Rory Reid
Rory's earliest memory is of taking the back off his radio to see what was inside. His mum wasn't happy. Nowadays he breaks other people's stuff for a living: the latest laptops and even high-tech automobiles crumble and die at his hands.
Wednesday 21 May 2008, 11:25am
Gentlemen prefer blondes. And shiny laptop screens
I'm not sure who it was that coined the phrase "gentlemen prefer blondes" (it's the title of a book -Ed), but whoever it was deserves a medal. Don't get me wrong, I love brunettes and bald girls -- heck, even gingers can get a look in. But in my experience, the brighter and shinier something is, the more attention it gets.
Its not just me, either. Scientists have theorised that women in northern Europe evolved with light hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to stand out from the brunette hordes and attract mates. At this time both food and men were in short supply, meaning a large number of women were competing for a small number of males -- many of whom died while hunting things with sharp teeth and very bad breath.
As bizarre as it might seem, the same thing is happening in the world of laptop screens. In the old days, most portable displays had a matte finish, but today the vast majority look as if they've been dunked in an industrial vat of K-Y Jelly, then daubed in Vaseline for good measure.
Why the extra shinification? Because most humans -- not discerning individuals of taste and intelligence like yourselves, dear readers, but the idiotic general public -- are basically brainless magpies who yearn for bright objects, regardless of any real value. When they're walking down the aisle of their local computer store and are faced with the choice of a matte screen you can use in a variety of lighting conditions, and a glossy screen that's a better mirror than it is a display, most of them will opt for lube-o-vision every time.
The same is true of TVs. Most of them don't have glossy screens, but you can wager a large portion of your posterior that the brightness levels will be cranked right up to the maximum -- again, because this makes them stand out. Consumers think brightness equates to great image quality, just like they believe louder speakers are better speakers, and that the shinier the mobile phone they buy, the higher their chance of getting someone's phone number at the end of a rave.
Joking aside, this is a pretty serious situation. According to my sources, retailers have started refusing to stock matte screens on the basis that they won't sell as well as their glossy counterparts. Manufacturers, in turn, have all but given up making matte screens. What's the point when PC World won't stock them?
Instead, they've embraced the gloss culture. They've creating catchy marketing names like X-Black, TrueLife and IdiotShine. They ignore the fact that glossy screens are only ever ideal in rooms with perfectly diffuse lighting. They hide the fact that your eyes have to work harder to look past the reflections and that you'll have to crank the brightness up -- at the expense of battery life -- to counter those reflections.
So you see, my magpie friends, blondes really do have more fun. And as long as people make decisions based on instinct and not logic, long will this trend continue.
Comments on this post
I absolutely agree. It is soooo annoying. At present (May 2008) the only matt-screened PC I can find is one of the Dell 1525 variants - if you start at the lowest end model and then upgrade the processor so its the same as the next model up - you end up paying £10 extra for the matt screen. Bah!
Posted by Anonymous on Wed 21 May, 2008 5:07 PM
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Finally what I always knew has been announced shiny is not necessarily better! When recently looking for a flat screen monitor and asking shops if any of the models they stocked has a matt finish I was treated like an alien.
Posted by Amy on Thu 22 May, 2008 9:56 AM
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I agree i was going to upgrade the monitor for my computer but they all have the gloss effect. i have a lizard cage with a UV tube in the room, gare on the screen is very annoying
Posted by toby on Mon 2 June, 2008 7:17 PM
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rory your ugly as hell
Posted by LOLZ on Sun 6 July, 2008 11:11 AM
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interesting, i've not thought of it before, but now i do it seems mad to have shiny screens.
Posted by Ian Bell on Mon 28 July, 2008 8:56 PM
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Hi Rory, You are absolutely right in saying the effect of glare on eyes and suitability of lighting conditions...I had tought time to find a home use laptop with matte display, and finally decided a matte display Thinkpad T61. Still, what i would like to say is that vibrancy or liveliness of glossy screen is also excellent. Hope one day we have the option to diffuse glossy effect of coating while working in office (while a light behind my laptop) and enable effect while watching movie at home. What u say would it be possible?
Posted by Nirav on Tue 29 July, 2008 7:08 AM
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I'm not sure it would be possible to have a screen that was sometimes glossy and sometimes not... It might be possible to have some kind of glossy panel you clip on, or pull down over the matte screen, but that sounds highly impractical.
Posted by Rory Reid (CNET.co.uk) on Mon 4 August, 2008 3:42 PM
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Great article. Thought I was beginning to go mad. Can't buy a laptop with matt screen for love or money. PCWorld just don't get the problems - have written to their HQ to complain and was treated like a moron. Next step is a second hand business laptop via ebay as that seems only route to get a matt screens.
Posted by Richard M on Wed 13 August, 2008 5:35 PM
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I agree that glossy screen hurt the eyes, I prefer matte screen. I won't buy a new computer for that reason
Posted by Anonymous on Sat 30 August, 2008 1:23 AM
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Just received a replacement laptop from insurers cos old matte screened one died. The new one has a ridiculous shiny screen! They have told me that it is no longer possible to get matte. Glossy is naff! I don't always want to sit in the dark to do my work.
Posted by Denise on Thu 2 October, 2008 4:33 PM
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You can turn your shiny screen into a matt screen for a low outlay. I offer this on my web site - go to www.pendant-blanks.org.uk/screenmatt.html Best regards Ray B.
Posted by Ray Bonning on Thu 27 November, 2008 1:58 PM
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Are there any non-matte screens where you don't see your reflection the entire time? I.e., out of the miserable choices of glossy screens, which (brand) is the best?
Posted by Anonymous on Mon 26 January, 2009 6:19 PM
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I want to buy a laptop and my budget is nearly $900 I am looking for a good brand, but all seems to be nice. Could you suggest me which one would be better among Dell, compaq and lenovo and sony, coz these are among the most popular ones.
Posted by Akshay on Fri 27 February, 2009 7:08 AM
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Yes, I started noticing the absurd shiny trend last year, probably around the time this thread started. Just now I tried googling for ANY rational explanation for the shine, and the only one I find is that these screens are better than matte screens in dark places. Gosh, just what we needed! Hasn't there been any kind of consumer outcry? Do most people really prefer these silly things? Ever notice that, long before the asinine trend to shine, some people bought anti-glare filters for their monitors? I hope to buy a netbook soon, but I sure don't want one with a mirror instead of a screen.
Posted by Bucky on Mon 25 May, 2009 5:32 AM
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I'm going to stick with my old Dell laptop until it dies, then it'll be a used unit with a matte screen. At some point some laptop marketing guru will realise that there is a gap in the market and will start to offer a matte alternative once again. Until then my money stays firmly in my wallet.
Posted by Steve on Sun 21 June, 2009 4:06 PM
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Very nice site!
Posted by Pharme822 on Sat 1 August, 2009 10:55 AM
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