screen resolution in Powerbook G4

LouH · Aug 9, 2006

I can only use the highest resolution in my new G4, which makes all pics on webpages so tiny you can hardly make them out.

If I set it to any other resolution that uses the whole screen, then I only get to see the upper left corner of webpages, etc.
Re-starting doesn't help.

That's one of the things about my new premium-price product that blows me away.
An unrelated one is that when I go to shut down the 'puter, I can't just tell it to shut down, close the lid, and walk away.
No, I have to put my life on hold, sit there with the screen up and observe a moment of devotion to the almighty god Apple while it takes its time to close. If I space out and shut the lid before it has done its thing, that interrupts the shutdown process.

cazabam · Aug 9, 2006

Can you take a screenshot of the tiny pictures in web pages? It's hard to imagine what you mean by 'hardly make them out'. I have the macbook, so 1280x800 on a 13" screen means tiny, tiny pixels, but I have no problem with image size.

As for the shutdown, I have two points. First is that Macs, especially the portables, were designed to practically live on sleep mode. Shutting down takes time, sleep mode does not - just shut the lid and when you open it it'll be waiting for you. As for the shutdown time, how long is it? I'm seeing about 10-15 seconds which isn't particulary long?

LouH · Aug 10, 2006

The default resolution is 1440X960, but I now have it working nicely at 1280 X 800. I was exaggerating slightly, but really, webpages still look crappy at that resolution. The font size can be tweaked, but where graphics play an important role, it is sad, because they are much smaller than intended by the webmaster.

By contrast, I have an HP Windoze laptop with a similar size screen, 1024 X 768 setting, and it just is way more comfortable to look at, and I can SEE what the image was intended to show.
I find myself not using the Apple.

Doesn't sound like there should be much difference, but to me it makes a big difference in viewing ease, and ability to discern detail. A pic that is 3.75" wide on my HP is only 3" on the Apple.
If I pay $2000 for a PC, I think it should have a proper display that is comfortable and enjoyable.

OK, I suppose I can just use sleep mode. I usually hibernate my HP, but Windoze gets funky if you don't re-start every couple days or so.
I am on battery with the Apple, live off-grid and recharge it at work, so i'll check to make sure it doesn't drain much overnight, with that little pulsing LED and all.
You are right, shutdown does not take very long considering it is shutdown.

Incidentally, I bought a Lind adapter so I could run it directly on my 12v solar system, but the cable wouldn't transmit juice to the laptop. A replacement cable did no better. They are baffled. The adapter is being returned now.

cazabam · Aug 10, 2006

I think the screen res. thing is a case of 'horses for courses'. I personally like a very high resolution, so the macbook is great for me. I'm currently using the wife's Thinkpad, which has a 14" screen (bigger than the macbook) and only 1024x768 resolution. Everything is certainly larger, but I personally don't have a problem using either. I'm sure others would have a different opinion

RChickenMan · Aug 10, 2006

I can't stand using an LCD at anything but the native resolution.

LouH · Aug 11, 2006

I find it odd that I don't have the choice. Seems to me that for the price, they could have engineered the programming so that people could choose to use lower resolution.
The choices are there on the list, but unworkable.

dtravis7 · Aug 11, 2006

RChickenMan said:
I can't stand using an LCD at anything but the native resolution.

Agreed, It just looks bad at any other resolution.

IronMac · Aug 11, 2006

LouH said:
The default resolution is 1440X960, but I now have it working nicely at 1280 X 800. I was exaggerating slightly, but really, webpages still look crappy at that resolution. The font size can be tweaked, but where graphics play an important role, it is sad, because they are much smaller than intended by the webmaster.

By contrast, I have an HP Windoze laptop with a similar size screen, 1024 X 768 setting, and it just is way more comfortable to look at, and I can SEE what the image was intended to show.
I find myself not using the Apple.

Doesn't sound like there should be much difference, but to me it makes a big difference in viewing ease, and ability to discern detail. A pic that is 3.75" wide on my HP is only 3" on the Apple.
If I pay $2000 for a PC, I think it should have a proper display that is comfortable and enjoyable.

OK, I suppose I can just use sleep mode. I usually hibernate my HP, but Windoze gets funky if you don't re-start every couple days or so.
I am on battery with the Apple, live off-grid and recharge it at work, so i'll check to make sure it doesn't drain much overnight, with that little pulsing LED and all.
You are right, shutdown does not take very long considering it is shutdown.

Incidentally, I bought a Lind adapter so I could run it directly on my 12v solar system, but the cable wouldn't transmit juice to the laptop. A replacement cable did no better. They are baffled. The adapter is being returned now.

You obviously dont understand the basic resolution principles. I understand you are frustrated, but you should know that dimensions are relative to size of the pixels.Therefore if you have a pic that is say 50x50 pixels viewed on 2 screens the same size, one with a 200x200 pixel resolution and a second with a 100x100 resolution the later will be bigger.

LouH · Aug 13, 2006

Not sure what you mean, Ironmac. I do understand quite well that a pic on my screen at a low resolution will look larger than at high resolution on the same or a similar screen.

LouH · Aug 22, 2006

I realized that it was Safari that was cutting off the page at lower settings. I do not have this problem with Firefox.

But that still leaves the problem that at lower resolution settings I have 2 choices:
1) I can sacrifice some screen space and have black margins, or
2) I can use one of the stretched settings.

If I choose number 2, I can have a display that is warped by either
a) longitudinal or b) latitudinal stretching. Both to an unacceptable extent.

What I ended up doing is using the lowest setting, unstretched, which wastes about 1.5" of horizontal screen space, but is a lesser evil than having use of the full screen with either too high a resolution or a distorted picture.

Another problem I have with the native resolution is that the cursor is too tiny to find quickly. One can set it to a larger size, but that blows it up to an ugly grainy thing. Which is not a real problem, but seems awfully cheesy-looking for a premium-priced item.

I must say I am much less impressed with Apple than I expected to be. How hard would it have been for them to make the display attractive and user-friendly?

LouH · Aug 26, 2006

Actually, Firefox will sometimes do the same thing. Re-starting it sometimes helps.