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Rating: 
Summary: Serious competition for the affections of Mac users
Review: For a while now, Apple has been the unquestioned leader in LCD technology, especially for Mac users. But that hegemony may well be coming to an end. While nothing quite "matches" your Macintosh aesthetically like a genuine Apple monitor, ViewSonic's definitely making your choices more complicated with monitors like this one. With basic monitor functions on balance equal to Apple's 17" LCD, the choice comes down to how much you think the extra 1.1 visible inches are worth, and how much you like to swing. You can swivel this monitor around on its x-axis, meaning you can be virtually anywhere in you computer room and still have a straight-on line-of-sight to the monitor. This is very handy when you want to sit away from your computer desk and watch a DVD. Apple's LCD isn't nearly so convenient to reorient. Nor is it particularly flexible when it comes to tilting. With an Apple LCD, you get one viewing angle. With the ViewSonic, you've got 20° to play with. To put it simply, ViewSonic gives desktop Macintosh users the experience of using one of the new iMacs--but with a much bigger screen. It also offers a more convenient connection for most G3 and G4 users. While some see an advantage to Apple's ADC connector (it carries both USB and display signals, reducing the total number of cables swirling around your desk), it has the disadvantage of not having much support amongst video card manufacturers. This means that if you want to have two monitors set up on your Macintosh, you'll probably have to buy an ADC converter just to plug in your monitor. The ViewSonic, by contrast, reduces the chance you'll need a converter, and lowers the price if you do. Where this monitor falls short of expectations for Mac users, however, is in its so-called "portrait" mode. ViewSonic claims you can turn the monitor 180° so that it's oriented lengthwise. The problem, for Mac users, is that the software that makes this reorientation possible isn't at all OS X compatible. And, according to e-mails I've received within the last month, the software company responsible is at an impasse getting it working with OS X. A solution will probably come one day, but for the moment, OS X users can't fully use this monitor. While portrait mode is available if you boot up under earlier versions of the Mac OS, it should be noted that this problem affects all ViewSonic pivoting LCDs. That fairly serious incompatibility aside, however, this monitor gives Mac users reason to pause. Since Apple's LCDs will never be able to pivot anyway, the (hopefully temporary) loss of that function in OS X isn't as big a deal as it might be. Indeed, with the way ViewSonic is expanding their LCD offerings, the competition isn't so much with Apple anymore as it is with itself. ViewSonic offers a whole range of LCD monitors with a variety of different functions (including the ability to share one monitor between two computers, or to plug an S-video source directly into the monitor) that you should probably research if you're considering the VG181.
Rating:
Summary: Serious competition for the affections of Mac users
Review: For a while now, Apple has been the unquestioned leader in LCD technology, especially for Mac users. But that hegemony may well be coming to an end. While nothing quite "matches" your Macintosh aesthetically like a genuine Apple monitor, ViewSonic's definitely making your choices more complicated with monitors like this one. With basic monitor functions on balance equal to Apple's 17" LCD, the choice comes down to how much you think the extra 1.1 visible inches are worth, and how much you like to swing. You can swivel this monitor around on its x-axis, meaning you can be virtually anywhere in you computer room and still have a straight-on line-of-sight to the monitor. This is very handy when you want to sit away from your computer desk and watch a DVD. Apple's LCD isn't nearly so convenient to reorient. Nor is it particularly flexible when it comes to tilting. With an Apple LCD, you get one viewing angle. With the ViewSonic, you've got 20° to play with. To put it simply, ViewSonic gives desktop Macintosh users the experience of using one of the new iMacs--but with a much bigger screen. It also offers a more convenient connection for most G3 and G4 users. While some see an advantage to Apple's ADC connector (it carries both USB and display signals, reducing the total number of cables swirling around your desk), it has the disadvantage of not having much support amongst video card manufacturers. This means that if you want to have two monitors set up on your Macintosh, you'll probably have to buy an ADC converter just to plug in your monitor. The ViewSonic, by contrast, reduces the chance you'll need a converter, and lowers the price if you do. Where this monitor falls short of expectations for Mac users, however, is in its so-called "portrait" mode. ViewSonic claims you can turn the monitor 180° so that it's oriented lengthwise. The problem, for Mac users, is that the software that makes this reorientation possible isn't at all OS X compatible. And, according to e-mails I've received within the last month, the software company responsible is at an impasse getting it working with OS X. A solution will probably come one day, but for the moment, OS X users can't fully use this monitor. While portrait mode is available if you boot up under earlier versions of the Mac OS, it should be noted that this problem affects all ViewSonic pivoting LCDs. That fairly serious incompatibility aside, however, this monitor gives Mac users reason to pause. Since Apple's LCDs will never be able to pivot anyway, the (hopefully temporary) loss of that function in OS X isn't as big a deal as it might be. Indeed, with the way ViewSonic is expanding their LCD offerings, the competition isn't so much with Apple anymore as it is with itself. ViewSonic offers a whole range of LCD monitors with a variety of different functions (including the ability to share one monitor between two computers, or to plug an S-video source directly into the monitor) that you should probably research if you're considering the VG181.
