Mac-bound Retina displays will cost Apple a $92 premium from suppliers:

The screens DisplaySearch says are available that would be ideal for Apple's next-generation MacBook Pros are a 15.4-inch panel with a resolution of 2,880 by 1,800 pixels, or 220 pixels per inch, and a 13.3-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels, or 227 pixels per inch. Each would add at least 100 pixels per inch to their respective MacBook Pro models.

As a guy who is constantly trying to smear more code onto his screen, the rumor of a greatly increased resolution on MacBooks is a really exciting development.  I hate having less than 1920x1080 at this point, and the 1280x800 on my old white MacBook sometimes feels like a limiting reagent.  Sure, sure, if I did it all in fullscreen VIm with 9pt ProFont -- but I don't.  I use PhpStorm.  I use MonoDevelop.  I use Eclipse.  And I use Visual Studio 2010 too.  (And in all of which I do use with ProFont 9pt, I should add, trying to cram more on the screen. I'd use smaller term fonts if I could find one that's TTF and compatible).  Lost screen real estate means I have to spend more time scrolling, and that means less time with my fingers on the keys coding.

I can't determine if I buy immediately (my MacBook is two and a half years old, after all! (he said only partially tongue in cheek)) or hope to see something similar in a 13" MacBook Air.  But I do know I enjoy programming on the laptop, free of the desk, and I know that a more optimal resolution means, for me, lots more productive work. I know it's going to be a serious premium to buy the new 'Book, and it's hard to justify when the white MacBook still seems plenty fast enough. But I'm done. I want the monitor.

(My job before last was on a relatively low cost box with an older flat screen, and I was warned that if I brought in my own monitor, it might grow legs and take off to someone's house.  (No, really.  That's what I was told by the support guys.)  So I ended up bringing in an old Dell CRT to get 1600x1200.  With the dual monitor setup, I know I was getting more done, if only because our website had to be optimized for 1024x768, which was even less than the flatscreen could put out.  So code on CRT and view on 1024x.  Try programming on 1280x960 now and let me know what you think.  How did we do it before?)

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