Apple's glossy screens will 'mess you up,' University report warns
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted June 16th 2009 4:35PM
posted June 16th 2009 4:35PM
Attention, ergonomics buffs: an advisory recently published by Queensland University of Technology is predicting a rash of injuries as a result of users straining to get a clear look at Apple's "high gloss" screens, and the ergonomically unsound postures and positions that result. If you should find yourself in possession of one of these "torture displays" (as we think Apple should refer to them in their advertising from now on), Queensland Tech offers many suggestions for staying healthy, including: Placing the monitor so that screen is at a 90 degree angle to overhead lighting, closing the curtains or blinds to minimize glare, and adjusting the contrast / turning down the brightness. Of course, we're sure you've already tried all those things if you're one of the parties effected -- what, then is a strained MacBook user to do? We don't know, but maybe the Grippity guy will come up with something.
[Via Apple Insider]
[Via Apple Insider]
lol
Laugh out loud...
Lazy ass.
I lol'd for real when I read this.
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7972/img0449j.jpg
@waiownsyou
I don't get it. Why would you lol?
This should solve the problem
http://www.popgadget.net/images/computer%20hood%202.jpg
Another solution
http://www.dapperstache.com/picotheday/laptop_privacy
Yeah because Apple's screens are that special unlike every other PC manufacturer in the world.
@ Fernando
well.. i can smell hate and jealousy here
@RioRyan
"http://www.dapperstache.com/picotheday/laptop_privacy"
LMAO
Nom nom nom nom nom...
What I meant its funny how they call Apple out as if all the other 1 million PC's out there with glossy screens don't cause this issue.
I can't wait for someone to sue Apple and get utterly pwned in the courts...
@General_Trelane easy for a retired person to call someone else lazy
I really don't understand why Apple feels the need to make these displays glossy. Is there a reason that I am not aware of? Or is just so they can release a matte screen as a "feature" in the next model?
A lot of the users find their displays sexy... too sexy. The matte was retaining too much of their excitement.
Maybe because to most consumers, glossy screens look 'better'.
I thought colours were supposed to be more vibrant on a glossy screen?
Only time I've had real trouble with my iMac is when looking at some very dark.
If consumers really wanted glossy laptop and desktop screens, computer manufacturers across the board would be scrambling to make them.
dude you really need to learn that not every that flies can be eaten and that not everything on engadget can be believed. Nowhere in the article does it say that any tests were conducted on Apple displays or that the results apply to Apple displays.
All that this article says is that your should be careful when using a high gloss monitor and for the record CRTs were used for several decades they all have terrible level of gloss and yet noone that ever used them got some kind of deformity.
So sure the glossy screens are annoying but so are people complaining about irrelevant stuff.
Looks good in the showroom, sells more product and then people suffer the effects when they get home with the product.
@cg0def: And that was part of why it was so great moving away from CRT's(not that it mattered much since CRT's were for desktops and televisions, both of which are very large and positioned fairly far away in a non-moving position. For laptops it's an entirely different story)
Oh engadget nerds,
You dweebs don't seem to realize that if you put the matte 17" MBP next to the glossy one, and told the AVERAGE CONSUMER (you know, like, the ones who account for the VAST MAJORITY of units sold) to pick one, they would pick the glossy one wayyyy more often than the matte one. People like shiny things.
I'm not saying matte shouldn't be an option on all their laptops, but don't act like MOST people prefer a matte screen. =/
I have a 13" MB, and don't give a shit about its glossiness. (I do give a shit about its absolutely abysmal viewable angle).
Pretty much EVERY cell phone has a glossy display, and nobody bitches about that. hmmm?
I completely agree. The glossy screen is the only reason I've held off from buying a 13" MBP, and I wish Apple would at least offer a matte option. The glare is so distracting that it's unusable (for me).
Maybe cuz glossy displays show colors much more vibrantly, genius. And actually, matte is already an option for the 17", not a "feature"
Glossy screens have higher transmission, so you could get away with a dimmer lamp. They are also cheaper to produce than matte screens. CRT's can't really be compared with the glossy screens that Apple use, high quality CRTs generally have some sort of anti-reflection coating or multi-coating. You can tell by the reflection; it usually has a shade of color. AFAIK Apple just uses a piece of glass; plain glass has very high reflection at above 4%.
Bigcow said is correctly.
Also, a glossy screen is used to compensate LCD technology issue.
