Re: New monitor/bad resolution

[Harry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx]

Leslie,



Reading the subsequent messages, clearly the first thing to try is
updating the driver:



Quoting from the site Ralph
found:



"From the "Display" control panel I clicked on the
"Settings" tab >> Advanced >> Adapter >>
Properties >> "Driver" tab >> Update Driver. This
solved the problem."



That guy's Dell was the Dimension 2400, and you say yours is the 1400, so
it may not work--but worth a try.



Sorry that ME doesn't have Clear Type, but if you don't want to spend a
few hundred for a new (or used) computer, see what things look like once
you update the driver and set it to the required resolution.





Harry,

 

Starting with your last
question below: How does my basic C:prompt (MS-DOS) box look? It doesn't
look like Flash's screenshot, which is: "Xy3+" Properties, then
across the top: Option, Font, Layout, Color. Mine reads: "MS-Dos
Editor," then: Program, Font, Memory, Screen, Misc. No matter which
way I enter Xy/DOS, the Properties box looks the same.


I'm not following you. I simply meant: is the type in the DOS box as
blurry and bad as the XyWrite type?



Likewise,
I'm not able to find Lucinda Console anywhere or, for that matter, Clear
Type, 




As I said in my previous post, "It's in Display
Properties/Appearance/Effects. "



That is not a directory location, it is a sequence of steps within
Display Properties--which you've already seen, since you've tried setting
resolutions.





 

But after reading your
comment below, I'm convinced you're absolutely right: Since I can't get
the "native"1400 x 900 pixel resolution that Dell's CD
instructions cited, this monitor just isn't going to work for me, no
matter how much I tinker w/ it.

 

So, given my system's
apparent limitations (no Lucinda, no Clear Type, etc.), and its specs (a
Millennium with Xywrite III Plus, Version 3.56), what should I look for
in a new monitor? I did try each of the resolutions and they were all
worse than the best one I can get: 1280x800. Should I look for a monitor
that lists one of the resolutions that I do have? (The full list in
order: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x800, 1280x1024)


Yes, but first try Lucida Console--it's there on your machine. Just keep
trying to follow Flash's screenshots.



 

I would prefer an LCD
(more desk space and less radiation than a CRT--though maybe that's no
longer true?) If anyone can recommend a specific model to try, that'd be
great. Especially if you find it works on an
ME.


Wait till you can give Lucida (not Lucinda) Console a try. Again, launch
Xy. If necessary, use alt-Enter to get Xy running in a window on your
desktop, not full screen. Right click on the Title Bar (which runs across
the extreme top of the Xy window). Choose Properties, then choose Font.
You should see Lucida Console as the top choice in a little white field.
Select it, and choose a type size. (I use 16pt). Ok it, and choose either
of the options that then pop up (Apply to this window only vs. all 
of this title)--it makes little difference which you choose. Then how
does the type look with Lucida?



 

If they no longer make
monitors that jibe with the ME's available
resolutions,


Resolution has nothing to do with ME. ME is software. Available
resolutions is determined by hardware--specifically your graphics
adapter.



 then
will the graphic adaptor make everything look normal? You said, Harry,
"if I want to spring for it." How many hundreds are we talking
about?


I'm having a hard time finding them on the web. I find lots of graphics
cards, but they either don't say what res they support or they don't
include 1440 x 900 (I think its 1440 not 1400).



Here's another tack: does your *monitor* allow you to adjust to make it
not widescreen? I know TVs generally allow you to have the two black
edges without the extra wide picture. Check your monitor manual and any
buttons on the monitor itself.





 

Thank you
all,

Leslie

 

----- Original Message -----
From: mailto:hb@xxxxxxxx
To:
xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 12:13 AM
Subject: Re: New monitor/bad resolution




Leslie,




It sounds like your problem is that you can't set the new monitor to
its "native" (preferred) resolution. I've seen the phenomenon
before--fat letters, thin letters, blurry letters. It goes away if you
get the right resolution. Try lots of different resolution settings under
Display Properties/Settings. If it really needs 1400 x 900 and you can't
get, or don't want to spring for, a graphic adapter for your Dell that
will supply 1400 x 900, then don't use this monitor.




Wrong resolution is no doubt the basic cause of your problem. But in
addition, if you get that solved, there are tweaks:




1. Turn on Clear Type. It's in Display Properties/Appearance/Effects.
It will improve everything, Windows and Dos alike. But it's like a 30%
improvement--noticeable, welcome, but not on the level of getting the
resolution right.




2. If you are running Xy in a Window, I strongly advise using Lucida
Console. Follow Flash's screenshots, "Step 1" and "Step
2."




How does the regular C: prompt (MS-DOS) box look on your
system?




Otherwise, using Tame would raise Xy up to whatever imperfect level
your windows programs have.
Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx




Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx