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1920x1200 17" MBP - Anyone seen it?

xpovos said:
One of the first things I typically do on a fresh install of OS X is reduce the desktop icon size to 36x36 and the font size to 10pt. (On the high-res, I reduced the icons as usual but left the font size at default 12pt.) I can fully understand how some folks would find the UI too small on the 1920x1200. For my tastes, it's perfect.
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Where is the options for changing the desktop icon size. I missed that completely. Here is another tip, try this color calibration profile in this thread and see if you like it.
Note: the color calibration file is located in the middle of the page. It might take a while to get used to but I recommend it to anyone. If you don't like it, you could always change it back, but I like it very much. It's color accurate.
 
twynne said:
I've just picked mine up (spec below) and so far I absolutely love it. One small observation that I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed. The hinges on the 17" (as opposed to my 'old' 15" Core Duo) aren't nearly as firm. With the old machine I could pick it up by the base and move it in any direction at any speed without the screen moving. On the 17" if I just gently tilt it forward the screen falls, not closing completely but falling to about a 45 degree angle.

Is this just a consequence of the larger/heavier screen on the 17", or do you think the hinges need adjustment?

Tom
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I have a 17" PowerBook with the floppy screen ailment. The screen hinge stiction can be adjusted on the PowerBooks but it is a considerable effort to open the machine up to perform this basic surgery. The adjustment itself only takes a couple of seconds. I assume the MacBookPros will be of similar design and construction.

I want to upgrade to a 1920x1200 MBP but will probably try to buy one I can play with first to eliminate the chance of getting one with annoying imperfections.
 
kentfrancisco said:
xpovos -

Any more impressions of the 17" hi-res screen?? Dying to hear your thoughts - maybe even see some pictures.
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I tried a couple pics with the crappy camera I have (the good stuff's at the office) and they just turned out horrible, so bad that I was ashamed to even post them here. Since I won't be back at the office until Monday, I'm hoping someone with some better equipment and expertise might come along and post some up for us.

My thoughts are that the screen is gorgeous and the higher resolution is perfect for my taste. Someone else here has already posted that they used one for a while in an Apple Store and found it to be way too small. I can see some folks thinking so, but I absolutely love it.

Based on the limited amount of time I spent with a 15" LED-backlit model at the store before snagging my 17", I honestly have to say I don't really see much difference between the two in terms of uniformity of backlighting or brightness (once you've let the CCFL screen reach full brightness, that is---which does, of course, take a while as opposed to the instant-on LED). That'll probably draw some disagreement from recent buyers of LED models, and they may be right, but I don't really see it. This is the nicest display I've ever used in any Apple product I've owned. (I've owned most of them.)

As I said, if I can get my hands on a better camera, I'll throw up some pics. But I also don't think any photo can do it justice. Since people have different opinions about the size of the UI elements, it's probably a good idea to check one out in person, if at all possible, before making the final purchase decision. I was pretty worried about that aspect of it, too, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
 
dartzorichalcos said:
Where is the options for changing the desktop icon size. I missed that completely.
Click to expand...

Click on the desktop; select View -> Show View Options.

Or

Right click on the desktop and select show view options.

It's the topmost option. I go for 128x128... I only keep two things on my desktop (HD and one folder). They might as well have gorgeous huge icons. :D
 
twynne said:
One small observation that I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed. The hinges on the 17" (as opposed to my 'old' 15" Core Duo) aren't nearly as firm.
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I've had three 17" MBPs (including my new hi-res model) and three 15" MBPs, and the hinges on all my 17-inchers were less firm than those on any of the 15". Actually, though, I noticed right away that the hinges on my hi-res are noticeably more firm than on my previous 17". So to some degree, this is normal, but based on the way you describe it, yours may need to be tightened.
 
Alright, I am just back from the South Shore Apple Store. I went there specifically to check out the high resolution 17-inch MacBook Pro. I spent nearly an hour playing with the high rez version.

