On Sun, Aug 3, 2008 at 2:39 PM, James G. Sack (jim) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> I'm wondering, good friends, what kind of advice you might have for me.
>
> My preferences/habits:
>
> - I like having a lot of real estate. I now use 1600x1200, a too-high
> dpi setting (giving tiny fonts), and suffer barely readable menus just
> so I can occasionally tile multiple apps on the screen. Wide format (or
> dual head?) seems appropriate for me. But maybe my aging eyes would do
> better at a lower dpi than the present 110 or so.
Measuring the screen in front of me and calculating, I get 94.6 dpi.
> - I'd like to be able to color-calibrate, not for professional needs,
> but just because I like to play with photos and gimp. And good dynamic
> range (contrast) would seem very desirable.
>
> - I don't play games.
>
> - I am presently comfortable with a viewing distance of about 24".
>
> - I have occasionally (once every few months) noticed fatigue (retinal
> persistance?) that seems to require getting away from the CRT for a
> period. This on a CRT at 75Hz refresh. I don't know how to factor that
> in, but maybe somebody else does. I do spend a lot of time in front of
> the screen.
LCD monitors don't flicker, which is good. They can have long
persistence, which is not good for fast-moving games.
> - Standard CB bias applies, meaning I very definitely don't want the
> "at-any-cost best". But I might be able to argue myself into
> "beyond-bare-minimum functionality" if I can personally recognize the
> benefits.
>
> - Budget is not really pinned down, but the 24" panels occasionally
> found at $300 sound quite attractive and tolerable. I do wonder whether
> paying more like $400 might give a noticeable improvement, and would
> probably consider that. I'd prob^wcertainly have difficulty talking
> myself into thousand(s) of dollars, though.
>
> - I've never spent any time in front of such a large screen though.
> Maybe 24" might actually be too large? Perhaps dual head is
> significantly better than one wide? I would like to hear of others'
> impressions on this issue.
I am using a 24" Acer flat-panel monitor. Special $300 deal at Office
Depot a few months ago. Native resolution is 1920x1200.
I had no trouble using the full resolution after I bought a low-end
NVidia card with DVI output. My previous video controller required a
custom modeline in xorg.conf.
It was a step up from a 18" 1280x1024 flat panel. My conclusion at
the time was that I had to go to the 24" to get more vertical space
than 1024. The changeover to wide-screen displays has made the 22"
monitors wider but not taller than the older 18".
For the first month or two that I used the larger display, I found
that I was still using the same size windows as before, but with less
(or no) overlap. More recently, some of them have grown.
Xterm windows are still the same size, but I can look at more of them.
If the above seems slightly disorganized, that's because it is.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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