screen sizes comparisons

nofeernofeer
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
what's the usable area of these various screen sizes



14

14 widescreen



15



15.4 widescreen



what's the real advantage of widescreen over standard dimensions for regular tasks (i understand the advantage for dvd viewing), also weight and power usage.



will all laptops end up "widescreen" is that the evolution of laptop screens??

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    kwsanderskwsanders Posts: 327member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by NOFEER

    what's the real advantage of widescreen over standard dimensions for regular tasks (i understand the advantage for dvd viewing), also weight and power usage.



    More space means more area to do show more tasks. I have the 15.4" WUXGA on my Dell Inspiron 8500. The native resolution is 1920x1200. There is tons of screen real estate to do stuff.



    I have the 20" Apple Cinema Display hooked to my Power Mac. There again, with the wide screen display, I have two or three normal width windows open side-by-side.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    regreg Posts: 832member
    I have a 17 pb and the advantage for me is the ability to have windows open side by side. I normally have 5 to 10 windows open on my desktop and some stuck down in the dock. Comparing Excel sheets is a whole lot easier when they are side by side. When I am playing in Photoshop I keep my recent saved folder open on the desktop because I sometimes forget where I am and which photos have been done. Expose is great and I use it constantly but side by side comparisons cannot be beat.



    reg
  • Reply 3 of 8
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    what about surface area? is a 14 widescreen have more area than a standard 15??? how much more area is the 15.4 widescreen compared to 15 stnd???
  • Reply 4 of 8
    tekmatetekmate Posts: 134member
    I can't speak for others but with my 15 inch PowerBook I put the task bar on the right hand side and put my windows on the left and this gives me room for everything.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    regreg Posts: 832member
    Nothing better than waking up Sunday morning than doing math and the crossword puzzle. Sorry I cannot remember how to do superscript this early.



    wide screen is 16:10 ratio

    standard screen is 4:3 ratio

    A square + B square = C square to find the sides

    Area is length x width



    Therefore

    14 standard 12.2 x 6.725 = 82.045

    14 wide 11.06 x 8.57 = 94.78

    15 standard 13.15 x 7.205 = 94.75

    15.4 wide 12.17 x 9.43 = 114.76



    Makes me wonder what schools are teaching!



    reg
  • Reply 6 of 8
    mynameismynameis Posts: 74member
    your calculations are a bit off.



    Like, "14 wide 11.06 x 8.57 = 94.78"



    11.06/8.57 = 1.29, the ratio of width to height should be 1.6 for a widescreen.



    A widescreen is going to have less surface area than a regular aspect of the same size.



    Widescreen

    20in has a surface area of 16.96in * 10.6in = 179in^2

    15in has a surface area of 12.7in * 8in = 101.12in^2



    Regular aspect

    20in has a surface area of 16in * 12in = 192in^2

    15in has a surface area of 12in * 9in = 108in^2



    Surface area isn't the only thing that is important you also have to consider the resolution. An iBook 14in display has a resolution of 1024x768 which is .7 megapixels, while my 14in laptop has a screen resolution of 1400x1050, which is 1.47 megapixels.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mynameis

    A widescreen is going to have less surface area than a regular aspect of the same size.



    I can't believe people don't understand this. Doesn't anyone take trigonometry anymore?
  • Reply 8 of 8
    mynameismynameis Posts: 74member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by slughead

    Doesn't anyone take trigonometry anymore?



    Everybody takes it, no one remembers...



    If you want a simple formula for screen surface area:



    S: Diagonal Screen Size

    R: Aspect Ratio



    (R * S^2) / (R^2 + 1) = Surface Area
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