The high resolution display is not as evenly lit as the new LED-backlit 15.4-inch displays. The unevenness of the illumination in the high resolution version is not as bad as the standard 17-inch. As far as brightness goes, the LED-backlit might be a shade or two brighter. I have to tell you I walked away impressed with the high resolution display given the slight tendency to not have even illumination.

The ultimate question in my mind is it worth spending almost $3,000 for a 17-inch MacBook Pro with a high resolution display? It's tempting...but...I don't know though. :(

In comparison, the display of the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro had an interface that looked "large." It's hard to explain unless you have used the high resolution for some time. In my opinion on the high rez, the text and interface elements are *not* ridiculously small to be uncomfortable.

I am teetering towards the 2.2GHz MBP, which I can get for $1,799 with educator's discount. The 2.4GHz 15.4-inch version doesn't really seem to offer much more value for the $500 you're pitching in. I have a 17-inch PowerBook G4 that I got in September 2004, and it's starting to drive me nuts with its speed and messed up battery. But I kind of feel, being very used to the 17-inch size, that getting the smaller 15.4-inch MBP is going to be somewhat of a downgrade for me. So I don't know what I am going to do, but I feel as though I need to do something! Grrrrrrrrrrr........decisions, decisions
 
DHagan4755 said:
But I kind of feel, being very used to the 17-inch size, that getting the smaller 15.4-inch MBP is going to be somewhat of a downgrade for me.
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I felt exactly the same way and thought hard on it for a bit. I didn't personally see enough of a difference between the LED and the high-res CCFL to justify the "downgrade" in size, given that all other specs between the 17 and the high-end 15 seem to be the same. It probably helped my decision process that I already have a last-gen 15" with no plans to sell, though. I did seriously consider the new 15", but I just didn't want to sacrifice the display size that I've come to love when the difference in visual quality was, to my eyes anyway, minimal.
 
daisu said:
What is the downfall of the non uniform lighting? I was thinking of going to the 5th avenue apple store tomorrow. Do they also have the LED screens (obviously they must). I wonder if they've gotten 17" glossy screens in. I'd probably buy a matte screen.
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All the 15" models on the floor now are the new LED.

As for whether the 5th Avenue store is selling 17" high rez glossy now, according to the display signs, that's the only model they're selling. The sign says they don't have the 17" high rez matte, only the glossy. I didn't ask anyone why then the displays models are all the matte version.

What's really impressive about the high rez screen is how SOLID images are. The graininess and pointalism effects are gone or greatly reduced. It's very much like a CRT. I don't know whether it's because of the increased resolution/pixel density or whether the new panel has more bit depth and doesn't dither but it catches your attention.
 
rijiMacDij said:
I have a 17" PowerBook with the floppy screen ailment. The screen hinge stiction can be adjusted on the PowerBooks but it is a considerable effort to open the machine up to perform this basic surgery. The adjustment itself only takes a couple of seconds. I assume the MacBookPros will be of similar design and construction.

I want to upgrade to a 1920x1200 MBP but will probably try to buy one I can play with first to eliminate the chance of getting one with annoying imperfections.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses so far on the loose hinges. The saga continues...

I drove all the way back to my nearest store and showed them the issue. They agreed it seemed loose and suggested trying the demo machines. We tested each 17" on display - both the high-res and normal, each having the same issue. We then swapped mine for another of the same spec, and it again had exactly the same issue. They're insistent that it's a result of the larger/heavier screen and that nothing can be done.

Unfortunately I also learned that I don't have the 'glossy' screen. Apparently the stores don't get the glossy/high-res screens, it's on online order option only (at least in the UK - not sure about other countries). They neglected to tell me this when I bought the first one earlier. So I've stuck with it for now as I can't bear waiting for another online order to go through. That said, the anti-glare screen on the new high-res seems much glossier than my previous 15" MBP.

The other option of course is that I still have a pending online order that I placed on 5th June. I cancelled it this morning but was told that it was already ready to ship (although the web didn't indicate as such). I could phone them back on Monday and cancel the cancellation. :eek: ... then compare the online one (supposedly glossy) with what I've got to see if the hinges are better.

