Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by O1111OOO 3137 days ago
> For me it's the Lenovo T61 with a 14.4" 4:3 display (or any of the older 4:3 IBMs).

Which is why I thought it was odd that he didn't even mention aspect ratio. 16:9, for example, is a deal-breaker for me personally. This limits the kind of devices I have available (and sadly, increases the price point) but I simply can't do 16:9 as I find it too constraining.

My options today are 16:10 and 3:2. From a hardware standpoint, Apple's document-friendly screens on both their laptops and tablets have always been a strong selling point. Currently on a 16:10 but shopping around for a more modern 3:2/16:10 that's Linux-friendly.

1 comments

What do you find constraining with 16:9? It's got more wasted space than 4:3 when you're working with a single window I guess, but who seriously works with just one open window?

Maybe I'm having trouble envisioning a modern 4:3 screen, since the only ones I have for reference are a couple old 19" ones I've got lying around but I can't imagine I would comfortably be able to have 3 vertically split files open on a screen e.g.

The main advantage (at least for me) is the physical height of the display. If I sit in front of a laptop I don't want to look _down_, I want to look forward as much as possible. The taller the screen, the more comfortable I can sit. And the T61 with a 4:3 ratio has a higher display than all modern laptops while keeping the size down. I could get a 17" gaming laptop for a similar height but those machines are massive.
As a longtime and current Thinkpad user, the best 4:3 solution on the market today is Apple’s iPad Pro 12” Retina TrueTone + Logitech Create keyboard + Pencil.

There is no technical or supply chain barrier to 4:3 displays, panels are available in quantity on alibaba.

16:9 (or 21:9 even) is fine for large displays that sit on top of a desk but wide aspect ratios don't have the required physical vertical height to be comfortable at laptop sizes.
I miss 16:10. Probably will never have those in a 4k resolution.