Re: [gentoo-user] Re: OT: advice sought on new laptop for Gentoo

[Allan Gottlieb <gottlieb@nyu.edu>]

Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com> writes:

> On 2010-09-06, Allan Gottlieb <gottlieb@nyu.edu> wrote:
>> Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> For a given height, a 16:9 display is 30% wider.  I want nice tall
>>> display (prefereably at least 9-10") without having to increase the
>>> width beyond what a standard "laptop" style keyboard takes up (about
>>> 12-13 inches).
>>
>> It is certainly true that, if the height of the display is the key
>> factor and hence fixed, a wider screen will add more inches (I again
>> assume square pixels).
>>
>> However, those extra inches and resulting extra pixels are far from
>> useless.
>
> I'm not saying that a wide display is useless.  When it comes to
> desktop displays bigger is always better (in either axis).
>
> I'm saying I don't want to have to haul around a laptop thats 18" wide
> so that I can have a display that's tall enough to comfortably edit
> code on.

OK if you don't edit code on your laptop.

>> I believe you are selling "two up" short.
>
> No, I'm not.  Two up is great on a desktop, where the extra width and
> weight aren't a penalty.

Laptop size and weight are indeed a penalty.  But you should assume that
even on a laptop, common usage for some is to have 2-up either for code
or course development

>> When I am preparing a course, I have the html up in one (emacs)
>> window and the resulting web page in another (firefox) window
>> immediately to its right.  Heck I very much use and enjoy 3-up on my
>> large (30" 2560x1600) monitor.
>
> We're talking about laptops.  How would you like hauling around a 30"
> wide laptop?

The first sentence was about 2-up and hence appropriate for laptops,
indeed for my very own laptop that I bring to NYU every day I teach.
My comment about the big monitor was to show that even 3-up is useful.
I don't see where I suggested that 3-up would be available for laptops.

Summary:

1.  Extra width for 2-up is for me *very* useful in a laptop.
2.  Specious arguments from a salesperson occur for all choices
    so don't seem to be a good criterion.

allan