The future is flat

LCDs are next wave in PC monitors

May 3, 1996
Web posted at: 7:50 p.m. EDT

From Correspondent Brian Nelson

PORTLAND, Oregon (CNN) -- New York Stock Exchange traders generally don't relish hearing the word "flat" in the same breath as the word "markets" -- yet what they're seeing all day long is, indeed, flat.

In the interests of improving the floor's environment, the exchange has installed flat liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, manufactured by Sharp Electronics, for traders.

"The space is at a real premium," says Joel Pollock, senior product manager for Sharp. "They're working in these small kiosk areas. And heat management and all sorts of issues are a big factor in such a space."

The LCDs use the same technology as smaller laptop monitors. Sharp is investing heavily in LCDs, believing their advantages outweigh those of the space-hogging cathode ray tube displays, or CRTs, that most computer users are familiar with. (459K QuickTime movie)

Super-slim LCDs are so flat they can hang on a wall -- and one day they may. Moreover, transistors in the "active matrix" display boost picture quality to as good, or even better, than that of CRTs.

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And there are other advantages. A liquid crystal display saves energy by giving off little or no heat. There is no danger of burning an image into an LCD screen, and more importantly, there is no health danger from X-ray radiation.

"All CRTs, including your television set, give off X-rays," Pollock says. "These give off no X-rays whatsoever."

But there is a downside -- price. Sharp says it's dropping, but even a year from now, LCDs may still be twice as costly as CRTs.

Related site:

• Sharp Electronics

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