Thinking of getting an Apple...

Marty_J

Leopard wrote: »

Yeah, but you've forgotten the special polarised sunglasses he'd need to buy to deal with all those ghastly reflections off the glossy display. :cool:

Whereas, with a nice, matte 30" display and a nice, matte 24", pivoting side display, he wouldn't have to turn out all the lights and sit in the dark to be able to see what's actually on the screen.

Ah, but you've forgotten about the special glasses he'll need to make the matte display as bright and vibrant as the glossy one.

Oh, wait….:p

Seriously though, I know not every likes glossy displays, but not everyone hates them either. If you spend a lot of time in sunny meadows writing pastoral poetry on your MacBook, they're probably not the best idea. But if you mostly use it indoors and you have the sense not to sit with a window behind you (maybe glossy screens are El Jobso's way of conditioning us to hate Windows?), they're not so bad, and they can look a lot better than their matte cousins.

But I know I have no hope of convincing you, so here's a little hack you may be performing soon. :cool:

And can you pivot any Apple display? No.

You can't even raise nor lower them. :rolleyes:

Let alone swivel them. :wall:

Grunt isn't everything.

I don't think I've ever wanted to swivel my display, and I don't recall ever hearing anyone lament the lack of such a feature on their own display.

(Those USB2-to-DVI adaptors, incidentally, were in OWC's Black Friday Sale at a $30 discount last weekend, so I bought a second one. Glad I did, they've gone back up again, since. )

That's a seriously good price.

busenbust

So long as I can swivel in my office chair:p.

Marty_J

busenbust wrote: »

So long as I can swivel in my office chair:p.

Sorry, the Apple iChair is fixed just the way Steve Jobs likes it, and can't be adjusted.

Leopard

With sealed-in rollers that can only be replaced by Apple.

busenbust

Marty_J wrote: »

Sorry, the Apple iChair is fixed just the way Steve Jobs likes it, and can't be adjusted.

Aha, reverse engineering

Leopard

Marty J,

Thanks for the link. There's actually an outfit somewhere in the States that will carry out the matte screen conversion on a 15" ProBook for about $200 (plus the panel itself) if you ship it to them. I looked into it. (The company, I mean; not the screen. )

That BlackBook with matte screen looks utterly gorgeous: I'd love one.

But it means bye-bye to AppleCare

Perhaps worth considering if you damage a screen and the MacBook/ProBook is otherwise fine.

I wonder if it's possible with an Air?

Upon the matter of displays, I do find the fixed positioning (apart from tilt) on Apple displays and (current) iMacs a major deal-breaker. I always wanted one of the previous, round, iMacs – on which the display was wonderfully flexible in height and angle – but never got around to buying one. Wouldn't now, because everything's gone Intel.

To me, the ability to pivot a display is incredibly useful. Height you can adjust, rather crudely, by putting telephone directories under the stand and if you use directories with glossy covers it also enables you to slide it around on the desktop and angle the display.

Swivel is handy. It enables you to leave the display facing forwards when not in use and then angle it out towards you when you want to switch it on. This is more important in a multi-display setup, of course.

But pivot is the big one. Landscape for some tasks, portrait for others. Portrait is great for long documents and for tall, thin spreadsheets.

I have two Hewlett-Packard monitors on the desk in my "den" (horrible American word but there's no British equivalent for it that I know of). Both are matte: one is a 30" LP3065, the other is a 24" LP2465 – they are of the same generation.

Understandably, in view of its size (!), the 30" doesn't pivot – but it tilts, swivels and is height adjustable. The 24" does all those and it pivots as well. They make a great pair, used in combination and with extended desktop, and they have functionality that I want and need but which Apple doesn't offer.

Don't know when the second USB2-to-DVI adaptor will arrive: I opted for the USPS First Class Mail International Package rate at $12.50 (the next one up was $32.50, so I decided to be a good Money Saver ) and I fear it might go by Surface Mail instead of Airmail, taking weeks. But I'm in no hurry for it. OWC shipped it last Tuesday.

So, about the iChair: is it matte or does it have glossy upholstery that makes the seat of your trousers shiny?

Marty_J

Apple displays and the latest crop of iMacs, with the use this or this adapter, can be attached to any VESA stand or swivelling and pivoting wall mount.

One doesn't have to use the stand they are supplied with.

Leopard wrote: »

So, about the iChair: is it matte or does it have glossy upholstery that makes the seat of your trousers shiny?

I'm afraid that going forward, it's glossy only.

Leopard

Marty J,

VESA: Good point (although adding expense to an already costly item). My own Apple monitors (23" HD with plastic surround and 20 aluminium) don't have that option. But it is now rendered possible, then. That's good – though not ideal.

iChair: That's Jobs for you – he wears jeans, not suits, so he doesn't care. :rolleyes:

Marty_J

Leopard wrote: »

iChair: That's Jobs for you – he wears jeans, not suits, so he doesn't care. :rolleyes:

He used to wear suits:



He also has a propensity for owning huge houses with no furniture:





Apparently if he can't find furniture that he absolutely loves, he'd rather not have any at all.

I think it might be the same sort of thing with his clothes; he has a style of dress that he likes, so why not wear it every day?

He's a very odd person.

Leopard

Marty_J wrote: »

He used to wear suits:

Yeah. But that was before the glossy iChair. :rolleyes:

He also has a propensity for owning huge houses with no furniture:

Apparently if he can't find furniture that he absolutely loves, he'd rather not have any at all.

I think it might be the same sort of thing with his clothes; he has a style of dress that he likes, so why not wear it every day?

He's a very odd person.

For which, fortunately, we all have a very great deal to be thankful. :A