Our TV set was broken, and when my dad went to have it repaired, he was first suggested to buy a new one instead. The sales clerk basically told him that it’s outdated anyway, not being 16:9.

Fortunately, my dad doesn’t let people talk him into buying stuff that easily. We got out (100 Hz, 4:3) TV set repaired at a different place, and cheaper.

Actually most TV productions are still at 4:3, so IMHO it doesn’t make much sense to buy a 16:9 screen, unless you are a cineast and watching DVDs every day. I don’t.

Where 16:9 strikes me as even worse is with computers. Why would you want a 16:9 screen unless you are watching DVDs on it all the time? For most people, the relevant sizes are 4:3 (photos) and their paper size (e.g. A4).

So if you are using word processors a lot, a 16:9 screen is just stupid. You’d probably be better off with a 9:16 screen, which could contain a full page and the edit toolbars. However, such a screen on a laptop would look odd, and probably be not too stable. But 4:3 works, and is better than 16:9.