Rating:
Summary: Serious competition for the affections of Mac users
Review: For a while now, Apple has been the unquestioned leader in LCD technology, especially for Mac users. But that hegemony may well be coming to an end. While nothing quite "matches" your Macintosh aesthetically like a genuine Apple monitor, ViewSonic's definitely making your choices more complicated with monitors like this one. With basic monitor functions on balance equal to Apple's 17" LCD, the choice comes down to how much you think the extra 1.1 visible inches are worth, and how much you like to swing. You can swivel this monitor around on its x-axis, meaning you can be virtually anywhere in you computer room and still have a straight-on line-of-sight to the monitor. This is very handy when you want to sit away from your computer desk and watch a DVD. Apple's LCD isn't nearly so convenient to reorient. Nor is it particularly flexible when it comes to tilting. With an Apple LCD, you get one viewing angle. With the ViewSonic, you've got 20° to play with. To put it simply, ViewSonic gives desktop Macintosh users the experience of using one of the new iMacs--but with a much bigger screen. It also offers a more convenient connection for most G3 and G4 users. While some see an advantage to Apple's ADC connector (it carries both USB and display signals, reducing the total number of cables swirling around your desk), it has the disadvantage of not having much support amongst video card manufacturers. This means that if you want to have two monitors set up on your Macintosh, you'll probably have to buy an ADC converter just to plug in your monitor. The ViewSonic, by contrast, reduces the chance you'll need a converter, and lowers the price if you do. Where this monitor falls short of expectations for Mac users, however, is in its so-called "portrait" mode. ViewSonic claims you can turn the monitor 180° so that it's oriented lengthwise. The problem, for Mac users, is that the software that makes this reorientation possible isn't at all OS X compatible. And, according to e-mails I've received within the last month, the software company responsible is at an impasse getting it working with OS X. A solution will probably come one day, but for the moment, OS X users can't fully use this monitor. While portrait mode is available if you boot up under earlier versions of the Mac OS, it should be noted that this problem affects all ViewSonic pivoting LCDs. That fairly serious incompatibility aside, however, this monitor gives Mac users reason to pause. Since Apple's LCDs will never be able to pivot anyway, the (hopefully temporary) loss of that function in OS X isn't as big a deal as it might be. Indeed, with the way ViewSonic is expanding their LCD offerings, the competition isn't so much with Apple anymore as it is with itself. ViewSonic offers a whole range of LCD monitors with a variety of different functions (including the ability to share one monitor between two computers, or to plug an S-video source directly into the monitor) that you should probably research if you're considering the VG181.
Rating: 
Summary: high quality
Review: For one thing the base is heavy, which good because it's stable. You can adjust the tilt/swivel while the flat panel stays put
in its location on your desk. Everything about this model is high quality. The brightness is far better than my previous flat panel. Contrast is very good. You get both a DVI input, and an analog input, which is great for me because I have two computers (one with DVI graphics card and one with analog) and so I plug both into the flat panel and can switch back and forth. Remember to use the native 1280x1024 resolution, then everything will look very sharp.
Rating:
Summary: Fabo
Review: I can't say enough about this. It fits nicely on my limited-space desk and has a picture pretty enough to frame. And it comes with a frame of it's own, swivel and eveything! We have come such a long way in just a few years. It is a shame that these things are so dang spendy. It really isn't keeping-up with the Joneses, but if space is an issue, go LCD. If you want a great brand, go ViewSonic. I've been very VERY happy with this thing (and NO, I don't own shares in this company!).
Rating:
Summary: vg181 superb
Review: I own one and it is great. The clarity of the text is so good that most the time I can do without my low power reading glasses. I also bought an ATI card with digital output and that really makes this monitor shine. If you get an LCD make sure it takes digital input (this is important for razor sharp images). Not a single dead or "on" pixel anywhere. The contrast is incredible, and the geometry is excellent. At first it seemed the geometry was wrong. I put a paper edge up to the screen and a line on the screen was the same as the paper's edge. The flat screen is correct, the old tube was wrong. You get what you pay for. Confused? Check out the contrast ratio that the other LCD monitors have and then check out this one. The contrast ratio is what makes everything sharp and defined. The only LCD equal to the Viewsonic contrast ratio was one costing hundreds more. Oh yeah, forget about games on this LCD unless they do 1024 x 1024 resolution.
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