Which laptops for trading?

ER9 · May 11, 2009

if it hasn't already been said yet in this thread. try to avoid a laptop with a glossy screen. my toshiba has a gloss screen...it looks awesome indoors, bright and crisp, but outdoors i cant see a thing unless im sitting at certain angles. total pain in the arse.

Scataphagos · May 11, 2009

Quote from ER9:

if it hasn't already been said yet in this thread. try to avoid a laptop with a glossy screen. my toshiba has a gloss screen...it looks awesome indoors, bright and crisp, but outdoors i cant see a thing unless im sitting at certain angles. total pain in the arse.

You're likely going to have to "get over it". Nearly all notebooks today recognize the image quality superiority of "glossy screen" and have them. They presume if you have a glare problem, you can TILT THE SCREEN OR ROTATE A BIT to get rid of the glare. Duh! After all, notebooks ARE mobile...

Too bad there are not more desktop monitors with glossy screen...

jprad · May 11, 2009

Quote from Scataphagos:

You're likely going to have to "get over it". Nearly all notebooks today recognize the image quality superiority of "glossy screen" and have them. They presume if you have a glare problem, you can TILT THE SCREEN OR ROTATE A BIT to get rid of the glare. Duh! After all, notebooks ARE mobile...

Yeah, those glossy displays are so superior that the chuckleheads who started this stupid fad are now offering anti-glare displays with their latest models...

Scataphagos · May 11, 2009

Quote from jprad:

Yeah, those glossy displays are so superior that the chuckleheads who started this stupid fad are now offering anti-glare displays with their latest models...

Most of the time, they use the description of "anti glare" when referring to a glossy screen. A Glossy screen is not a mere plastic overlay, but a polarizing filter. "Polarizing" is a term often used interchangeably with "anti-glare"... though not strictly correctly so.)

Nearly 100% of notebooks offered today have the glossy screen. They have a SIGNIFICANTLY sharper resolution and more vibrant colors. They ain't going back to the dull, diffused display of matte finish.

I would NEVER buy a notebook that didn't have glossy screen. I'd prefer all my desktop monitors had glossy screen..

jprad · May 11, 2009

Quote from Scataphagos:

Most of the time, the description of "anti glare" is actually the opposite. (They say "anti-glare" because glare is bad... like you can't do anything about it. Marketing fluff, mostly.)

Nearly 100% of notebooks offered today have the glossy screen. They have a SIGNIFICANTLY sharper resolution and more vibrant colors. They ain't going back to the dull, diffused display of matte finish.

I would NEVER buy a notebook that didn't have glossy screen. I'd prefer all my desktop monitors had glossy screen..

Really? Show me one business model from Lenovo, HP and Dell that comes with a gloss screen standard.

As for the "vibrant" colors, you might want to do some DD to see how well received they've been by the professional graphics/photography community -- the very same customers that bitched so loudly to Apple that they caved and started offering matte displays in the latest MBP.

jprad · May 11, 2009

Quote from Scataphagos:

Most of the time, they use the description of "anti glare" when referring to a glossy screen. A Glossy screen is not a mere plastic overlay, but a polarizing filter. "Polarizing" is a term often used interchangeably with "anti-glare"... though not strictly correctly so.)

Actually, "anti-glare" was coined long before the flat panel display was invented.

Scataphagos · May 11, 2009

Quote from jprad:

Actually, "anti-glare" was coined long before the flat panel display was invented.

True, but it is used loosely to mean more than one thing.

Scataphagos · May 11, 2009

Quote from jprad:

Really? Show me one business model from Lenovo, HP and Dell that comes with a gloss screen standard.

As for the "vibrant" colors, you might want to do some DD to see how well received they've been by the professional graphics/photography community -- the very same customers that bitched so loudly to Apple that they caved and started offering matte displays in the latest MBP.

Dell Precision M4300. Just bought one.

Monitors and laptops for "the business community" have been slower to adopt the glossy screen. Presuming, I guess, that in a business environment perhaps the user might not be able to tilt/rotate to alleviate the glare.

Glare isn't really a problem. Just tilt the screen a bit or rotate the orientation and the glare is gone.

Haven't done a survey, but it's likely 90% of all notebooks today come with glossy screen. Why do you think that is? It's NOT because they're cheaper... when offered as an option, they cost more.

jprad · May 11, 2009

Quote from Scataphagos:

Dell Precision M4300. Just bought one.

The current model is an M4400 and the standard display is a CCFL matte screen. The TrueLife(tm) gloss screen is an additional cost item.

Monitors and laptops for "the business community" have been slower to adopt the glossy screen. Presuming, I guess, that in a business environment perhaps the user might not be able to tilt/rotate to alleviate the glare.

Here's Dell's own discription of their TrueLife display:

"A TrueLife display has a glossy appearance which amplifies the contrast ratio of the panel. TrueLife technology delivers darker blacks and colors that pop for vivid graphics and lifelike video. It is ideal for home, gaming or video use."

IOW, it's not ideal for business use...

mahram · May 11, 2009

You should check if your fans and heatsink are dirty, its usually a good idea to bring it into the shop to get it cleaned. Even after 3 months, notebooks get really dirty.

Quote from Tide31:

Is it old? My Toshiba did that. I called and they informed me that there was a class action lawsuit. I got a box sent to me, returned it and eventually got a check for like $1000.