Macbook Pro 13 inches. Bad resolution for the prize?

Hey guys,

I recently switched from PC to Mac (1 week ago). I think the laptop it nice but, the resolutions honestly is not what I expected for $1,200 I'm using the maximum that is 1280x800. However, when I'm looking at my emails, facebook etc (Firefox) the letters are grainy (if that make sense) or blurry. Does any one know a tweak or something to make the fonts more friendly to my eyes. I tried zooming in and out with Firefox but still.

By the way my vision is 20-20

I ran Windows7 through VMware Fusion just to do a test and when I run Windows full screen, the screen resolution is perfect when I navigate trough, but when I minimize Fusion and search Facebook or Hotmail emails directly from mac the resolution is crappy again.

Am I'm missing something here?

Thanks.

you may be zoomed in on the screen or in safari or another app. check your zoom settings.

Deckyon said:

you may be zoomed in on the screen or in safari or another app. check your zoom settings.

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Thank for the quick reply.

The laptop has it default settings. How do I check the zoom settings? I'm currently at work but when I get home I will post some screenshot so you guys can see the difference.

I am at work too, and do not have my track pad set up default. I think it is a pinch zoom or hold opt and swipe up/down.

Again, I am not in front of mine, so I cant say.

Deckyon said:

I am at work too, and do not have my track pad set up default. I think it is a pinch zoom or hold opt and swipe up/down.

Again, I am not in front of mine, so I cant say.

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No problem, I will Google it

Did you get it fixed? I thought the resolution out of box was pretty great.

Lewisite said:

Did you get it fixed? I thought the resolution out of box was pretty great.

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Well,

I have to play with the zoom built in in Chrome and Firefox so the text can look reasonable. But overall I'm not happy with the resolution out of the box for this expensive laptop.

I love the design , the OS and everting but the resolution is not what I expected.

There is a shadow on the text and is blurry.. Check out the screenshot.. Thanks for asking though

I don't think it's a problem with resolution as much as it with the way OS X renders fonts. I've heard other switchers refer to it as "soft" or "fuzzy" in the past. And the truth is, it's just a design choice in the OS.

Here's a few articles about it:

Mac OS X: Fonts on the Screen Look Fuzzy

Font smoothing, anti-aliasing, and sub-pixel rendering - Joel on Software

ATPM 12.01 - Paradigm: Coping With Mac OS X’s Font Rendering

At the end of the day, I think it's one of those subtle things that you just have to allow yourself time to get used to. Switching from an OS you've gotten accustomed to over the course of decades can be more difficult than you might have imagined. I think if you give it time, you'll notice it less and less and eventually not at all.

I know a lot of people who wear glasses (I'm not one of them) often say that getting a new pair of glasses can be a very difficult experience, and it often takes days for your brain to "re-calibrate" to the new lenses. I'd image this is the same kind of change.

Given that the resolution doesn't magically change when you open a VirtualBox window, cwa's assessment is probably correct. I believe you can use TinkerTool to set the upper font size limit for disabling Font Smoothing in OS X so high that everything you read will have it disabled.

TinkerTool: Description

To the OP, were you not aware of the resolution before you made the purchase? was this the first time you operated a macbook?

I'm looking at the screenshot erikfig so kindly provided but ... I'm not seeing any shadowy, blurry text there. Does anyone else see shadows or blurry text there?

I can only imagine he's referring to anti-aliasing. I've heard this comment occasionally from people who have been staring at bitmapped fonts on PCs since birth and don't know what anti-aliased fonts look like (so they seem "wrong"). This can be adjusted in the system preferences -> General panel.

I think cwa is right -- over a short period of time your eyes (and brain) will acclimate to anti-aliased fonts and you'll probably end up liking it better. I find PC fonts so garish now I can hard stand to look at them.

Chas, I see nothing at all. Looks normal to me. Guess I am a Mac person!

Thank you for all your feedback guys. As a lifetime PC user I guess you all are correct and I just need to get use to the mac OS fonts. I though I was going crazy or needed to get glasses for the first time.

I also asked my wife. Hey babe, I think I wasted my money on this Mac, look at it. Do you see the screen fussy and blurry? And she replied "Looks perfect to me". This my first mac and the first time I ever use mac OS in my life. I really love this laptop so far,so I will get use to it

Again, Thank you all!

erikfig said:

Thank you for all your feedback guys. As a lifetime PC user I guess you all are correct and I just need to get use to the mac OS fonts. I though I was going crazy or needed to get glasses for the first time.

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Hopefully not adding to any paranoia, but it's perfectly possible that you've grown a bit farsighted (has difficultly seeing near objects clearly) over time. Our eyes change as we age -- my prescription for my nearsightedness has DOUBLED in strength over the past 15 years.

I often advocate that people get their eyes checked every now again, especially when working with computers all the time. In your case it's quite possible that it's just the anti-aliasing and you're not used to it, but if it's been a few years since you had your eyes checked, couldn't hurt.

erikfig said:

Does any one know a tweak or something to make the fonts more friendly to my eyes. I tried zooming in and out with Firefox but still.

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If no one has mentioned it yet, try going into your System Preferences and in the Appearance icon try turning off and on the font smoothing. You can also play with the different sizes for when font smoothing should be turned off if only certain text sizes affect your eyes.

I hear ya' - Looked at the MBP and MBA side by side while the MBP is running 1280x800 and the MBA 1440x900. The MBA is so much crisper and nicer. I hope the display and graphics will be upgraded for the next MBP.