Ask HN: Why is screen resolution not listed anymore? (Also, laptop suggestion)
I am looking now for a second, lightweight portable machine mostly for text editing and light development. My primary setup is an iMac with an additional Cinema Display, and I love the screen real estate it gives me (2x 2560x1440).
I want a somewhat cheap laptop that doesn't even need to be powerful, but I just can't cope with the limited vertical space that 1366x768 offers. Heck, I had a "768p" monitor in the 90s!
However, it is not only difficult to find higher resolution screens, it is almost impossible to know what resolution they are!
For instance, the HP Chromebook 14 (http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/business/devices/hp-14-chromebook.html) lists its screen as "14'' 200 nit display with 16:9 aspect ratio". Why the hell HP thinks "nits" is more important than pixels puzzles me.
Or take Dell as another example. I challenge you to find a screen resolution specified in pixel over there. Usually they say "HD+" (for the infamous 1366x768) or FHD (probably 1920x1080, which is decent). I saw a laptop that I liked, but its screen was listed as "HDF". Was it a typo or some lesser resolution? I don't know, and I'm not willing to pay hundreds of dollars to find out.
Is it only me or doesn't anybody care about screen resolution anymore?
I don't have the budget for a MacBook Air, and one would be overkill anyway. Even an ARM-based Chromebook would suffice, as long as I could install Linux on a SD card. Screen resolution is more important than screen size, and I prefer around 13". Any suggestions? (And sorry about two questions in a single post)