This thread absolutely reeks of ignorance. As a visual professional I can say with absolute certainty that Matte has FAR less glare and is much easier to see in bright environments. Furthermore, there are so many people upset by this there are various online petitions informing Apple of this grave mistake (such as here: http://macmatte.wordpress.com/ .)
More than anything, I will tell the viewers of this forum what I tell all ignorant Apple fanboys (please note I am NOT calling all Apple consumers ignorant, in fact I own over $20,000 in Apple electronics so that would be self-degrading - I am targeting those who believe Apple never makes mistakes with this comment, instead.) and that is to actually COMPARE the screens in person. I am not sure if this is satisfactory in-store, but in the least grab a friend with a matte screen and place your glossy computer next to it in different practical environments you plan to work in - if you don't like the results take that thing back and take advantage of Apple's amazing customer support and return policy.
Studies show glossy screens as not only harder on the eyes for prolonged periods, but also as demonstrated above the glare is a lot more frustrating. Some of the images from the opposition (those who argue glossy screens are better for glare) are showing heavy, direct lighting on screens (it's photographic lighting on photographic stands, so it is very much so meant to be both bright and directional despite the attached softboxes.) It's true that if you have a giant blinding light pointed at the screens then the glossy would likely appear better in an image - in real life, however, it would not only be terrible in both situations, but it would blind you as a reflection would be reflecting most of that light right into your face (on the matte screen you would just see a washed out screen.) Here we hit the real problem with glossy screens... You see all the TINY lights and SLIGHT amounts of glare behind you in your screen, and they are reflected directly back into your eyes. This is present even in the latest retina screen, and it will drive you nuts. It's not always so bad if you have only overhead lighting, however in situations like this you will notice the screen turns into a mirror. You will see everything behind you when you refocus your eyes. Generally you can focus them only on the screen, but when that sucker goes black you will be in for some serious eye strain. I use a program called Red Cine-X (professional film program for RED Cinema cameras) as well as final cut pro, and both are absolutely infuriating to work with in this environment due to the black or gray nature of their GUI.
So word to the wise: TRY THESE OUT BEFORE BUYING THEM and you will find everything I am writing to be absolutely dead on. I am a photographer, film maker, and web designer - so I stare at computers all day long and I pay express attention to colors and visuals. Glossy can be your best friend in a dark room with it's rich colors, but any time you're not in a dark room (MOST of the time for most of us) you will find yourself with an inferior product if the screen is glossy.
More than anything, I will tell the viewers of this forum what I tell all ignorant Apple fanboys (please note I am NOT calling all Apple consumers ignorant, in fact I own over $20,000 in Apple electronics so that would be self-degrading - I am targeting those who believe Apple never makes mistakes with this comment, instead.) and that is to actually COMPARE the screens in person. I am not sure if this is satisfactory in-store, but in the least grab a friend with a matte screen and place your glossy computer next to it in different practical environments you plan to work in - if you don't like the results take that thing back and take advantage of Apple's amazing customer support and return policy.
Studies show glossy screens as not only harder on the eyes for prolonged periods, but also as demonstrated above the glare is a lot more frustrating. Some of the images from the opposition (those who argue glossy screens are better for glare) are showing heavy, direct lighting on screens (it's photographic lighting on photographic stands, so it is very much so meant to be both bright and directional despite the attached softboxes.) It's true that if you have a giant blinding light pointed at the screens then the glossy would likely appear better in an image - in real life, however, it would not only be terrible in both situations, but it would blind you as a reflection would be reflecting most of that light right into your face (on the matte screen you would just see a washed out screen.) Here we hit the real problem with glossy screens... You see all the TINY lights and SLIGHT amounts of glare behind you in your screen, and they are reflected directly back into your eyes. This is present even in the latest retina screen, and it will drive you nuts. It's not always so bad if you have only overhead lighting, however in situations like this you will notice the screen turns into a mirror. You will see everything behind you when you refocus your eyes. Generally you can focus them only on the screen, but when that sucker goes black you will be in for some serious eye strain. I use a program called Red Cine-X (professional film program for RED Cinema cameras) as well as final cut pro, and both are absolutely infuriating to work with in this environment due to the black or gray nature of their GUI.
So word to the wise: TRY THESE OUT BEFORE BUYING THEM and you will find everything I am writing to be absolutely dead on. I am a photographer, film maker, and web designer - so I stare at computers all day long and I pay express attention to colors and visuals. Glossy can be your best friend in a dark room with it's rich colors, but any time you're not in a dark room (MOST of the time for most of us) you will find yourself with an inferior product if the screen is glossy.