As a matte screen diffuse light colors are less vivid, and the view angle is much smaller than what it already is. Usually this is not a problem on high-end LCD as the screen can hold different, more expensive (and heavy, let alone space consuming) technology to compensate for the downfall of matte screen (and goes beyond to reach rate of image quality and color accuracy as a high end CRT and even higher)
I guess I'm stupid because I think glossy screens look good.
OMFG my Samsung LCD tv is glossy!!! I'm probably going to die because it's 40" and if a 15" display from apple will mess me up surely the larger sized Sammy is going to destroy me.
Glossy screens produce better blacks and more vibrant colors... it's a fact.
They actually did it in the 17" model, for an extra charge ;)
The more glossy the better!
Actually LCD screens are glossy by nature, pc manufactures MAKE then matte to avoid too many reflections. (If you really want your laptop have one of these only useable under perfect light screens you can follow one of the how to's like http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread/t-68235.html ) Only apple is able to remove/leave out an extremely useful part of a computer display and call it a feature
What offers better picture quality? Gloss or matte screens? :/
It depends on the conditions.
In this case, in a University environment, you need to diffuse the overhead lighting, same as in an office.
Colors are brighter on a glossy display. For the most part, if you need a work tool that is portable and needs to adapt to new lighting (like classrooms) a matte display is a must. If you need a toy or something in a dark room, maybe a glossy screen is right for you. That is a generalization, but I think a fair assessment.
Glossy screen is just like plasma, it reflect if there's a lot of light around. Glossy look best at night, but with that close range glossy maybe over kill for the eye.
Glossy will generally appear to be clearer, brighter, and more vivid. But anyone who knows anything about screens will tell you that this is merely an illusion.
You've got to admit that it makes sense, though, for Apple to sell laptops with glossy screens, which appeal to dummies, their target audience.
All of the above is true though, once you account for real world conditions, reflections make glossy screens more of a pain in the ass to look at.
http://mark2000.com/?p=541
The superiority and clarity of glossy screens is not an illusion. A matte screen has a texture that makes it less clear. Like ripples on a pond, the underlying image will be distorted. Read the above link for more on this.
Thanks.
the truth:
glossy screens generally look sharper than matte because of the very slight haze created by the matte texture. glossy displays also generally have more saturated colors, deeper blacks, and brighter whites, although these colors tend to exaggerated. while glossy displays may look more vibrant, matte displays offer the most true-to-life color reproduction, which is why good photoshoppers only use matte displays (and hence the hullabaloo over the glossy displays on the unibody macbook pros). as for reflections, glossy displays are only bothersome if the ambient light is much brighter than your laptop screen, or of there are specific point of light (overhead lamps). generally i don't find it to be too much of a problem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossy_display
@maverick
Sorry, but WTF? In your article you go on a crusade against the "big matte conspiracy", stating a lot of "facts" without proof, going on with ad hominem attacks while ignoring even the few sources you provide...e.g. have you even looked at the complete anandtech article you've linked? (Not that I'd consider anandtech the paragon of accurate articles, but they _DO_ have the comparison pictures you accuse them of lacking).
I'd love to recommend a serious article about the topic (from c't magazine 10/2009):
http://www.heise.de/kiosk/archiv/ct/2009/10/152_kiosk
Sadly, it's a) in german and b) not free...
I like matte so that i can look at my screen without having to dodge all those damn reflections.
I don't like Glossy displays on laptops, because of the simple fact that you can't choose the lighting conditions when you're carrying it around.
TV, Yeah! Monitor, sign me up: At least those you can change the room's lighting to suit, and once you're set up, you're not going to be moving constantly. Whereas a laptop is otensibly DESIGNED to work wherever you need it to, and if you can't get optimal lighting conditions for a room, the device should be able to compensate for that, after all; it's the peripheral, not the installation.
I have been saying what they are saying for years. (:
And you didn't get paid for it!
there must be a anti-gloss plastic thing you could buy
There are protection films you can put over the glossy screen to make them non glossy, but I have never seen one in person, so I don't know if they work. But why don't you just get a laptop with a decent screen?
There are. I have one for my X61 Tablet (which had a matte screen). It's got an anti-reflective coating like glasses do, that has a specific refractice index and thickness to cause destructive interference of light. It works pretty well--not as well as a matte screen, but I prefer the writing feel on the glossy screen so I make a compromise.
It's a coating similar to the one on Sony and Canon digital camera screens. The reflection appears green/purple and is less obvious.
unibody of hurt?
I squinted to read your avatar, then lol'd.
Thanks for pointing that out. That's hysterical!
imo, the best engadget picture to date
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/03/cops-adopt-sms-tip-lines-to-help-fight-crime-find-out-where-the/