14 DAY TRIAL // We've known for some time that Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux operating system, can be blunt and even harsh when speaking his mind, so we aren't all that surprised at his attitude towards laptop displays.
Torvalds has decided to pick up a matter that has been boggling the minds of the media, and consumers alike, for some time: the resolution of notebooks.
Despite the fact that there are tablets with screen resolution of 2560 x 1600 (Google Nexus) and 2048 x 1152 pixels (Apple iPad), notebooks still use HD (1366 x 768) and Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels).
Even large-size monitors and TVs usually feature panels with Full HD resolution.
Linus Torvalds thinks that it is high time laptop makers moved past these standards and started using 2560 x 1600 as the norm.
The man used his Google Plus account to speak his mind, saying that “I still don't want big luggable laptops, but that 1366x768 is so last century. Christ, soon even the cellphones will start laughing at the ridiculously bad laptop displays.”
He makes sure to specifically mention how strange it is for $399 / 399 Euro tablets to have 2560 x 1600 resolutions while notebooks don't even get close.
“So with even a $399 tablet doing 2560x1600 pixel displays, can we please just make that the new standard laptop resolution? Even at 11"? Please. Stop with the "retina" crap, just call it "reasonable resolution". The fact that laptops stagnated ten years ago (and even regressed, in many cases) at around half that in both directions is just sad,” he said.
Torvalds wants to see high-quality fonts (higher resolutions don't necessarily mean smaller fonts, the settings are adjustable after all) and some real, fast progress on the part of clamshell-shaped PCs, even if it means the removal of so-called “advantages” that some companies like to draw attention to.