What does everyone recommend???
 
Everyone is saying that there is very little discernible difference between the 17" HiRes and the 15" LED initially, but do you think this will change over time? I had originally ordered the 17" HiRes but switched over to the 15" yesterday after seeing those beautiful LED screen in the Apple Store.

I'm sure either is going to be awesome, but I'm going to be doing equal parts paper writing/blogging along with some photo & video editing (perhaps a decent amount away from my desk). Really struggling here with whether or not I made the right decision.

Sounds like people are LOVING the HiRes displays. Longevity is my main concern though, and the old 17" in the Apple Store - after being display models for only 8 or 9 months - look pretty dimmed out compared to the LED's.
 
kentfrancisco said:
Sounds like people are LOVING the HiRes displays. Longevity is my main concern though, and the old 17" in the Apple Store - after being display models for only 8 or 9 months - look pretty dimmed out compared to the LED's.
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You should only compare the 15'' LED screen with the NEW 17'' Hi-res screen to see if you made the right choice.
 
Kilamite said:
But remember, LCD's display best at their native resolution. When you go lower, the image seems out of focus and lacks sharpness.
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Yeah, if all he did was to view his desktop it would probably look like **** at the wrong resolution, but while gaming I doubt he will notice it that much since things move around all the time anyway.
 
xpovos said:
You made the right decision, I think. I'm extremely pleased already. I'll try to get some pics up later tonight. As for the difference in UI elements and their size, that was my main concern, too. If you're using a 1440x900 resolution right now, go to Apple's Web site, click on the MBP link, then reduce your font size once in Safari ("Make text smaller"). The new font size is about what it will look like at its default size on the 1920x1200 display.

The difference in sizes is noticeable, but not nearly as striking as I had expected---and that's a good thing.
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Could someone please take one screenshot in 1920x1200 and another in 1440x900 and then give me the sizes of the 15.4 and 17" screens in mm and we can just make two images which compares them straight of?

Or if someone else are willing to do that (resize each layer to the correct dpi and put them beside eachother or something to make it easier to see the difference in size)
 
glhiii said:
The people commenting on the new 17" screen must have better eyes than I do. I spent some time with one at the Apple store and decided it would be completely unusable for me. The movie looked spectacular, though.
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Thought if Leopard is resolution independent you can just resize everything to be larger and what you will end with is the same size on everything but with a higher sharpness, and that can't be wrong can it? (I guess it might give weird results on some old apps thought.)
 
dartzorichalcos said:
Where is the options for changing the desktop icon size. I missed that completely. Here is another tip, try this color calibration profile in this thread and see if you like it.
Note: the color calibration file is located in the middle of the page. It might take a while to get used to but I recommend it to anyone. If you don't like it, you could always change it back, but I like it very much. It's color accurate.
Click to expand...
It was made for his 15" led lcd, why would it be more correct for your 17" 1920x1200 screen than whatever is the default?
 
aliquis- said:
It was made for his 15" led lcd, why would it be more correct for your 17" 1920x1200 screen than whatever is the default?
Click to expand...

I don't have a 17" HD MacBook Pro, I have a 2.5GHz PowerMac G5 Quad. I just like that color calibration file and recommend it to other people. It's better than the stock color calibration file, that's for sure.
 
I was at the Apple store yesterday checking out the new MBP's and I forgot
about the new 17" screen....I'll do it Monday as I have to go right by there.
 
I'm going to the Apple store today to pick up my Macbook so I will be sure to look at the high res 17. This will be wuite the exciting trip, too bad I have to work until 2.
 
I'm beginning to think these screen don't exist. First, I order one which hasn't shipped yet. Now people are saying they have theirs, but I have yet to see any evidence.

Kidding guys. It would be nice to see one, and even better to see mine. :p
 
Heh! Indeed - my thoughts exactly. I wish they had a smiley holding it's nose, cos something smells a little fishy here... :p

:D
 
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