77% increase in usable work space?

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Level 1

10 points

77% increase in usable work space?

Hey there!

In the Apple Online Store, under Displays,
the follow claim is made about the 30 Inch displays:

About the 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display
The ultimate widescreen canvas for video, graphics, or scientific visualization, this high-resolution, 30-inch flat-panel display features 2560-by-1600-pixel resolution. *_It gives you a 77% increase in usable workspace, compared to the 23-inch Cinema HD Display._* With more usable workspace, you can be more productive because you spend less time navigating between applications and windows that are overlapping.

23 Inch: 1920 * 1200 pixels = 2304000 pixels
30 Inch: 2560 * 1600 pixels = 4096000 pixels

4096000 pixels / 100% = (40960 = 1%)
2304000 pixels / 40960 = 56,25%
100% - 56,25% = 43,75% extra 'usable' work space

43,75% can hardly be called 77%! What tricks of the mind, language and mathematics have been used here to make this 77% claim legitimate? Whatever the explanation could be, this trickery seems a bit misleading, to say the least. Or have I seriously overlooked or miscalculated something?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Mar 29, 2008 12:02 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 29, 2008 12:28 PM in response to dwerf

i just checked on the store and dont see that, intact i dont see any % comparisons

-matt

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Answer 2

dwerf Author

Level 1

10 points

Mar 29, 2008 2:29 PM in response to mattathayde

Check out the Mac Pro and click 'Configure now'.
The 77% claim is made under the monitor option.

Greetings, D.

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Answer 3

Mar 29, 2008 2:35 PM in response to dwerf

o ok i see that now, thats weird, not sure why it says it since its really more so 37% (i just went by the physical dimensions given not the pixels). it may be a typo and since it is only in that drop down maybe not noticed by them. it could also be a typo for the screen they are comparing it to (might have been compared to one of the laptop ones)

-matt

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Answer 4

dwerf Author

Level 1

10 points

Mar 29, 2008 2:57 PM in response to mattathayde

Hmmm, could be a typo, although this info has been up there for quite a while now. They're clearly referring to the 23-inch Cinema HD Display, and the 77% claim is made on several international Apple sites too.

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Answer 5

Mar 29, 2008 3:03 PM in response to dwerf

they have had to figure it out some weird way then, maybe the space left over after the average applications tool bars are up (like ps or word). tht is really weird though

-matt

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Answer 6

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Mar 31, 2008 9:17 PM in response to dwerf

You ran the math backwards. It says a 30" is 77% more than a 23", not that a 23" is 77% less than a 30".

23 Inch: 1920 * 1200 pixels = 2304000 pixels

77% of 2304000 pixels = 2304000 x 0.77 = 1774080 pixels.

Adding 2304000 pixels and 1774080 pixels = 4078080 pixels, which is less than the 4096000 pixels of a 30" display.

So actually it's closer to 78% more than a 23". Apple rounded down.

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Answer 7

dwerf Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 1, 2008 1:15 AM in response to BSteely

Auch, You are entirely correct! I made this backward reasoning perhaps because I never did my best at any mathematics, economics or physics related school subjects, and was drawing pictures instead 😉

Thanks for clearing my confusion!

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Answer 8

Apr 1, 2008 6:14 AM in response to BSteely

actually i think this is how they got the numbers. all the math parts are right (as far as i know i just woke up and dont feel lie checking anything). by saying the 77% thing we all took it to mean that the 23 inch display was only 33% of teh 30 ich when really it could be that theres 77% of the 23 inch addes ontop of the original 23 inch size

-matt

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Answer 9

dwerf Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 1, 2008 8:12 AM in response to mattathayde

mattathayde wrote:
actually i think this is how they got the numbers. all the math parts are right (as far as i know i just woke up and dont feel lie checking anything). by saying the 77% thing we all took it to mean that the 23 inch display was only 33% of teh 30 ich when really it could be that theres 77% of the 23 inch addes ontop of the original 23 inch size

-matt

Yeah, that is indeed what you could easily misunderstand if you don't read well enough. It remains a little tricky even if it's correct, doesn't it?

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