Windows 8 devices to have retina display

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/03/21/scaling-to-different-screens.aspx

by davux • 14 years ago

25 29 14 years ago

blogs.msdn.com

duaneb• 14 years ago

I'm so glad for this. Competition drives innovation!

glimcat• 14 years ago

In the sense that evolution drives speciation, yes.

Which is to say, a random walk based strictly on local optimization conditions, which produces absurd dead-end results at least as often as it produces something of lasting value.

recoiledsnake• 14 years ago

Nokia is rumored to be building a tablet[1]. There might be finally some real competition for the iPad unlike other tablets like Touchpad, Playbook and most Android tablets.

[1] http://windows8beta.com/2012/03/nokia-design-chief-confirms-...

PS: The heavily compressed JPEG screenshots were really blurry with artifacts. Wonder why they couldn't post PNGs or JPEGs with less compression.

huggyface3• 14 years ago

There might be finally some real competition for the iPad unlike other tablets like Touchpad, Playbook and most Android tablets

Because Windows Phone 7 has proven to be so formidable? Because Nokia is on such a technology tear? Now that the big boys are entering the game, it's on!

loverobots2• 14 years ago

Dissing Nokia? Sorry, but while Apple did blindside everyone, Nokia is a legend. Some of their phones, made for the $20+ market, last for ages. Remember that in Africa, parts of Asia and eastern Europe the iPhone is just a dream. Their latest Windows Phone got great reviews as far as I can tell. Totally different design, did not clone iPhone or anyone. So if they can make a tablet with the same material I'm in.

Personally I'd choose a Widows tablet over an iPad in a heartbeat, simply because all my computers are Windows. I'm too invested in them with dozens of already purchased programs to change to Apple.

Lastly, never underestimate Microsoft (Tim Cook certainly isn't). What they did 10 years ago is no longer relevant; they are tenacious, mint boatloads cash every quarter and Microsoft Research is top notch.

cageface• 14 years ago

Apple's tablet market share has dropped to 54%. There's no other single tablet that sells anywhere near as well as the iPad but in the aggregate iPad has real competition now.

rizwan• 14 years ago

The TL;DR version:

The developer is responsible for a lot of the screen dimension differences using flexible layout and progressive enhancement/degradation.

"Retina" scaling is fixed at 1.0, 1.4, and 1.8 (100%, 140%, 180%).

seanmcdirmid3• 14 years ago

If the developer is going vector, they don't really have to do anything (the scaling works transparently). And its turning out to be a good time to go vector.

cmelbye• 14 years ago

There was an article on HN recently that demonstrated why vectoring is completely unviable for this: http://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector-...

In short, vector graphics scaled up simply can't compare to graphics that were hand-made for a specific size, as the article shows.

simonster• 14 years ago

Huh, I didn't realize that Metro doesn't support 1024x600. That doesn't sound like great news for netbook users.

protomyth2• 14 years ago

I get the feeling that this is going to be a problem with a lot of upgrades. We have quite a few netbooks (HP via Verizon) that will not work. Wal-Mart sells a lot of netbooks that aren't up to spec either.

protomyth2• 14 years ago

Apparently some down voter out there hasn't had to deal with the Vista, Snow Leopard (PPC users), or Lion (early Intel users) upgrades and people's reaction to their machines not being able to run the latest hyped software.

Raphael• 14 years ago

There will likely be high density netbooks by the end of the year.

devindotcom• 14 years ago

Glad there's a plan for this. But everyone is going to have to do a lot more work to make their UIs truly resolution independent, though. It's really a major task. But this is a good initial step.

notatoad• 14 years ago

i wonder is that 17" 1080p slate referencing a real product, or just an example microsoft has chosen to illustrate possible flexibility? it sounds like an interesting new class of device.

cooldeal3• 14 years ago

There will also be huge touch screens running Windows 8 like this one:

http://theverge.vid.io/v/4bfbecd4-6301-11e1-aefa-1231391e54c...

Sure will cost a pretty penny, but the sheer number of form factors that OEMs can churn out is impressive in terms of consumer choice depending on their needs.

jmspring• 14 years ago

I actually found the article pretty informative and have generally been impressed with some of MSFTs recent moves. As someone that tried to avoid MSFT directly during the Win3.11 days (OS/2 anyone?) and adopted assorted BSDs when OS/2 proved less than fruitful, the Metro interface is an interesting tweak on the traditional set of icons.

Note, I said Metro NOT Win8. I think WP7 brings an interesting and unique tweak to what iOS and Android are doing. I am not sure it will translate well into the desktop. Install Windows 8 community preview, VS 11, and a couple of other developer tools...Why do I need all those tiles littering the desktop? This is a developer targeted example but I am sure others exist for non-developers. The mixed metaphor of Metro and Win7-desktop will prove a challenge.

I think Metro will be a win on the tablet/phone side of the world. Do I think it will over take iOS? No idea, I'm an iPhone/iPad person myself, but MSFT putting down a minimum set of requirements as well as a consistent interface is a big stead ahead of the android/touchwiz/manufacturer specific interface universe.

I think competition in both the desktop and tablet markets will prove fruitful. Current iOS notifications learned something from Android, for example. So, stronger competition is a good thing.

Specific to the digs at Nokia, I think Microsoft probably got the better of the bargain, but they have always produced some great hardware. Hopefully with a mix of good hardware and a unique OS, their handsets can bring them back from the dumps...

nextparadigms• 14 years ago

Am I missing something? Where's the "retina" display?

1920x1080 on 23" screens is not retina. It's not on 13" either. Has the retina name been diluted to just mean any resolution over 1080p and on any screen size now?

I guess you have Apple to blame for this, too. Retina used to mean 300+ PPI. Since the iPad has significantly less than that, they just say that it depends how far you are from it now.

I guess Microsoft will claim that for 1080p 23" monitors, you'll just have to use them from the couch a few feet away to experience the "retina" display.

ebf• 14 years ago

They list 2560x1440 on a 10" screen as a common display size for Windows 8. That puts it at 291 DPI compared to the new iPad's 264 DPI.

jlgosse• 14 years ago

10.1", 2560x1440 (291 DPI) is clearly labeled in the graphic, "Common sizes for Windows 8". It's probably best to read the entire article and look at all the pretty pictures before commenting

cooldeal3• 14 years ago

I am not surprised you'd miss something that others are able to see in a MS post :)

See the left top corner of this picture:

http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-bl...

cooldeal3• 14 years ago

What's up with the disgusting flagging going on with Microsoft related stories?

http://imgur.com/IlAn2.jpg

The hater fanboys here have even gotten Winsupersite banned from HN. This is really pathetic abuse of the flag feature for personal agendas.

Windows 8 devices to have retina display

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