Fun With Widescreen

I got myself a new laptop to replace my old ThinkPad, which practically died on me just recently. Not requiring the most high-end of machines with top-of-the line specifications, I settled for one relatively low priced model, which is the Compaq Presario V2617. It’s a Celeron-M based model, but housed in the V2000 form factor, meaning 14-inch widescreen.

(I’ll be reviewing this laptop soon on bLaptops–do watch out for it!)

Looking at the V2000 from a few feet away, I would say the design is reminiscent of a MacBook Pro because of the rear-mounted hinges, metallic-grey finish and widescreen format. So I’ve come to call it the poor man’s MacBook Pro.

Okay, sorry, I’m probably pushing it too far!

First-time Widescreen User

I never thought I’d appreciate having a widescreen, most especially on a laptop, at that. At first I found it weird and uncomfortable how the laptop seemed so, well, wide. Also, I thought the screen didn’t have enough height to be comfortable. I was coming from a full 14-inch ThinkPad, and the screen was sufficiently large enough for comfort, and I was used to that form factor.

However, when I got to install my applications, fired up the Web browser, and started multitasking–which is, for me, dozens of open tabs and open windows strewn around the screen, as I hate maximizing windows–I was amazed at the experience.

To put it shortly, I loved the added real estate!

This laptop screen’s aspect ratio is 16:9, with a native resolution of 1280×768. This means as compared to a conventional 4:3 monitor, such as one with a 1024×768 resolution, you get that extra 256×768 space of screen real estate. That’s good enough to fill in with whatever extra sidebars you have or your OS’ sidebar itself (I’m fond of docking my Windows sidebar, OS X dock, or KDE taskbar to the right instead of at the bottom of the screen), widgets of all sorts, or even left as space, so your windows can have a lot more desktop to play on.

My wide desktop

So what fun stuff could I do with a widescreen?

So what can one do with this extra screen real estate?

It’s easier to drag and drop across windows (no more overlapping into the screen edges when you have windows side-by-side).
It’s easier to compare between two documents side-by-side. You would no longer have to switch across windows in order to effectively compare these.
One word: spreadsheets! Okay, that may not necessarily be “fun,” though, but it’s good to see as much as you can on a single page. This way, widescreens can boost productivity.
Another one-worder: videos! If you’re fond of watching DVD movies on your laptop or computer, having a widescreen monitor sure helps, as you get to watch the movie in its more native wide format, and without those black bars on top and bottom.

It’s good to have that extra space on the left or right of the main window I work on, which is usually the Web browser. I have quick access to my IM buddy list, some widgets, and even a Windows explorer window, for those times I need to copy images or text off the Web into a local folder.

Some gripes

My only gripe with widescreen is that it sometimes tends to distort things. For instance, if you have a Web browser maximized, then webpages you’re viewing might come out too wide, unless they’re designed to be fixed-width. In this regard, I think it’s best to keep windows non-maximized.

Also, the uncommon form factor may render widescreen notebooks to be difficult to fit into bags already constructed for the more conventional 14″, 15 “laptops.

Gripes notwithstanding, I would say switching to a widescreen lapotop is worth it!

July 3rd, 2006 Posted by J. Angelo Racoma in Articles at 11:39 pm 1 Comment »

1 Comment »

[…] I’ve recently discovered that having a widescreen monitor is one of the coolest things that one can have, especially for one who has a lot of windows and widgets cluttered around the screen. You simply have more screen real estate to play (and work) around on. And it’s also great for watching DVDs and other videos that come in widescreen format. No more of those ugly (and useless) black bars. […]

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Monitors Blog

Fun With Widescreen

First-time Widescreen User

So what fun stuff could I do with a widescreen?

Some gripes

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