Comments on: I Bought a Square Monitor http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/ Thrice weekly high tech commentary Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:03:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: admin http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-73 admin Fri, 02 May 2008 13:13:39 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-73 Yes, Master! Originally I had written 4, but it was corrected. So I crossed out the 4 (which is very difficult to see) and put in the 7. Please don't punish me! Yes, Master! Originally I had written 4, but it was corrected. So I crossed out the 4 (which is very difficult to see) and put in the 7. Please don’t punish me!

]]> By: The Master Zhang http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-72 The Master Zhang Fri, 02 May 2008 02:23:50 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-72 167-160 =? 47 167-160 =? 47

]]> By: admin http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-69 admin Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:33:59 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-69 Yes! Televisions have no interface. They need a remote now, which is silly. When I was young, TVs had dials. One for the channel and one on/off/volume knob. The Interface was brilliant and simple. My nods for the worst user interface goes to digital clocks. Why sport only two or three buttons? Press-hold-click is a stupid interface. Why they don't make digital clocks that you can set with a dial is beyond me. Cheap, I guess. Also telephone answering machines, and cell phones. They have so many buttons and none of them are useful. Oh no! You've started me on a rant! :) Yes! Televisions have no interface. They need a remote now, which is silly. When I was young, TVs had dials. One for the channel and one on/off/volume knob. The Interface was brilliant and simple.

My nods for the worst user interface goes to digital clocks. Why sport only two or three buttons? Press-hold-click is a stupid interface. Why they don’t make digital clocks that you can set with a dial is beyond me. Cheap, I guess.

Also telephone answering machines, and cell phones. They have so many buttons and none of them are useful. Oh no! You’ve started me on a rant! :)

]]> By: Jonathan Rothwell http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-68 Jonathan Rothwell Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:25:31 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-68 Interesting point you make about digital TV confusion. Our side of the pond, DSO began earlier this year when the analogue transmissions from the Whitehaven mast in Cumbria were shut down. There was a little minor confusion, but since then they <i>appear</i> to have learnt their lesson, and now digital switchover public information films appear during many junctions between programmes and advertisements. It's due to complete in 2012 here, when analogue transmissions in the Carlton/LWT and Meridian areas go dark. I saw a report on an American news bulletin around a year ago (I believe it was <i>ABC World News with Charles Gibson</i>) about how many people in America who were purchasing shiny new TVs were, essentially, still trying to find somewhere to plug the coaxial cable from their old aerial in. Of course, they weren't aware they also needed a decoder box (and an HDTV digital TV service if they wanted HD programming). Incidentally, am I the only one who thinks TV sets (and, to some extent, set top boxes) have the world's worst user interfaces? They're slow, and it's a nightmare trying to make each component interoperate with the next, especially if they use coaxial cables instead of SCART, HDMI or DVI connectors. Interesting point you make about digital TV confusion.

Our side of the pond, DSO began earlier this year when the analogue transmissions from the Whitehaven mast in Cumbria were shut down. There was a little minor confusion, but since then they appear to have learnt their lesson, and now digital switchover public information films appear during many junctions between programmes and advertisements. It’s due to complete in 2012 here, when analogue transmissions in the Carlton/LWT and Meridian areas go dark.

I saw a report on an American news bulletin around a year ago (I believe it was ABC World News with Charles Gibson) about how many people in America who were purchasing shiny new TVs were, essentially, still trying to find somewhere to plug the coaxial cable from their old aerial in. Of course, they weren’t aware they also needed a decoder box (and an HDTV digital TV service if they wanted HD programming).

Incidentally, am I the only one who thinks TV sets (and, to some extent, set top boxes) have the world’s worst user interfaces? They’re slow, and it’s a nightmare trying to make each component interoperate with the next, especially if they use coaxial cables instead of SCART, HDMI or DVI connectors.

]]> By: admin http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-67 admin Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:53:33 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-67 WambooliMath fixed. :\ WambooliMath fixed. :\

]]> By: Douglas http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-66 Douglas Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:28:49 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-66 We have a 16:10 monitor for our computer (A Viewsonic VA1912w), and I like it! In Outlook, I have plenty of room for a healthy-sized preview pane, message listing and folder lists. Word processing, I think, works better on it. (Also, you might want to check your maths. At last check, 167-160 didn't equal four. Unless WambooliMath is being used, then in which case it probably does! ;) ) We have a 16:10 monitor for our computer (A Viewsonic VA1912w), and I like it! In Outlook, I have plenty of room for a healthy-sized preview pane, message listing and folder lists. Word processing, I think, works better on it.

(Also, you might want to check your maths. At last check, 167-160 didn’t equal four. Unless WambooliMath is being used, then in which case it probably does! ;) )

]]> By: admin http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-65 admin Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:01:31 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-65 I agree. And I do have one widescreen computer monitor. It's nice and roomy, not the squat things that they're pushing in the stores. But I can see the point that TVs will outsell monitors and they probably poop the same units out of the same factories. They've been advertising for HDTV here in the States; government-run ads that for some reason feature a woman with a thick, Southern drawl. Despite these ads, I'm certain you'll see chaos and anger here when the switch over to full digital is made in 2009. Remember, the US has been trying for over 30 years to go metric and I know people who are extremely stubborn and refuse to even study metric. If this were the UK, I'm certain we'd still be using shillings and farthings as money. :) I agree. And I do have one widescreen computer monitor. It’s nice and roomy, not the squat things that they’re pushing in the stores. But I can see the point that TVs will outsell monitors and they probably poop the same units out of the same factories.

They’ve been advertising for HDTV here in the States; government-run ads that for some reason feature a woman with a thick, Southern drawl. Despite these ads, I’m certain you’ll see chaos and anger here when the switch over to full digital is made in 2009. Remember, the US has been trying for over 30 years to go metric and I know people who are extremely stubborn and refuse to even study metric. If this were the UK, I’m certain we’d still be using shillings and farthings as money. :)

]]> By: Jonathan Rothwell http://www.wambooli.com/blog/2008/04/23/i-bought-a-square-monitor/#comment-64 Jonathan Rothwell Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:52:32 +0000 http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=66#comment-64 Interestingly, while almost all computer monitors sold today are widescreen, there are still hundreds and thousands of 4:3 televisions being sold, <i>despite</i> the fact that the digital switchover (DSO) is coming and that almost every TV programme made today is made in 16:9. Considering that a 16:9 aspect ratio would be more useful for TV than for computers, this is incredibly odd. Even without HDTV programming, widescreen TV looks so much better than it does in 4:3. Interestingly, while almost all computer monitors sold today are widescreen, there are still hundreds and thousands of 4:3 televisions being sold, despite the fact that the digital switchover (DSO) is coming and that almost every TV programme made today is made in 16:9.

Considering that a 16:9 aspect ratio would be more useful for TV than for computers, this is incredibly odd. Even without HDTV programming, widescreen TV looks so much better than it does in 4:3.

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