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Wednesday, May 17. 2006
Damn the Usability, Full Gloss Ahead!
I have seen a depressing trend lately towards full-gloss laptop displays and computer screens. It is hard to find screens anymore at retail outlets without a mirror-like glossy shine. Although they look pretty at first glance, you can tell in seconds how unusable they are when you can see a perfect reflection of yourself and/or the store lights superimposed on the screen. Now even Apple is in with the trend; just look at their sample image on that page; half the screen is unusable from glare even on their promotional page.
I was thrilled when LCDs came out that we were finally rid of the horrible glare problems of shiny glass CRT displays; however now the industry seems determined to bring mirror-like reflections back with a vengeance.
I was thrilled when LCDs came out that we were finally rid of the horrible glare problems of shiny glass CRT displays; however now the industry seems determined to bring mirror-like reflections back with a vengeance.
Sure these are more beautiful when you are in a dim lit room and/or have a perfectly black background behind you. This may be possible to achieve in a home theater or in situations where you can use your laptop indoors facing away from any windows or light sources. However, the main purpose of my laptop is portability; I very rarely get to pick what the lighting situation is going to be. And in most modern offices you are stuck in a cube with a bright flourescent light overhead and no movement options. To use a CRT in my office I had to use a piece of cardboard shielding my working area. I have been able to sneak it down to a smaller size since only my secondary monitor is a CRT now, with one of these I would have to move back to three feet of cardboard sticking over my head at work.
Perhaps I should start a new business selling black sheets that fasten to the back of laptop screens and drape over the user's head. That's the only way these are going to be usable in many situations, I should cash in on the new fashion trend.
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