Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread

[Genocidicbunny]

Text is trivial to increase in size.

The only reason lower resolution is ever better is to lighten 3D workload.

FWIW, I would never go below 1920x1200/1080 on 23" or larger.

Now if I can only find a decent pair of high-res monitors that wont empty my savings.
We're talking about 22" monitors here which is just about the maximal size Id want to go with per monitor. I set a specific distance away from my monitor because otherwise I get neck and eye strain to see it well.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

If you don't change the icon size too much, you can stuff more icons in.

One thing I love about Windows XP & Vista is the ability to align icons to a grid! (No more trying to keep them straight!)

I think Windows 98 and 2000 had the ability to do that.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

98 didn't. I don't know about 2K, we had it for a few months before my mom's computer got XP, but I don't remember.

 

[Cutlass]

If I have 10 icons on my desktop, that too many

 

[Zelig]

And gain what? What would be the point?

Stuff isn't as pixelated.

That's always been the point of higher resolutions.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

98 didn't. I don't know about 2K, we had it for a few months before my mom's computer got XP, but I don't remember.

Right click on desktop > Arrange Icons > Auto Arrange. Just checked it on a W98 pc, it exists

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Yes, but not the actual grid. That's what I like. You can drag icons everywhere and they'll end up straight.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

that works as well. I have no idea what you did with your pc that has/had 98 on it, but mine does it just like 2000, XP and Vista do.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I think I sometimes used Auto Arrange, I don't remember, the next time I fire up the spare computer I'll take a peek.

 

[Cutlass]

Stuff isn't as pixelated.

That's always been the point of higher resolutions.

There's very little notable pixilation at more medium resolutions.

 

[Zelig]

There's very little notable pixilation at more medium resolutions.

Yes, because medium resolutions have medium sized monitors.

1680x1050 on a 28" monitor is going to look really bad.

1920x1200 is good on a 24" monitor, 2560x1600 is good on a 30" monitor.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Sheesh and I thought my 20" monitor was big...

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Yes, because medium resolutions have medium sized monitors.

1680x1050 on a 28" monitor is going to look really bad.

1920x1200 is good on a 24" monitor, 2560x1600 is good on a 30" monitor.

So then why are we not seeing 42" monitors with resolutions above 2560x1600 +?
Because we sure as hell have 30"+ screens, they just all default to 1080 resolutions. (Im fairly certain the answer is largely due to price feasability, but by now there are bound to have been at least a few high res 30"+ models)

 

[Zelig]

Sheesh and I thought my 20" monitor was big...

Honestly, the price difference between monitors is small enough that it isn't really worth getting anything smaller than a 22".

17" - $100
19" - $120
20" - $130
22" - $150
23" - $190
24" - $250
27.5" - $350
30" - $1000

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

The 20" is actually what came with the computer.

And remember I have space constraints, too! (Did I spell that right?) I can't fit anything bigger onto my desk. Well, I probably could, but I'd have to rearrange the whole thing and I have no other place for the other stuff, really.

 

[Zelig]

So then why are we not seeing 42" monitors with resolutions above 2560x1600 +?
Because we sure as hell have 30"+ screens, they just all default to 1080 resolutions. (Im fairly certain the answer is largely due to price feasability, but by now there are bound to have been at least a few high res 30"+ models)

Mostly since people going for bigger than 30", they're going to want to watch movies, and because of the scaling, 1080p content is going to look worse on a 2560x1600 screen than on an equivalent 1920x1200 screen.

3840x2160 screens give perfect scaling, starting at around $40,000.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

3840x2160 screens give perfect scaling, starting at around $40,000.

How big is that??? A movie theater???

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I think IBM used to have some 20-22" monitors that had that, or at least a similar resolution.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'd hate to see windowed 800x600 games in that....

Anybody got a good, easy-to-understand tutorial on how to install a floppy disk drive? Preferably one that would be easy to print out. I did google, but got lost.

EDIT: Never mind. Found a good one googling with different terms. http://www.buildeasypc.com/hw/howto/instfdd.htm

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Here's a conundrum. When Im chatting with someone in GTalk and go to voice chat, they can hear me fine, and the client shows that the other person is talking and they verify their mic works fine, but I cannot hear them. i've checked Sound options and the speakers are not set to exclusive mode.

EDIT -- Randomly pushing buttons works its magic again. Turns out I could hear people, they were just very, very quiet due to the way Matrix Mode works on my speakers. Turning it off puts them back to full-volume