Dont just blame computer manufacturers (Score 1)

Be careful about who you want to lay the blame for on this transition. One of the major aspects of this is that the computer manufacturers do not manufacture the LCD screens themselves. Therefore, as the widescreen became more popular the factories were retooled to produce widescreen displays. The motherboards also have to fit, but with the screen change, the motherboard manufacturers do not produce motherboards for laptops in that form factor. There are always many different companies involved in the production of something as complex as a laptop. As a computer manufacturer, you can only produce based on what your suppliers can/will supply.