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

[Alan McKinnon]

Apparently, though unproven, at 22:27 on Wednesday 08 September 2010, Paul 
Hartman did opine thusly:

> On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 3:06 PM, Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@×××××.com>
wrote:
> > Then there's non-square pixels. Without funky voodoo graphics algorithms,
> > my screen displays circles as ovals.
>
> That problem should not exist on LCD if you're using the screen's
> native resolution. For example, the most common case of this in CRT
> days was 1280x1024 resolution which is not a proper 4:3 aspect ratio
> (it is 1.25 rather than 1.33). In other to make a circle look like a
> circle you'd need to use 1280x960 instead and adjust the monitor to
> make the picture fill the screen, or your programs would need to be
> aware of the pixel shape and adjust accordingly (those funky voodoo
> graphics algorithms).
>
> With LCD monitors, the 1280x1080 panels are actually a small bit
> taller than a standard 4:3 panel, so a circle should look like a
> circle without having to do anything special. (However, if someone
> uses any other resolution their circle will be oblong).
>
> I was a die-hard CRT guy but I've found LCD with at least 100 dpi to
> be acceptable compared to the CRTs I've had in the past. And in the
> case of my S-IPS monitor I think it is really superior to any CRT I've
> ever used. (My monitor with TN panel, however, is pretty bad.)

I spent 10 years fixing TVs of every imaginable model and type from the best 
to the worst, and all the improvements in between. As a result I'm finely 
tuned to departures from the ideal with any display device. probably finely 
tuned to a fault :-)

I can see pixels refreshing on all flat panels, even the best of the best LED 
models from Samsung. I finally understood why when I found out how that "Xms 
refresh time" spec is actually measured. I can see non-square pixels by 
looking at thin but wide arcs, even more so when an oblong pixel is in a 
square grid.

LCDs are easiest driven in terms of pixels - it maps to video memory. If they 
are no-square, one has to know the horiz and vert dpi and apply a fudge factor 
to make the image proportional. If the pixels are on a square grid, then one 
does not fudge the image. All very horribly complex and frankly, more detail 
than I can really be bothered with.

Which all goes to say that I have an unusual frame of reference, one that is 
*not* universally applicable :-)

Your point about poor CRTs is taken. A lousy CRT is unwatchable but a lousy 
LCD is tolerable. The finest CRTs though still outshine even the best LCD 
(again, imho only)


-- 
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com