Looking for a new LCD monitor in Canberra.

Oh, I just realised el, I thought you were saying Mac OS demands wide screen. You were asking.

Personally, I think Mac OS works best with wide screen. Given that iMac, Cinema displays and Mactops (mac laptops), Apple would seem to agree. But I haven’t seen MacOS run on a normal display so I wouldn’t really say MacOS demands it. More that MacOS works best with it.

I agree el. And if your one of the 2% of people who use Vista, then that also requires it.

I am a little disappointed with the Apple Cinema Displays. I wouldn’t use them for digital imaging. They seem to lack sharpness, contrast and adjust-ability compared to the Dells and Samsungs. Especially since my iMac has such a brilliant display.

Soulman, cintique? I know about those and would not recommend them. For one, they cost heaps, well over two thousand. They are comparatively small for the price, lack the specs of a dedicated tablet and have an appalling contrast ratio of 400:1.
Quattos though are good. I used several when I was working at the National Library. Very accurate, but very expensive. Certainly out of my reach.

MacOS demands widescreen?

i looked and shopped around for weeks before finding 7 Star, upstairs, ANU Refectory.
Great prices – Great Service

Ahem! NOT dated – experienced :-} (and I’m stickin’ to that story!!)

Bonfire & Tack – you guys have just severely dated yourselves with that talk of vaxes. Punch cards!?! ROFL!

===SOULMAN’s TIPS FOR BUYING LCD DISPLAYS===
-The current top picks for good quality LCDS at a good price are (based on PC User, APC Mag and my own testing): Samsung, HP and Dell.
-Dell offer a lot of bang for your buck but can be expensive. Dell’s are not very good quality though with dead pixels a problem and poor warranty support.
-Samsung, my favourites, make good quality screens. Stay away from the sub$350 displays, poor colour quality. Anything above this will typically have great colour and contrast with a fast responce time that is ideal for gaming.
-HP make some good displays, but limited availability in Canberra.

-If you buy an LCD, seriously consider buying a screen calibration kit. Lite versions start at $99 and will ensure accurate colour on your display.

-For a riveting experience, consider buying twin 19 or 22″ displays and using a special dual display stand from Harris Technology. It is much cheaper than getting a single 30″ display.

-Apple Cinema displays are not worth the extra cash. The best one requires a graphics card worth over a thousand dollars.

– If you have spare dosh, consider a specialist graphics display such as those from Quato or Wacom’s CINTIQUE touch sensitive displays. 22″ cintique’s allow you to touch the screen to edit photos, no mouse and very accurate.

– BUY WIDESCREEN OR TWO DISPLAYS, don’t restrict yourself to the old 4×3. Windows Vista and Mac OS demand widescreen and you’ll enjoy it for watching DVDs and gaming.

-If buying above 19″, watch the resolution. While it may costs more, try to get a display with full 1920×1080 resolution. Large displays with smaller resolutions look poor, blurred and lack detail. IF you can’t stretch for a large high res display, go for two 19″ high res displays instead.

– If you want to run two displays, get a graphics card with dual DVI.

Hi Bonfire – I know what your team means about using CRTs for photo work – thats why I have been avoiding LCDs for so long – My take on it is that they are now advanced enough to display a good and accurate colour palate. Perhaps NOT as good as CRT (there are hundreds – if not thousands of opinions on the web about this!) but certainly adequate for my need 🙂

As for the Vaxes – lol – remember the PDP 11-10’s? Mark sense or punch cards and hard copy printout !! 🙂

the publishing people here insist on a crt for their photo work.

most of us have dual 19inch lcd’s on our desks.

many years ago i worked at a place where i had 9 screens in front and above me. all crt. two keyboards, two mice.

running off vaxes.

ahhh the good old days.

Computer Fair can’t be beat.