Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Limited screen real estate

The Letux 400 has a wide-VGA screen, 800x480 pixels. Bright, crisp and well readable, but sure an uncommon format. 800x600 was common for laptops for a long time.
How do standard desktop applications fare on the Netbook? Some just don't fit, but there are several which just work and allow to have a small workspace available.

The first screenshot shows that albeit crammed, the Workspace is fine. The panel with the folders could be closed to gain even more space. Behind you can see the Terminal application. Sure, only one can be seen at a time, but it is enough to work.

Then we have the AddressManager showing up in all its glory. Fits tight but fits. A really useful application on a Netbook!






The last image shows the Vespucci browser on the Letux. Works fine.

Note: Screenshots are from applications actually running on the Letux 400, not mock-ups.

2 comments:

Condos in Toronto said...

I've never had any problems with the size of software windows on my netbook. It always resizes it and makes it comfortable to use and see. By the way, you should switch to a different desktop environment, xterm looks really ugly to me...haha.

Take care, Elli

Riccardo said...

Elli,

I see no xterm in my screenshots, it is not even installed on the Letux which comes by default with x-terminal-emulator, a lightweight alternative.

The screenshot features in the background Terminal.app which looks perfect as on my workstation.

It is also not true that all windows resize, GNUstep windows can have minimum sizes set (as Mac ones) and many applications today are now optimized for big screens. Several apps do not fit even on my ol' iBook anymore which is 800x600. The letux is 800x480.

The same is true for webpages, which are designed for big screens today, ignoring that people use mobile devices more and more.