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driven · Jan 23, 2011, 01:01 AM

On the same day that I got a new iMac, my work sent me to the Apple store to get a new laptop (for an iPad development job I have next week.)

I wanted to get the 15" 2.8 GHz i7, but they only had that in the high-res screen. (My 41 year old eyes wanted the standard res screen.) So, I went with the 2.66 i7. (Not sure it would have made a difference anyway.) They only had 4GB models in stock, so I'll upgrade it later. (For VMware work) I also looked at the 17" but far too big for bi-weekly plane flights. I didn't have time to custom order since this gig starts on Monday.

That said: The new 3.2 Ghz iMac i3 seems a bit snappier than the 2.66 Ghz i7 in the MBP. (Just an interesting observation).

Anyway: This is a brilliant machine. Looking forward to being productive on it.

Big Mac · Jan 23, 2011, 01:20 AM

Congrats. There are few consumer experiences equal to unboxing your new Mac.

ctt1wbw · Jan 23, 2011, 08:36 AM

Did you get me one, too? No? Well, you suck, sir!

driven · Jan 23, 2011, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw

Did you get me one, too? No? Well, you suck, sir!

LOL. Yeah, I would have, but the company requires itemized receipts and all. :-)

Waragainstsleep · Jan 23, 2011, 12:10 PM

Just use whiteout over the quantity column! And get me one too.

ctt1wbw · Jan 23, 2011, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by driven

LOL. Yeah, I would have, but the company requires itemized receipts and all. :-)

That's SAD!!! What's an itemized receipt?

driven · Jan 23, 2011, 01:06 PM

Really would have loved to get the new MacBook Air, but that's not an ideal software development machine. :-)

turtle777 · Jan 23, 2011, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by driven

LOL. Yeah, I would have, but the company requires itemized receipts and all. :-)

So ?

Buy two, and tell them your eye sight is bad, so you needed one for your left eye, and one for your right eye

-t

ctt1wbw · Jan 23, 2011, 07:17 PM

Haha! That would work... maybe.

driven · Jan 23, 2011, 08:16 PM

I am pretty sure I'd better stick to one if I want them continue to allow me coming to work :-)

AltecXP · Jan 24, 2011, 12:47 AM

Could have saved a little $$ and just gotten the higher end i5, barely and performance difference in that and the low end i7.

driven · Jan 24, 2011, 02:59 AM

The i7 has double the memory on the GPU. (256mb vs 512mb). All of our laptops have been standardized on the i7. (Either the MBP or the Dell E6410)

The only thing I'm wondering is if I *should* have gone for the 2.8 and lived with the higher-res screen. I can always exchange next week. It was matte (I prefer glossy) and mice-type fonts. While I am sure the 2.66 is up to any task we'll throw at it for the foreseeable future, I'll be checking benchmarks to see what the actual performance difference is between the 2.66 and the 2.8. I suspect nothing earth-shattering though.

ctt1wbw · Jan 24, 2011, 08:16 AM

I like the glossy screens too. Colors look more vibrant on them. And yeah, the more RAM and VRAM makes all the difference.

Merkava_4 · Jan 25, 2011, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by driven

(My 41 year old eyes wanted the standard res screen.) So, I went with the 2.66 i7.

Can you explain that? Someone on another forum said the hi-res screen makes the fonts look smaller; is that what you're referring to?

ctt1wbw · Jan 25, 2011, 09:18 AM

We demand pics.

driven · Jan 25, 2011, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Merkava_4

Can you explain that? Someone on another forum said the hi-res screen makes the fonts look smaller; is that what you're referring to?

Yes, that's exactly what I am referring to. I just think the 1400x900 is the perfect font size for the 15" screen. I can read it without too much eye strain.

P · Jan 25, 2011, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by Merkava_4

Can you explain that? Someone on another forum said the hi-res screen makes the fonts look smaller; is that what you're referring to?

Yes. Basically, it works like this: Each font has a certain size, given in points. Those points are actually 1/72 of an inch - that measurement is way older than computer graphics. The 12 points thing actually means that the size of a letter block (basically the distance between two rows) was 12/72 of an inch. When drawing a letter to the screen - or anything with a given size, but let's focus on fonts now - the programmer has to decide how many pixels per inch he thinks that the display device has. On the original Mac, the choice was 72 pixels per inch (ppi) - no coincidence, they knew about the measurement system obviously - and the first Mac indeed had a display that output exactly 72 ppi. This meant that a 12 point letter block was exactly 12 pixels high.

Apple kept to this 72 ppi in hardware for quite some time, but with time lost the hard lock on the hardware and users could set the ppi to whatever they wanted. Newer graphics cards and monitors permitted higher ppis, but the assumption of 72 ppi was still there. A 12 point letter was still 12 pixels high, even though the pixels were smaller. In effect, the letter became smaller on the display. With LCDs, there is a correct ppi that the display works best at, and this ppi is significantly over 72 these days.

When we sometimes talk about a resolution independent operating system, what we mean is a system where the base assumption of 72 or whatever pixels per inch is replaced with an actual value from the display, so something that is supposed to be 12/72 of inch actually is 12/72 of an inch on the display - or zoomed up or down as you like. This is possible in hardware today - each display broadcasts its size in the EDID code - but the software is dragging behind, as it would challenge some pretty basic assumptions about how the OS display system is supposed to work There are indications that Apple has been working on this back in Leopard, but it's not done yet. Perhaps some day.

olePigeon · Jan 25, 2011, 03:05 PM

Not sure if you're aware of this, but you can control-scroll and the screen will zoom in for hard-to-see items. It's pretty handy.

driven · Jan 25, 2011, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Not sure if you're aware of this, but you can control-scroll and the screen will zoom in for hard-to-see items. It's pretty handy.

Yes, have known about it for years. I just don't like to work in "zoomed" mode. It bugs me. Not sure why. Just like to see the whole screen.

SierraDragon · Jan 31, 2011, 04:03 PM

My expectation is that we will see resolution independence fairly soon, which will make higher rez displays much preferable even for those of us with aging eyes.

As to matte v glossy personally glossy gags me, but folks who do not deal professionally with images often seem to have different perceptions. Rumors suggest the next iPad may gain a matte display.