Re: User Agents Do Not Implement Absolute Length Units, Places Responsive Design in Jeopardy

On Oct 26, 2011, at 10:04 AM, Boris Zbarsky wrote:

> On 10/26/11 12:47 PM, Brian Blakely wrote:
>> David, this is exactly why factual physical units are really, really
>> important and useful.  A screen that will be viewed at TV-distance is
>> likely a large display (e.g. a TV).
> 
> Yes, but the converse is not true.  A large display per se tells you absolutely nothing about distance.  Maybe it's a TV to be viewed from 18 feet, and maybe it's a wall-mounted touchscreen for a game (these are starting to appear in airports).  You just don't know.

Right. Another similar case is flat screen TVs being used as posters. I see these in department stores all the time (often turned vertically), and the viewing distance is often within arms reach or so.

Received on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 17:22:55 UTC