On 2009/08/13 16:36 (GMT+1200) Richard Mason composed: > On Wed, 12 Aug 2009, Felix Miata wrote
>>On 2009/08/13 10:59 (GMT+1200) Richard Mason composed: >>> ... On paper inches are physical inches. On a screen inches are >>> logical inches. Logical inches and physical inches are not the same >>> thing as I explain here: >>> http://www.emdpi.com/screendpi.html >>Your second and third sentences need a qualifier. Logical inches need not be >>different in size from physical inches. > Indeed, but I never said they had to be. Actually in a manner you did. You wrote "are" with no qualification (e.g. "usually"). That's like writing always (or never). > Windows allows one to manually > change the screen dpi (pixels in a logical inch) so that on a particular > monitor a logical inch matches a physical inch but why, generally, would > anyone want to do that? Why not? Why wouldn't some people want to hold up the printout next to the display and see everything match? > ... the > distance and orientation one reads text on paper is quite different to > that at which one reads text a screen. I don't think that's true for laptop users using their laptops in their laps. Most laptop screens are smaller than most modern desktop screens, have higher DPI making everything smaller, which induces people to position them closer than desktop displays. Laptops have been outselling desktops for several years, so it may be that more people have their screens close to the same reading distance as paper as don't. >>Non-broken computer displays have >>been reporting both size and resolution for quite some time.[1] > Just because something is reported you can't assume it's accurate! Did you not notice or understand the meaning of "Non-broken"? If it's reporting incorrectly, it's broken (or defective). > http://www.emdpi.com/screenppi.html. > ...A programmer can't rely on Windows to get actual screen > dimensions... True, but not everyone uses Windows. > But you don't _need_ to draw lengths on a screen so that they match > those on a ruler. Most probably don't need it, but some if not most, given knowledge that it's possible, how to fix it, and what the drawbacks might be, would opt for accuracy. >> That most >>computer desktop environments do not use that information to adjust logical >>inches to equal physical inches does not mean it is not possible. > Seeing as in Windows there is no way, programmatically, of: > 1. Both reliably and accurately getting the screen size for any type of > monitor. There is, if not using Windows, Mac, or broken equipment. > 2. Adjusting the screen dpi. If using Linux, it can be pretty simple to fix for the sysadmin if the system installation program manages to muck it up or the display lies or fails to communicate to the OS. Still, for purposes of web design, it shouldn't matter if designing in the resolution independence that results in better accessibility and usability. OTOH, in a web design environment, it might be a good idea to get it as accurate as practical, in order to better judge middle ground of the range of user environments. -- How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver. Proverbs 16:16 NKJV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ css-discuss [cs...@lists.css-discuss.org] http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d List wiki/FAQ -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/ List policies -- http://css-discuss.org/policies.html Supported by evolt.org -- http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
