MacBook 13" Screen an issue?

[tobywuk]

My desktop computer has 2 19" monitors and my current laptop has a 15" monitor. none are widescreen.

I want portability from my macbook, but will the size of the 13" screen be an issue?


Do you find you have to do lots of scrolling?

Do you find it annoying using a smaller screen or is it ok?


a Macbook pro is not really an option, but im just a bit concerned.

 

[Joedub]

My desktop is a 19'' and I have a macbook I just bought and I love it. I was in the same boat as you and the macbook pro was just to much money. But now that i have the 13'' i really love how portable it is. Plus 2 finger scrolling is real fast.

 

[tobywuk]

Thank you, that has made me feel better about it .

What is this 2 finger scrolling that people talk about?

 

[Joedub]

you put two fingers on the touchpad and run them down it and it scrolls. works very well although not setup by default i don't think. Also i recommend setting it up so that when you touch the touchpad with two fingers on an icon it is a right click.

 

[Bonk]

I came from a 17" desktop and a 15" laptop to a 13" Macbook. 13" doesn't seem small at all. I hardly have to do any horizontal scrolling, unless my window is really small. What I like about 2 fingering scrolling is that you can easy scroll up and down or left and right easily.

 

[avihappy]

To set this two finger scroll up, go to the Blue Apple menu, then go to System Preferences. Then click Keyboard and Mouse, then click Trackpad. Then you will see the option for it.

 

[Aptmunich]

More important than screen size is screen resolution:

Most 15" laptops only have 1280x1024 anyway, so switching to the Macbook with 1280x800 wouldn't be a huge difference...

Besides, at home you can hook it up to one of your 19" displays...

 

[walkerj]

As I've posted a few times before on this forum when I bought my Macbook I got the Mini-DVI to VGA adapter so I could use the external 21" CRT at 1600x1200 that I was always used to spanned with the internal LCD.

The external CRT sits turned off and unconnected 98% of the time that I use my Macbook. There is something about the widescreen that makes it perfect, even if it's not the slightly higher resolution of the MBP.

Editing images or other stuff, sure it's nice to be able to use an external monitor, and the MB does so brilliantly but for the standard stuff I use a computer for the 13.3" LCD is absolutely no issue.

YMMV, of course.

 

[jonnyd]

I was playing with my brother in laws Sony Vaio this weekend.

It's a tiny little thing. The screen is less than 12", and is widescreen fomat.

I have to say, that was absolutely horrible. It's not like it was unuseable, but it's just too small. He just uses it on his desk at work.

Probably great for diehard road warriors, but considering how much it cost, he should punch himself in the nuts for buying it

 

[cramar]

My desktop computer has 2 19" monitors and my current laptop has a 15" monitor. none are widescreen.

I want portability from my macbook, but will the size of the 13" screen be an issue?

Do you find you have to do lots of scrolling?

Do you find it annoying using a smaller screen or is it ok?

What you do need is good eyesight. The MB screen is sharp at 1280 x 800, which means you have to have good eyesight to see the small details. Even though I have a 22" WS monitor, I usually just use the MB screen over 60% of the time. Except for detail work, it is fine. I can tell you that Windows XP does not look as good on the MB screen as OS-X does. The point being that even on a small screen, OS-X looks great.