MBP 15" Hi-Res Anti-Glare (and other princess q's)

[zombrman]

Does anyone else have this display? What are your thoughts on it?

My MBP arrived on Friday. I treated myself to the 'better' screen, sight-unseen, which was probably dumb. Everything is much smaller than I presently find comfortable.

I bumped down the resolution to 1440 x 8XX and size is better, but obviously it looks crap.

I've gone through most of my programs and bumped up as much as I can, but all the OS business remains liliputian. Are there any work-arounds? This is my first ever notebook, so it might just be a matter of me being a bit of princess about it.

I'm thinking about returning it and getting one with the standard screen, except I hate to loose the matte finish.

BONUS CONCERNS: I find the computer runs a bit hot. Not 'logic board is phooey' hot, necessarily, but when I booted up WoW with settings on high it started to cook pretty quickly and made me nervous (re: princess). Is this just a performance notebook thing? I value the integrity of my crotch enough that I wouldn't be lapping it much anyway, but I could feel the heat through my desk, which was concerning. Of course I went to the web, which fed into all my new-owner neurosis, so after I had a refreshing regret-faint I decided to come here.

Also, I don't like Lion. Neither here nor there, but, eesh, Lion.

 

[newfoundglory]

You are right, it does look small. I have the hi-res anti glare on an Early 2011. But, if you want non-glossy you don't have a choice! I think you will get used to it!

 

[entatlrg]

We have both in our offices. I've tested both screens side by side for a lot of hours trying to decide. My eyes aren't great so I though the larger font would be less tiresome, as it turns out I was wrong. I prefer the hi-res AC over the regular glossy screen.

It's either really clear sharp fonts with no glare or reflections

or

larger pixelated fonts due to low resolution and with major reflection and glare.

I think if you try it for a few weeks you'll appreciate the higher resolution, the fonts are smaller, but so sharp, black, crisp to read it's better than looking at fonts with less pixels.

If you can try them side by side, use one machine all day one day, and the other machine the next day that would be best.

Then your your eyes will tell you what's more comfortable.

hth

 

[devrandom]

Well, other than Windows and Linux Mac OS X isn't really resolution independent. So you probably have to decide between matte with high resolution or glossy with low resolution.

Unfortunately notebooks aren't built for games, as most of them always run on full cpu load (no matter the speed of the notebook). So high temperatures with games are normal. As long as your notebook is still covered by warranty I would not be too concerned about it.

 

[zombrman]

Thanks for the feedback.

My eyes are pretty bad as well, which is why I am concerned about it's long-term viability. I'm coming from a 21" iMac, which hilariously has the exact same resolution as this new screen, just, you know, far more real estate.

My roommate has an early '11 13" -- granted, neither the same size or res, but maybe if I can lift it for a bit, it will help give me something to compare.

Cheers.

edit: Thanks dev for address the heat concern. I'm more of a console kid for gaming anyway, so it's not a big deal -- although I do want to be able to play Diablo 3, in the event that it comes out sometime within the next four-to-five years.

 

[Ant.honey]

You know what will probably best help you? Glasses. Readers maybe, but it wouldn't hurt to get your eyes checked.

 

[zombrman]

You know what will probably best help you? Glasses. Readers maybe, but it wouldn't hurt to get your eyes checked.

I don't think glasses on top of my glasses would be that helpful. Unless. It might create a glasses singularity and then I won't have to worry about resolution because I'll be able to see through time and space.

[jk, you make a fair point. ]

 

[randomrazr]

love the high res. took a day to get use to but wont go back to the standard res

 

[psykick5]

I can't even stand the 15's high res. 1920x1200 or bust.

 

[dusk007]

I don't think glasses on top of my glasses would be that helpful. Unless.

Maybe they aren't any good. When my optometrist figured out I had a prism and corrected that text was suddenly a lot clearer and more contrasty even though I could read it just fine before and it didn't change anything about my diopters. Some guys know their business some don't.

If it is really too small for you there are other options.
Get the low res glass screen and a matte film. Not perfect but it works.
Or just forget Apple and get a Windows Notebook. Windows is somewhat res independent. It allows you to scale everything up by some factor. 130% and 150%.

I never have a problem. Most stuff I can read just fine. PDFs I zoom to a comfortable level. In my browser (Opera) I have single key short cuts set to certain zoomlevels. I only pres "8" and get 150% zoom and Opera remember the zoom for this site and all the links from it.
Just don't use Chrome or Safari this crap usability browsers, where you always have to zoom with the touchpad that is just annoying.
Many small apps like textedit, terminal, ... have settings for text size. One can just change it higher.
itunes has a single switch but I don't use it.
Mail has font settings and text zoom too

I think it is not a problem because the menus and stuff I can read very well but they take less space. Maybe I wouldn't want to read a whole article in this small font or work in Word processing with that zoomlevel but you don't have to. The stuff that you spend more time on reading is perfectly easy to zoom.

