Pixel Creep

I was on the phone with a friend, trying to help him solve a Web design problem, and he said, “The client wants it to work on an 800 by 600 screen,” and I said, “What? Nobody designs for 800 by 600 anymore,” And then I realized that pixel creep had happened to me. That’s right folks, we’ve super-sized again. 1024 by 768 is the new 640 by 480. If those numbers are Greek (or geek) to you, I’m talking about screen size.
I teach classes on GarageBand and Soundtrack Pro at the local community college. We have video projectors and these things called Smart Boards, where you can navigate the computer screen from the projection screen. This is like magic except that the maximum screen size is 1024 X 768. This is the minimum recommended size for those applications. GarageBand is cramped but usable and Soundtrack Pro is practically unusable, as is Final Cut Pro. I have to wonder when it was that the software engineers all got together and said from now on, no applications under 1024 X 768?
I’m spoiled, with dual 20″ LCDs at the MacMost office and a 20″ iMac with another 20″ LCD at home, but I gotta feel sorry for you if you’re still stuck with a CRT that only does 1024 X 768. It’s only a matter of time before the minimum will be full HD 1920 X 1440, and CRTs and VGA will be a distant memory.