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Comment by Paul_S | Hacker News Reader

4:3 and matte and a proper keyboard. These no longer exist because Apple and shiny.

Apple was one of the last holdouts. They were shipping matte and 4:3 laptops until relatively recently.

Reflective screens are the biggest shame. They’re worse but they sell better. For a while 4:3 looked “old fashioned.”

Turns out that a tall form factor works for phones, but thankfully most manufactutors relize that tablets should be 4:3 or close to it.

I thought they were among the very first to abandon matte and 4:3, what models are you thinking of?

I've bought two MBPs in recent years: in December 2011, and again in August 2015. The first time around you could definitely get the matte screen, although unfortunately only with an ugly grey bezel. Not so sure about 2015 though.

If there would be a demand then it would exist (from Apple or other companies).

It does exist-- from hobbyist entrepreneurs. 51nb has been selling motherboard upgrades for the old 4:3 ThinkPad models for a few years now, and others have begun to specialize in whole-system integration, additional mods, and complete systems based on this work (I'm one of those people, though I also do it as a hobby).

My three ThinkPads X60s machines are all Broadwells, with nice 12.1" 4:3 high res screens using modern backlights I fabricate myself. They work so well I intend to build more.

You assume there is actual competition taking place in computer display panels. Not sure how you can get that impression.

Just like title loans, reality tv, and vape shops.

There's a demand for a non-anemic Mac desktop that isn't a huge overpriced dead-end waste of money, but that doesn't exist.

I could say the same for the Macbook Pro: the current models are an absolute joke.

Well, there is the problem. If monitors and notebooks are sold with 16:9 only, then of course there is no "demand" for 4:3, because you don't sell any! This argumentation is scewed.

Dell and HP will still sell you matte on their corporate laptops.

Even the Dell XPS sorta-corporate line has some matte options but they are tricky to find.

Matte screens are a crutch. I’m a big boy I can figure out how to properly light my office. I don’t want to stare at my text through cheese cloth for the sake of those who can’t.

It's great to have a matte option on laptops. I can't really control the lighting in a moving train or on a park bench.

In my experience this is controlled by shutting the blinds over the windows so the naughty sun doesn't make the laptop screen impossible to use. Great, no more sun in the cubicle farm. Thanks guys. :-(

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