grip, and we have to build tents around monitors so people can see them becasue of the reflections. Why should anyone have to deal with these kinds of issues if there are options available.

Oh sorry - Apple doesn't give you options anymore - and make you pay for every little adaptor when they decide to change the rules. I guess in their infinate wisdom they know best? Please.

I bought a used G5 because Apple refuses to build a Mid-Mac Tower that I can upgrade myself and not pay a technician $100 just to open the case. I voted with my hard earned cash and will follow these developments in the future.

It is sad to see Apple professional users being ignored like this.

Mike
 
The glass covers more than just the screen, it goes over the black bezel. I don't see how you can have a matte screen do that... it would look unbelievably ugly.

That's why the bezel on the Pro model should have been silver, not black. That would have looked good AND have matte option. The design for the pro model should not have been identical to the macbook anyway.
 
I feel the pain of those demanding Matte. I think choice is important, and agree that only one option is a terrible idea.

With that said, as a photographer that edits 1000's of images a month, I don't feel any change in work flow as I rely on my laptop screen only for viewing shot composition (at a shoot). I wait to do all my serious edits at home on a dedicated display, if i intend any of those shots to go to print.

They just have to mottle or etch or otherwise treat the glass to make it matte. They can still have it be glass. Heck, they could even leave the treatment off of the black bezel part if they must have some glitzy shiny business going on.

Great point.

The technology for etching glass with precision has existed for decades. I am not sure why it hasn't been applied to the MacBook line as an option.

buy the early 08 macbook pro. Problem solved.

Not for those wanting to utilize the Nvidia chipsets, DDR3, and a less 'warp prone' chassis.

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didn't read the whole thread, so sorry if its been brought up.
but I just got something custom framed, and the glass i had them use ("museum quality") was not glossy/reflective, but still really really clear...
why couldn't apple use something like that
 
I would much rather have Apple focus their time and money on something more useful than a matte screen. :rolleyes: So many whiners, so little time.

Every comment like this is coming from people who simply do not understand the value or purpose of getting correct color value from it's source. It also suggests that they don't actually read these threads. It's like asking a plumber about Industrial Design. Oh, wait... that's exactly what it is. :D
 
buy the early 08 macbook pro. Problem solved.

Hardly.

You are not aware of the Nvidia 8600 faulty gpu problem. Soldering issue. Nvidia set aside $200 million to replace this as the screens, one by one, fail.

Unless you rarely turn on your laptop and baby it never playing video games or editing. But then why would you buy a MBP?

Count me in the Pro category who is still waiting even though I need a new computer. I am waiting to see if the new 17incher mbp will have matte.
 
Every comment like this is coming from people who simply do not understand the value or purpose of getting correct color value from it's source. It also suggests that they don't actually read these threads. It's like asking a plumber about Industrial Design. Oh, wait... that's exactly what it is. :D

A matte screen does not inherently have more correct color than a glossy screen. I've calibrated the new screens and they calibrate as least as well as the 17" hi-res matte screen does.

Now a desktop monitor (like an Eizo) will calibrate more accurately for sure. But that's not a matte versus glossy issue.
 
For all you NON Photographers and Video editors ou there let me clarify why we hatte glossy:

- The contrast is higher than it really is: you are not seeing the image as it really is.
- When we are on location there is more reflection, I dont want to build a tent around my computer.
- Unable to calibrate for "less contrast" we wont really know how our prints will look in the end... it becomes a guessing game.

Sam,
I'm totally with ya, when I'm on site with my gear and I happen to need to use a laptop, it won't be one with a glossy screen for all the above reasons!

I love everything about the new powerbooks, but the glossy screen kills it for me. Sticking with my thinkpads.
 
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