Bring Back Normal Monitors.

I had to buy a new monitor semi-recently.  This was a disappointing experience.  I could not find a normal (4 x 3) monitor.  In every store I looked in there were only wide screen (16 X 9) monitors available.

What the fuck!?  Are computers becoming toys now?  I'm sure that some jerkwad is saying to himself "but a lot of video comes in wide screen and I like the big panorama when I'm playing Killoshooto" or whatever.  Get yourself a TV and game console. 

Wide screens suck for doing anything with text.  Have you tried reading a several two foot lines of text?  You have to keep bobbing your head back and forth, not to mention the difficulty of simply visually tracking a line that long, especially when the asshole designer decided that some sans-serif font looked pretty.

For working with text, a vertical aspect ratio would  be best, something like 2^1/2 X 1, the same as the European A series standard for paper.  Unfortunately the this isn't realizable on laptops due to the need to accommodate keyboards, and it would be more maddening to have two separate standards, one for desktops and another for laptops.  So let's just go back to 4 X 3, it's a reasonable compromise.

I don't see that happening.  If the display manufacturers can shove one format down everyones throats they will.  It's cheaper than having multiple formats.  Bastards.

Of course another solution is available.  UI designers could offer another window sizing button - a "vertical maximize" which would give you window of (screenHeight/2^1/2) X screenHeight.  The designers of text based applications and web pages could optimize for such a display ratio, reading on-line is easier for everyone and peace, love and harmony will reign throughout the universe.

Yeah, I don't see that one happening either.