Some Thoughts…

Any attempt at simplifying my life hasn’t had any impact my work computer, apparently.

The lease was up on my work laptop, so I was issued a new Lenovo T61p last week. Typically, our IT department will reinstall Windows XP on all new laptops, but because we need to be able to test our software under Windows Vista, they let me keep the WIndows Vista Ultimate that came pre-installed.

The first step was to get rid of as much of the pre-installed "crapware" as I could. I did keep the software for the fingerprint reader. though. It is pretty cool being able to use that to log in to Windows!

Here is a list of all the software I had to install and configure:

Applications

• Vista Service Pack 1 and additional updates
• Microsoft Office Pro 2007
• Firefox
  • RoboForm
  • Extensions:
    • Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer
    • AdBlock Plus
    • IE Tab
    • QuickProxy
    • Forecastfox
    • Better GMail 2
• Symantec AntiVirus
• VMWare Workstation
• AT&T Global Network Client (VPN client)
• Wireshark (and WinPcap)
• TextPad
• Google Desktop

Development Tools

• Visual Studio 2008
  • Visual Assist X
  • Syncfusion Essential Studio 3.3
  • Infragistics NetAdvantage (2007.1 and 2007.3)
  • IP*Works
  • CodeSite
  • TeeChart for .NET
• Borland Delphi 2007 (plus four updates)
  • Rave Reports
  • Castalia
  • Developer’s Express VCL
• Perforce (P4V and P4Win, plus API tools for C# and Ruby)
• ActivePerl
• Ruby
• Doxygen
• DIAB-SDS Compiler
• Help & Manual (and HTML Help Workshop)
• Inno Setup
• Consolas font

Utilities

• 7-Zip
• Foxit Reader
• Foxit Creator
• Beyond Compare (plus four plug-ins)
• CCCleaner
• Cmd Prompt Here Power Toys
• Daemon Tools Lite (for mounting ISO files)
• TreeSize Free
• XYplorer (Explorer replacement)
• GoodSync
• Revo Uninstaller
• SysInternals Suite (Autoruns, Process Explorer, etc)
• SlickRun

Not to mention configuring Windows, copying files over from my old computer, pulling down all of our source code out of Perforce and ensuring that it all built, etc.

That didn’t take long at all!

The lease was up on my work laptop, so I was issued a new Lenovo T61p last week: Here are the specs:

T7700(2.4GHz), 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200rpm HD, 15.4in 1920×1200 LCD, 256MB nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn(n-disabled), Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 9c Li-Ion battery, Windows Vista Ultimate.

This an awesome machine…..except for the screen resolution. A 15.4" screen with a resolution of 1920×1200 results in a whopping 147 pixels per inch! Compare that to these popular sizes:

17" – 1280×1024 – 96ppi

19"- 1280×1024- 86ppi

20.1" – 1680×1050 – 99ppi

I bought a 20.1" monitor with my new Dell last year, and that is about as high as I can go (in terms of PPI) and still work comfortably for any length of time.

So what are my options? I could go back to our IT guy and ask him to swap it out for the same model with a WSXGA (1680×1050) display. At 128ppi, this is only marginally better, but it is the only other option for this model. I spent a lot of time getting all my applications installed and configured this weekend. If I get the same model, I should be able to image the drive and move it over to the new machine. If I opt for a different model, I may not be so lucky.

The second option is to simply run at a lower resolution. Running at a non-native resolution does blur the display a bit, and this can result in eye strain after working for any length of time.

The third option is to change the font size (DPI) in Windows, but this also has it’s problems. You would be surprised how many applications are designed and developed without any thought to the possibility that the user may be running at a non-standard font size. Changing the font size also has little impact on how web sites are rendered in the browser. Sure, you can increase the text size in the browser, but most web sites are optimized to look good under a few popular resolutions, and increasing the text size within the same page layout can look really bad in a hurry.

None of these options are attractive. What would you do?