Finally got to see a Macbook in the "flesh"

[Stetwin]

Well so to speak,

Yesterday I was in a John Lewis store in Newcastle and got the chance to get my hands on a macbook and actually feel and see what it was like, I loved the sleek black casing and the brightness of the display, It seemed to launch applications fast and the keyboard and mouse pad felt nice to use the only down side was the size of the screen, I just hadn’t realised how small a 13.3” widescreen would actually be….. the macbook looked almost like a toy sat between the other laptops. What I want to know is what’s the screen like after prolonged use, will it strain my eyes while using PS and make me wish I had bought a laptop with a bigger display?

 

[walkerj]

Screen size is subjective, but as someone who likes to have the biggest screen set to the highest resolution, I was expecting to be using an external monitor quite a bit in spanned mode with my Macbook.

I rarely do so. I have a 20" CRT above my monitor which is currently not connected and turned off. Neither does my wife who has a nice 17" external LCD. The only time we use our monitors is if we're doing Photoshop work, which I don't do all that often, and even sometimes when I'm doing something quick I won't bother connecting the monitor. Only during extensive editing of photos or audio will I bother to plug in the external. When I do, it recognizes it instantly and puts it immediately in spanned mode of my choosing, but it's more often I'm using the internal LCD.

Granted, I'm using VirtueDesktops which gives me four 'virtual' desktops on which I can put different apps and switch to them quickly, but even without that I'd have no problem with the 13.3" display. I've been using this thing pretty much every waking hour since February. Something about the 1280x800 widescreen makes it perfect. I even prefer to watch DVDs and other movies on the internal LCD (in full screen mode, of course.)

 

[FishinFool]

The laptops with the bigger displays are great until you bring them on the plane and even put them in a case to walk around with. I have a 15' Powerbook which is nearly impossible to bring on a plane and a Macbook which works perfectly. My philosophy is that if your going to buy a laptop buy one that is portable. I really would not be concerned with the size of screen for photoshop but rather the computers guts. I have the old macbook with the factory RAM and its kind of slow when running Photoshop but the screen is fine and does not bother me

 

[Louie]

i remember when i first saw the actual size of a macbook. in the shop i thought it looked tiny but the screen feels perfect when your actually using it. its more than big enough for photoshop stuff.

 

[Stetwin]

The only problem is, i will be moving down from a 26" display so i think I’m going to notice the difference dramatically

 

[walkerj]

The only problem is, i will be moving down from a 26" display so i think I’m going to notice the difference dramatically

26" external display or what comes with the laptop? (Now that I think about it, a 26" laptop would be pretty huge, so you're probably not using an internal 26" display.)

Yes you'll notice. Will you care? Maybe not. In any event you'll still be able to use it as an external display with a Macbook.

 

[wytwolf]

Yeah I went down from a 19" and i noticed a small difference but I love my macbook.

 

[ac3smith]

Screen size is definitely subjective. I bought the macbook because it's so compact and I'm happy with that decision. Yes, I tried one out before I bought it. So, if you didn't like it on a first try, you very well might regret such a small screen. Personally, it rocks for me and I'm happy with my purchase. My eyes don't mind the smaller screen and this laptop is exactly what I wanted, very portable.

 

[XMARLTONX]

When I first opened the box, the screen was a little small. But once you use it for awhile, you dont even notice it anymore.

 

[shoelessone]

The only problem is, i will be moving down from a 26" display so i think I’m going to notice the difference dramatically

26"? That's a strange size... 24", 30", 27", those are all pretty common... never have I seen a 26".

Don't want to derail the thread, but just out of curiosity what sort of display is it?

 

[Stetwin]

26"? That's a strange size... 24", 30", 27", those are all pretty common... never have I seen a 26".

Don't want to derail the thread, but just out of curiosity what sort of display is it?

Its a 26" Samsung HDTV (same model as the one they showcase the xbox 360 on) although i bought it about 2 years ago and cant remember the exact size, so it could possibly be 25", 27" or even 30"