[ale] [OT] Screen Size & Resolution

[Vernard Martin]

On 7/24/2011 8:25 PM, David Tomaschik wrote:
> Given the outcome of the previous laptop thread, I've begun to look
> for laptops I (might) be able to afford.  Can anyone provide some
> guidance on the following displays:
>
> 13.3" 1366x768
This is actually quite useful despite what you might think. Especially 
if you make use of Virtual Windows of some sort (and yes, you can do 
that under Windows. Check out VirtuaWin).
> 14" 1366x768
This one is good if you have bad eyesight or dislike looking at small 
screens. It has very readable font sizes for default environments on 
Ubuntu, CentOS and Windows 7. Additionally, all three of those allow you 
to tweat the resolutions of the text and such so that you can make it 
more readable or choose to get higher density of stuff on the screen.
> 14" 1600x900
This is going to be a bit hard on the eyes on a 14" laptop for the 
average person with moderate eye issues (i.e. if you have a mild 
eyeglass/contacts prescription).  I will say that the Latitudes units 
have a very crisp screen that makes it better than the Vostro. That 
being said, I'm of the mentality that the more screen resolution the 
better. Always :)
> Dell refurb laptops (on the Dell outlet) look like a decent price
> point to start with and I'm comparing the Vostro 3350 (13.3") and the
> Latitude E5420 (14").  Other differences are about 1.1 lbs in weight
> and the Vostro has 8 hours battery life (8-cell battery) vs 6 or 9.5
> hrs on the Latitude (6 or 9 cell battery).
Dell refurbs are hard to beat but I strongly suggest going with the 
Latitude series rather than the Vostros.

When it comes to battery life, it really matters more what cpu you have 
in it and how you use it. I've got a Dell Latitude E6400 with a 3Ghz 
Core2Duo and I get about 3 hours 45 minutes of solid work on it. And it 
has a 6 cell battery. By the way, the Whr are more important than the 
actual cells of the battery as that actually determines how much power 
you get in the battery.
And for the Dell Latitude series, they sell a special battery that is 
the entire size of the bottom of the laptop and adds another 1cm to the 
total thickness but can easily add another 5 hours to the usable 
lifetime of the unit.