 

[Ant.honey]

Fair enough. Didn't know you were currently wearing glasses. I've been wearing glasses for computer and book reading for about 5 years now. I've always used high resolution screens so maybe I'm used to it. I couldn't work without one frankly. As this is my first laptop and I use it with an external monitor 93% of the time, even the 'high res' option looks low res to me. (2560 x 1440 NEC PA271W)

 

[zombrman]

Thanks dusk, very helpful. I can read everything fine, just not 'comfortably' (so far), and I'm concerned about eye-strain in the long run. Bad eyes run in the family (mom had cataracts at 45; aunt has some sort of inevitable retina-detaching condition that's apparently genetic).

Again, I think I might just be princessing because it's an adjustment I haven't taken the time to make. I've been using it all day so far and I'm not getting headachey... yet. This is Day 3 of my ownership, so I'd be foolish not to put it through it's paces before making a final decision. It really is a gorgeous screen.

I really have debated going Windows, but I have hundreds of acquired fonts and my student-license design suite -- making the transition to a new OS and getting back up to running speed with all the stuff I use now would be pricey, more than just the Pro and some transferring time.

edit: good lord, Ant. That's like, all the resolutions.

 

[hfg]

Measure the distance you regularly find between your eyes and the screen. Then go to the drugstore and test various powers of reading glasses at that same distance. Find the power which is in focus at that distance and try them with your computer, they are probably different than your prescription glasses which are optimized for reading distances.

I bought several pairs to use in the locations where I normally use a laptop. They were slightly different for desk-usage vs. couch-usage. I have the hi-res matt 15" MBP, as well as both 11" and 13" MacBook Airs and the reading glasses have really helped with all of them.

The ones I use on the couch/recliner are special low-riding ones so I can easily look over the top of them at the television, but look down through them at the screen on my lap without constantly taking them on and off.

You could also have custom prescription ones made by having your eye doctor adjust the distance for your laptop viewing distance. I had a pair made for my desktop computer (30" -- 2560 x 1600) for specifically the way I sit when using it. I used to run it at a lower resolution for less eyestrain and just put up with the fuzzy characters.

-howard

 

[Maven1975]

Id say keep the MBP you have now and spend your time and energy making a appointment for an eye exam.

The only PC I have left around is a Sony Z 13.1" with a 1920x1080p screen. Try that on for comparison.

 

[TheRdungeon]

Yeah high res isn't for everyone but I love it and it gives a lot of space for apps that need the real estate. Agree they run pretty hot when you're caning them but theres not really much you can do about it, they have a quad core cpu and pretty good graphics card

 

[zombrman]

Just a little update.

In case anyone who was nice enough to contribute to this thread is dying to know how it turned out... I think I'm keeping it. I'm adapting to the smallness, and the clarity -- and anti-glare -- kind of make up for it. I'm still mildly concerned my eyeballs will melt out of my head, but eh, eyeballs think they run the joint.

But genuinely, thanks for the feedback, all.

 

[SilverOnemi]

wow and i thought it wasn't small enough, honestly i'd prefer 1900 pixels over 1680.

 

[Prodo123]

Resolution independence is in the works, so you should be able to view the 1440x900 size screen on the hi-res in a couple months if you really want to.

 

[zombrman]

Resolution independence is in the works, so you should be able to view the 1440x900 size screen on the hi-res in a couple months if you really want to.

That would be cool. By then I might not want to, perhaps having joined this master race of microscope-eyed I-can-see-the-angels-dancing-on-a-pinhead-well-enough-to-judge-their-moves-and-find-them-wanting... but options are always good.

 

[Prodo123]

That would be cool. By then I might not want to, perhaps having joined this master race of microscope-eyed I-can-see-the-angels-dancing-on-a-pinhead-well-enough-to-judge-their-moves-and-find-them-wanting... but options are always good.

Then you would also join the oh-my-god-I-can't-refocus-my-eyes-to-see-10-feet-in-front-of-me race too xD
Just use a screen that's most comfortable to your eyes. That's the best screen, and the only screen that will protect your eyes from fatigue.

 

[Meever]

Obviously if it's not comfortable for personal viewing the high res has to go.

I personally can't go back to anything lower than 1600x900 on a 15" anymore though. Especially after the iphone 4 and the new air.

On the low res 15" and the 13" you can see the edges and pixels and I can't stand that....

 

[takeshi74]

Does anyone else have this display? What are your thoughts on it?

Yup Love it. Doesn't really matter though. You need to go with what works for you -- not what I or anyone else prefers.

BONUS CONCERNS: I find the computer runs a bit hot. Not 'logic board is phooey' hot, necessarily, but when I booted up WoW with settings on high it started to cook pretty quickly and made me nervous (re: princess).

If you work the processors they'll get hot. You don't get something for nothing.