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Widescreen laptops are dumb

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Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#161

Post by Zardoz84 »

octorian wrote: post #120
zeveb wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The big problem I have started seeing is web design assuming you always browse using a maximized window. That's been a problem for roughly twenty years now. Way back in the 1990s (on a 4:3 CRT, natch) I started out with half the screen dedicated to my browser and the other half left free for other things (back in those days it was normal to have many windows open at once on a Mac screen — weird how we have so many…

I'd actually argue that Windows handles "not maximizing things" better than Mac from a usability perspective. Sure, the visual treatment of maximized windows felt "more natural" on Windows, but the Mac's #$@&! global menu bar often made moving between multiple non-maximized apps more annoying (especially on a large display).

Indeed. I have global menu on KDE with a multimotor setup. Nearly enforces to use a "click to focus" policy, as if you have a "follow the mouse" focus policy, is pretty annoying. Doing weird mouse moventa to avoid the focus being stoked, isn't fun. Also, I enabled having the app menu on the windows border icon (you can have both options enabled). I find it very usable and I'm begin to use it more that the global menu bar.

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#162

Post by Zardoz84 »

At least, some one that noticed that vertical space on screens is important!

For many years (since I grab my first 16:9 screen), I used and suggested to others to put the taskbar on a lateral. Because It allow to display more text! You have a more wide screen and you can afford to lose a few of horizontal space better that losing a few of vertical space.

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#163

Post by Zardoz84 »

tbyehl wrote: post #83
cup-of-tea wrote: post #31

I don't know why this article is only about laptops. It's difficult to buy a square desktop monitor these days too. I've been complaining about it for years. Widescreen is a terrible shape for code. I don't need more horizontal space, I need more lines. What am I going to use horizontal space for? People say turn the monitor vertical but that's horrible too. The screen is designed to be viewed at a certain angle for…

For me, desktop 21:9 displays have been a good substitute -- divide the screen down the middle and it's comparable in feel to having side-by-side 4:3 displays.

I have one on my house computer. Really nice, but I found that for doing productive stuff, having two screens (16:9 + 4:3 or 16:9 + 16:9) it's better. Yes, you can use the 21:9 as virtually two 4:3 screens, but it's the same. They way that you have tendency to place and snap windows isn't the same that when you have a true multi monitor setup.

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#164

Post by Zardoz84 »

Nobody noticed that 16:9 and 16:10 it's a lossy approximation to the golden ratio (1,777 and 1,6 vs 1,618)?

Also, the 21:9 (2,333) it's a lossy approximation to the silver ratio (2,414).

But probably nobody knows that 4:3 (1,333) it's a lossy approximation to the Córdoba ratio (1,306).

Yes, the most popular screen sizes approximate to the most beauty rectangle proportions.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_ratio

* https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rect%C3%A1ngulo_cordob%C3%A9s (Spanish)

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#166

Post by boomlinde »

pfooti wrote: post #157
babygoat wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because 16:9 is a reference point that everyone is familiar with, and 16:10 is easier to understand in relation to that for most people than 8:5.

In that case, why not say 13.5:9 instead of 3:2? Or 14.4:9 instead of 16:10? People confuse me.

Using fractions to describe fractions sort of defeats the point, doesn't it? You confuse me.

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#167

Post by pfooti »

boomlinde wrote: post #166
pfooti wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that case, why not say 13.5:9 instead of 3:2? Or 14.4:9 instead of 16:10? People confuse me.

Using fractions to describe fractions sort of defeats the point, doesn't it? You confuse me.

Generally speaking (from a math education perspective), people are bad at denominators. If you really want to compare ratios, and have established in the writing decimals in the numerator to afford that (TFA used 19.5:9 to describe an iphone which is what started my rant) then you should use 14.4:9 instead of 16:10.

People see the latter and think it is quite similar to 16:9 because the 16s are the same, and don't realize that this is not true. 16:10 is actually closer in form factor to 3:2 than 16:9.

But as a neighbor reply pointed out, it would probably be best to normalize to one. Do you want a 1.5 aspect ratio (3:2) or a 1.77 (16:9) one? Much easier to compare single numbers with each other.

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#168

Post by wingerlang »

cimmanom wrote: post #54
wingerlang wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always showing?

I do this - and yes, always showing. Makes for better ergonomics when you can aim your mouse trajectory at exactly where you need to be instead of mousing over, waiting for the dock to appear, and then mousing to the specific icon you want.

I just set my dock animation delay to 0. I rarely click icons in the dock though.

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#169

Post by cimmanom »

wingerlang wrote: post #168
cimmanom wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do this - and yes, always showing. Makes for better ergonomics when you can aim your mouse trajectory at exactly where you need to be instead of mousing over, waiting for the dock to appear, and then mousing to the specific icon you want.

I just set my dock animation delay to 0. I rarely click icons in the dock though.

I often drag items to the dock to open them in an application other than the default (only the finder let's you select what app to open a file in without doing that).

I also have an issue where if I've got multiple windows from a single app open in different virtual desktops, the only way to get to the other windows from the app is to click the dock icon - it can't be done via keyboard as far as I can tell. (And yes, it's infuriating.)

Re: Widescreen laptops are dumb

#170

Post by tbyehl »

Zardoz84 wrote: post #163
tbyehl wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, desktop 21:9 displays have been a good substitute -- divide the screen down the middle and it's comparable in feel to having side-by-side 4:3 displays.

I have one on my house computer. Really nice, but I found that for doing productive stuff, having two screens (16:9 + 4:3 or 16:9 + 16:9) it's better. Yes, you can use the 21:9 as virtually two 4:3 screens, but it's the same. They way that you have tendency to place and snap windows isn't the same that when you have a true multi monitor setup.

My desktop runs a pair of stacked 21:9 displays just fine ;-)

I'm in the camp that finds 16:9 / 16:10 to be the wrong ratio for... everything. Maybe a giant high-DPI display would make it better. For now, having four windows arranged as though they were maximized on a 2x2 grid of 4:3-ish displays perfect suits how I like to work.

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