[krb]

rather than the distorted 16:10 of most large screen monitors.

It's not "distorted" per se. It's actually a perfect aspect ratio for watching 16:9 content in a way that lets the user interface overlay controls not always have to be fading in on top of the actual movie (I hate it when they do that all the time!).

Then when you are not watching video content, you get a desktop that is actually the same aspect as the Golden Ratio, the most aesthetically pleasing rectangular shape.

I know that sounds weird, but the Ancient Greeks figured out a lot about that ratio and in particular why some rectangular shapes just seemed to "feel better" than others:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

Personally, I think the LCD makers have begun to make 16:9 screens in order to save a few bucks, not because it makes more sense.

[krb]

ping to the interesting Mac news and to the discussion of the screen aspect ratio.

[Swordmaker]

16:10 is close to the Golden Rectangle but fails by just enough to make it feel wrong. I prefer not to waste screen acreage with black bands. I think a 16:9 movie should be shown on a 16:9 screen. I only buy 16:9 DVDs and won’t buy the 4:3 “full screen” versions.