Re: BlackMatrix TFT Displays--Can you See them Outside or not?

[Randal Whittle <whittle@chaph.usc.edu>]

> >the display on my 755CE (black matrix) is defintely easier to read in
> >outdoor light than my 750C was.  however, it is still far from "easy" to

> >bottom line: it is an improvement, but not as anywhere as great as i would
> >have liked.

> Gee whiz guys, what do you want ?  
> 
> Ever try watching TV outside in the sun? You can't see that very well
> either.  Even the Sony Jumbotron in Times Square is hard to see in bright
> sunlight.  

	The issue isn't so much one of lighting as much as reflectivity.
There is so much *glare* on the screen its impossible to read.

	But for me, I'm perfectly willing to sit in the shade--but my 
750's screen is as bad in the shady outdoors as it is in direct sun.

	It just makes me puke when you see IBM ads with people and their
ThinkPads ("Use it wherever you think best!") sitting on a rock in the
bright, sunny mountains, happily using their little black notebook
machine.  Part of the reason I bought the dumb thing is to be able
to do something akin to that--but its impossible.  If it *can't* be done
then *don't* feed me something that is tantamount to a *lie*.  That's 
no better than the claimed battery life of 3.4 to 8 hours when *nobody*
on this list ever got any better than 2.5 hours with their 750's 
(except the mono people--their actual numbers were just about what the
marketing claim was).

> You're disgruntled because your display isn't bright enough to be seen
> clearly in direct sunlight, and in the next breath want the battery to last
> 12 hours.

	Nevertheless, why not a secondary backlight?  Could be turned on
in bright conditions for maximum readibility in sunlight, off for max
battery life (or just a brighter main backlight for everything--turn it up
in the sun, down indoors).  ThinkPads are generally considered to have
screens that are not as bright as their competition's.

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