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Linus Torvalds laments low-res notebook displays

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http://techreport.com/news/23828/ said:
The creator of the Linux kernel isn't quite as outspoken as other, more bearded members of the open-source community. He does speak out on occasion, though. His latest rant went up on Google+ earlier this week, and it's been spreading like wildfire. Here's a snippet:

So with even a $399 tablet doing 2560x1600 pixel displays, can we please just make that the new standard laptop resolution? Even at 11"? Please. Stop with the "retina" crap, just call it "reasonable resolution". The fact that laptops stagnated ten years ago (and even regressed, in many cases) at around half that in both directions is just sad.

Torvalds is, of course, referring to the inexplicably ubiquitous 1366x768 resolution that still plagues entirely too many notebooks. "[Expletive], soon even the cellphones will start laughing at the ridiculously bad laptop displays," he says.

Rest of article can be read at: http://techreport.com/news/23828/

Yay for someone prominent calling out display manufacturers on resolution stagnation! It's not exactly the 1920x1080 desktop display resolution stagnation that we all lament here at TPU, but it's a close parallel.
 
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Too bad the corporations that make the hardware don't find him prominent. The only people corporations are concerned with are their customers.

Once costs of these displays equate to equal or better profits for the corporations, things will change.

I would of preferred if Apple marketed their displays as 2560x1440 instead of "Retina". The more a higher resolution number is marketed/shown to more familiar it becomes with the masses and demand for it goes up.
 

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I blame HDTV. Just like 1920x1080 killing 1920x1200, 1366x768 killed 1440x900, 1600x1200, and even 1920x1200 in some cases. 2560x1440 (a 16:9 HDTV resolution) killed the larger 2560x1600.

It's all about economy of scale. More TVs are sold than monitors so adapting many of just a few resolutions is cheaper than few of many resolutions.

"Retina" is merely advertising--something for sales people to spew to sound all high and mighty.
 

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All the blame can't be placed on the hardware manufacturers. The software has a huge role in it too. Until Windows implements a better graphical scaling system most people buying computer wouldn't be happy with higher resolutions on sub-27" displays.
 

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All the blame can't be placed on the hardware manufacturers. The software has a huge role in it too. Until Windows implements a better graphical scaling system most people buying computer wouldn't be happy with higher resolutions on sub-27" displays.

Windows 8 is much better at that, but on the other hand no on is interested in Win8 ...
 
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All the blame can't be placed on the hardware manufacturers. The software has a huge role in it too. Until Windows implements a better graphical scaling system most people buying computer wouldn't be happy with higher resolutions on sub-27" displays.

Agree, Windows is quite bad when it comes to UI scaling and without it it's almost impossible to use higher resolution than 1920x1080/1200 on a 15' laptop or similar.

I also agree on dropping the whole "Retina" crap, but I guess some people think it's a whole new technology rather than just a name (and there are screens which offer far greater PPI than the "Retina", so what would you call those?).

Windows 8 is much better at that, but on the other hand no on is interested in Win8 ...

That is good to hear, but I think there still could be problems with different programs and applications, or am I wrong?
 

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That is good to hear, but I think there still could be problems with different programs and applications, or am I wrong?

Yes, but I believe programs should will be allright. I don't often hear complains about that from Mac Retina users.
 
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would love to able to buy an ultrabook 14inch with 1080p screen without having to pay 1000 bucks for it.
 

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That is good to hear, but I think there still could be problems with different programs and applications, or am I wrong?

No you are not wrong. The usability of an application on a high-res, small screen can many times be a nightmare. It depends on how the program was written in regards to the UI for scaling.
WinForms (by default) did no auto-scaling and if someone sets their monitor's DPI higher the whole thing goes to sh ... uh ... poop. On small screens many apps are virtually impossible to use. That is not the OS's fault though.
 

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I don't often hear complains about that from Mac Retina users.

That is because Apple controls their Apps much tigher on Retina devices. They make sure the app fits the screen properly. It would be impossible for Microsoft to do that with Windows, though Metro is a step in the right direction.

No you are not wrong. The usability of an application on a high-res, small screen can many times be a nightmare. It depends on how the program was written in regards to the UI for scaling.
WinForms (by default) did no auto-scaling and if someone sets their monitor's DPI higher the whole thing goes to sh ... uh ... poop. On small screens many apps are virtually impossible to use. That is not the OS's fault though.

Exactly! Some apps totally crap themselves when you raise the DPI setting in Windows. I think a good solution for this would to be to rework how scaling is handled for apps. Rework it so that when scaling is enabled, the OS tells the App to render at 1280x720 and then the OS just doubles that resolution to 2560x1440. There is a reason I picked those resolutions, because 1280x720 is half 2560x1440, so when you scale it up, each single pixel at 1280x720 turns into 4 pixels at 2560x1440, so the scaling would not result in that horrible blurring that normally happens when you scale a resolution that isn't perfectly halved like that. Also, allow this scaling to be set on an app by app basis, so it only would be used on apps that aren't already designed and usable to handle these higher resolutions. I know it probably isn't perfect, but it would be a decent solution to explore, IMO.

Yes, those apps that need the scaling wouldn't benefit from the clarity of the higher resolution, but at least they would be usable and allow these higher resolutions on smaller screens.
 
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would love to able to buy an ultrabook 14inch with 1080p screen without having to pay 1000 bucks for it.

Try the AMD Ultrathins, I think HP made one.
 
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I had been read somewhere /sometime ago also megapixel is important for production cost , over 2 MP things start expensive ,probably it is why producers like 1920 *1080 over 1920 *1200 and like 1366 *768 ( i guess it is cheap 1 MP ) over other resolutions you mentioned.

I blame HDTV. Just like 1920x1080 killing 1920x1200, 1366x768 killed 1440x900, 1600x1200, and even 1920x1200 in some cases. 2560x1440 (a 16:9 HDTV resolution) killed the larger 2560x1600.
 
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I had been read somewhere /sometime ago also megapixel is important for production cost , over 2 MP things start expensive ,probably it is why producers like 1920 *1080 over 1920 *1200 and like 1366 *768 ( i guess it is cheap 1 MP ) over other resolutions you mentioned.

No, that is to be able to merge a part of the production line for monitors with the one for TVs.
 
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