Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / February 2005

I'm old enough for it to matter, and the 12" screen is fine.  If you're
buying this to travel with, you REALLY need the 12".

Probably not.

I have a 12-inch iBook. A friend (graphic artist) has the 14-inch
model.

While I like the larger size of of the 14-inch screen... it is easier
to read, etc., although it is the same resolution ... overall I prefer
the 12-inch iBook for my use because it is lighter and easier to carry
around. It also takes up less space in some of the smallish areas and
tables that I use it on when I'm running around. Mostly I on the road
I use it for web surfing, email, word processing and some spreadsheet
work.

At home I sometimes hook it up to a 17-inch CRT when I want a bigger
picture.

  ...

I'm turning 50 this year and I first had to wear glasses for serious
myopia starting when I was 5.  I'm happy with my 12" iBook.

For the last year-plus I have traveled a LOT, the 12" iBook always at my
side.  Recently I'm working more from my home/SOHO so I have a choice of
what computer to use -- e.g., a 19" CRT screen from LG and a 17" LCD one
from Samsung, each pretty good, are used for two Linux boxes (the
Powermac Dual G5 shares a cheap 17" CRT with a KVM switch with two
OpenBSD boxes, but that's because all those machines are mostly used for
non-interactive work of various kinds).

So, with this choice -- I *mostly* end up choosing to use the iBook 12".
I can curl up in extreme comfort in my armchair or couch and, thanks to
wi-fi, access any computer on the SOHO LAN anyway (all the Linux and
OpenBSD ones are easily available via X11 if I need GUIs; mostly I work
with Terminal and ssh, in text-mode, or with VNC and the PowerMac).  The
comfort of my living room is important, but so is the iBook 12"
excellent screen.  It's the only screen I have with really good
RESOLUTION -- pixels/inch (over 100, like ALL Apple LCD screens today
EXCEPT the iBook 14", which has fewer than 100 pixels/inch).  I have
found out that this matters a lot to me -- together with luminosity and
contrast etc, of course, but those are good on other ones of my several
monitors; where the iBook 12" shines is exactly in *RESOLUTION*.  As do
ALL other Apple LCD screens.  My wife bought a used Titanium 15"
recently (a real bargain in excellent condition) and the screen is just
as excellent as my 12" (bigger, sure; but for each given square inch
they're exactly as good as each other).

The iBook 14" is OK, sure -- slightly better than the average 15" cheap
LCD screen with the same 1024 x 768.  But it's not in the same class as
the over-100-pel/in screens, IMNSHO.  NSH because it appears that this
is a thesis widely held by ergonomics experts -- that just above 100
pel/in is an important threshold for what humans perceive as "superb
quality" in LCD screens.  Apple must have listened, since they have
standardized that resolution across their range of LCD screens.

I've spend some decent evenings in hotels all around the world whiling
time away with a DVD on my 12"; with just me watching, it's OK.  For two
people watching, well, I'm SO happy about my wife's 15" widescreen -- it
makes a real difference!-)

I know of no plus for the 14" screen.

It should be well below the threshold of noticeability, something like
10%.  I believe the only reason to get a 14" is that you can get them
with superdrive -- if you MUST have an internal DVD writer, the 12"
iBook is not an option, the fight's between 12" PBook and 14" iBook (I'd
go with the PB every time -- it's costlier, but more powerful, AND has
all the advantages of the 12" iB in terms of handy size and gorgeous
screen).  Personally I'm much happier with an external DVD writer
(Firewire itf, NOT USB), but that's because I don't write DVDs on trips,
just once in a while at home.

Alex