Code Society

If you have an AMD/ATi graphics card, you might have noticed that the GPU Scaling options portion of the control panel seems to be grayed out (aka. disabled), if you can even find it hidden deep in the monitor attributes page. It seems that as of a few releases ago (though I’m not sure when, possibly 9.3), the option is only changeable when your screen resolution is not at your LCD’s native (max) resolution. Yes, that’s a statement from an official AMD forum moderator. I don’t know what happens on CRTs, but this seems kind of idiotic.

The primary reason for changing this setting is to run games at appropriate aspect ratios, stretched, or 1:1 as preferred by the user. However, you can’t access the control panel while in the game. When you switch back to the desktop to use it, the resolution should also be back to native. So what do you do?

The solution is to change to a lower desktop resolution temporarily to enable the feature and set the desired setting before changing back. Of course, this will displace any windows and desktop icons not within the confines of the lower resolution.

Is this a game-breaking (no pun intended) design mishap? No… but it is an inconvenience that doesn’t make much sense. As of this writing, the latest Catalyst version is 9.7. Here’s hoping they decide to revert this design change in the near future.

UPDATE 8/17/2009: What do you know, they just released version 9.8.

Buying an LCD monitor these days is both easier and harder than ever before with much lower prices and wider selection. One thing that remains a mystery is how dead pixels are widely accepted as the norm by most manufacturer and retailer warranties. Some companies only accept exchanges or returns if the monitor has as many as 8 dead pixels, or some combination of dead and stuck pixels in certain formations. Apparently there is not enough consumer demand for perfect LCD monitors, allowing companies to get away with this for so long.

If you do demand a perfect LCD monitor with no dead pixels, there is hope. There are certain retailers that offer liberal return policies on monitors (and other items), allowing you to exchange if pixel problems should arise. Let’s take a look at some of them below.

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When building a computer, one often has to compromise on one of the three conflicting factors of power, noise, and price. Powerful machines are usually noisy due to the high heat output, and therefore required cooling. Advanced cooling solutions with low noise can be had, albeit at high price points. A cheaper computer tends to lack power and/or silence. These 3 tradeoffs are inherent in any computer build and is more of a problem today than ever as newer components produce more heat along with the increased power they bring.

I recently had the need to build a new computer from scratch as my main desktop PC. Finding the noise of most computers unbearable to use in a quite environment, I went through a thorough research process to select the most efficient components to balance the needs for power and silence at an affordable price point. As part of the efficiency, I also wanted to minimize the amount of physical space the computer would take up.

This guide shows you the computer parts I picked, along with alternatives I considered, with explanations on every component. Hopefully this will help you make your own choices for a silent computer to suit your needs.

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OS X has many great design wins, but the mouse acceleration curve is not one of them. Using a mouse under OS X feels very unnatural if you’ve ever used another operating system. The pointer moves too slowly when you move the mouse a little and too quickly when you try to speed it up. This is because the default acceleration curve is S-shaped and far too steep.

Unfortunately, OS X (as of 10.5 Leopard anyway) provides no built-in mechanism to allow users to easily change the acceleration amount or even to turn it off. Luckily, there are some 3rd-party solutions that can correct the problem, though not all of them are free. Let’s take a look at 4 of them below.

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If you are trying to decide whether to buy the $1299 or $1599 Macbook, know that there are only 3 (or 4 for some) differences difference between the two models. These are:

• 2.0GHz vs 2.4GHz CPU: The more expensive model has a 20% faster CPU, but the actual gains in performance for applications will be less than this unless they only use the processor.
• 160GB vs 250GB Hard Drive: You get 90GB more space with the more expensive model. Hard drives on the new Macbooks are incredibly easy to upgrade, so if you want to put in a larger drive or an SSD later, it may be cheaper to do it yourself.
• Backlit Keyboard: Only the $1599 model has the backlit keyboard. How much this is worth depends on the individual.
• $50 vs $100 Educational Discount: The $1299 model has a $50 educational discount, bringing the price to $1249. The $1599 model has a $100 educational discount, making the price before tax $1499. Some may use this to justify the higher cost model as saving more, but the logical way to look at it is to see the extra features priced as a $250 premium instead of $300. Don’t forget the extra tax as well if buying from Apple or a local store.

Some additional points to consider require more investigation. Namely, does the faster processor (and backlit keyboard, though that can be turned on and off) reduce battery life and generate more heat? I haven’t been able to find a comparison of the machines in this aspect yet, but the differences here are likely minimal.

So do the differences justify the higher cost? That depends on how much you need (or want) the processing power, the extra space, and the backlit keyboard. Whichever you choose, you will be getting a fine machine.

Apple released the new Aluminum Macbook and Macbook Pro last Tuesday. Yesterday, I walked to the Apple store nearby to check out them out. As I had imagined, they are incredible. Some quick notes I took down in my mind include:

• Glass Trackpad: The glass trackpad is so smooth and feels amazing. Combined with the multi-touch gestures, they make quite a compelling package. I probably spent over half an hour fondling the trackpad with many gestures. The updated Macbook Air does not have this trackpad, which may be the deciding factor for me not to get the Air even if the previous heat and slowness problems were solved.
• Heat: The Alu Macbook does not get hot like the Macbook Air (first gen) does. It stays relatively cool, which my current notebook definitely does not when plugged in. The Macbook Pro was also cooler than the Air but not by much. Overall, the winner here is the Macbook, but the new Air is not yet available (until November) so we’ll have to wait and see if those heating issues have been solved.
• Weight: The Macbook feels sturdy with its unibody construction and is not too heavy. Even though it is 1.2 lbs more than my current notebook, the smaller size and tight body of the Macbook helped. The Macbook Pro was a bit heavy to hold though. Of course, the air is tiny and light, but this is not enough to offset the first gen issues.
• Display: The only area where the Macbook loses is the display. Unlike the Air’s similar-sized screen, the Macbook’s screen has worse viewing angles. It is easy to see colors get washed out with just a little movement away from the center. This was the reason why I was considering the Air, since that uses a higher quality display similar to the Pro in viewing angles. However, the lack of a glass trackpad, potential heating/slowness issues, and the higher cost may not justify the Air over the Macbook. I should note that the Macbook’s display has similar viewing angles to the old Macbook so it was not downgraded, but rather received an upgrade in the form of LED backlighting.

All considered, I stayed at the Apple store for about an hour playing with the new Macbooks and left without purchasing. There is a similar reason for both: it is raining intermittently today, so I hid in the store to wait out the rain and I didn’t want to buy something and carry it with the possibility of getting it wet. Also, the free printer promotion ended yesterday and so I might wait until the new one starts.

The new Macbooks are superb and really have to be experienced firsthand. The question now is whether I should buy and which model to buy ($1299 or $1599; $1249 or $1499 with education discount). The more expensive one has 3 main differences: 2.4GHz instead of 2.0 GHz CPU, a 250GB instead of 160GB HD, and a backlit keyboard. I wanted to know whether the faster CPU contributes to more heat and less battery life, but I haven’t found an answer yet. They didn’t have any 2.4GHz display models for some reason, or I wasn’t able to find them. The hard drive is irrelevant, especially since I plan to replace it with an SSD later when the prices go down. The backlit keyboard is a nice feature to have, but probably isn’t worth $250 by itself. Ahh, so tough to decide…

Apple’s computers can be expensive, but you can save money while still getting a quality product by buying refurbished. Unlike other refurbished products, which may not work well and do not come with all of the benefits you would get if you bought new, Apple’s refurbished products are essentially as good as new, with the same 1-year warranty (extendable to 3 years with AppleCare) as a new purchase. Keep reading to find out more.

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