The LCD Panel vs. The Crossbow

Ev!LOnE was one of several readers to point out an interesting LCD stress test: "ASUS recently came out with Asus LS201 — a TFT monitor with a protective panel made of crystal-sapphire. What I didn't imagine was the amount of punishment that thing can take. Apparently some Ukrainians shared the same concern and went for a test." Translation not necessary, but some clues about the narration would be appreciated in comments.

Comments

DANGER!

[TheMiddleRoad]

Do not use this monitor when you are frustrated. Banging your fist against the screen will result in broken fingers.

Re:DANGER!

[A Wise Guy]

I never thought you can punch with finger.

Re:DANGER!

[Anonymous Coward]

Somewhere in Redmond...
Steve Ballmer clicks "Buy"

Re:DANGER!

[noidentity]

WARNING: Do not pound on screen with remaining hand.

Re:DANGER!

[Anonymous Coward]

What I want to know is how do you recycle it?

Re:DANGER!

[polle404]

in soviet russia, monitors shoot crossbowdarts at you?!

Re:DANGER!

[Anonymous Coward]

In soviet Ukraine, target damages crossbow bolt.

Re:DANGER!

[Takichi]

Well, obviously not with a crossbow.

Re:DANGER!

[elrous0]

Geez, did that thing come over on the rocket with Kal-El?

Re:DANGER!

[socz]

i could have used this monitor back in '96! hahaha

go away SPAM man

[Anonymous Coward]

that is all

That thing can really take a pounding

[hax0r_this]

I'm just throwing this out there so I can claim prior art when the sex toy industry patents the idea of using that monitor in sex toys.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[grolaw]

Can't patent sex toys - not patentable subject matter.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[MR.Mic]

Yeah, it has to be original and non-obvious.

Neither of those are applicable. Figuring how to have sex with anything is a task in which most mammals (and especially humans) excell, and if you can name it, there is a chance that someone has gotten off on it.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[grolaw]

Nope, sex toys are excluded as un-patentable subject matter (immoral) - the same class as drug paraphernalia

A "utility patent" must be "new, unique and nonobvious." In late November, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in KSR v. Teleflex -- the case that will determine what constitutes a "nonobvious" invention. We should have a ruling in the next two months.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[Anonymous Coward]

Somewhere there's a moderator who's drunk off their ass. Who modded this informative???

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[Skrapion]

You mean "useful", not "unique". It also needs to be unique, but that's covered by the "new" (or more formally, "novel") stipulation. I've never heard of a immoral patents being excluded, but it would be easy for a judge or patent clerk to claim that sex toys aren't useful. (However, if you have a good enough lawyer, you can claim that anything capable of making money is useful.)

The moral stipulation sounds suspect to me, if only because it would be even more subjective than the three patent stipulations we've already mentioned. On one hand, it would be easy to come up with medical purposes for sex toys or drug paraphernalia, and on the other hand, this is Slashdot, so you won't have to look very far to find someone who will claim that all patents are immoral >:)

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[grolaw]

"Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title." 35 USC Sec 101

Once an application is allowable in both substance and form, the examiner will mail a
Notice of Allowance. This terminates the examiner's jurisdiction over the file. At this
point, the applicant may take the following actions:
B) Pay the issue fee within 3 months (non-extensible) of the mailing of the Notice of
Allowance; or
B) Petition (with fee) for a deferral of the issuance of the application and show cause
why this is necessary. Deferral will last for a maximum of 1 month unless
extraordinary circumstances exist. If the applicant owns several applications that
are allowed and awaiting issue, he may request that all applications issue
simultaneously; or
B) Petition for the application to be withdrawn from allowance and show cause why
this is necessary. The fee must be paid if the cause is not based on PTO error.
After the issue fee is paid, an issued patent will only be withdrawn from issue in
cases of:
  ) PTO error, or
  ) Illegality of the patent, or ....

Title 18 defines criminality - and, drug, sex and obscene matter pursuant to Title 18 are one method by which a patent can be determined to be illegal, Google "inventions that can only be used for illegal and/or immoral practices" for a long list of resources.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[MR.Mic]

I must have an extremely drier sense of humor than I previously thought.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[srussia]

Thanks for the interesting info about non-patentables. I wonder if this class of products can serve as a control in a study to test the hypothesis that patents (and IP laws in general) actually encourage innovation.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[orclevegam]

Seems to be the contrary. The sex industry has always been one of the early adopters of new tech. It's because it's such a cut-throat industry, they constantly have to innovate to try to out do their competition. Anyone trying to cling to old tech quickly goes under, and anything new that's released only gives them a small lead before it's copied by everyone else. I would be very interested to see a timeline of when the first streaming video porn sites came out as compared to non-porn sites like youtube. I'd be willing to bet youtube came out after or around the same time as the porn sites.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[grolaw]

The "sex industry" sometimes goes a mite too far with technology. See this: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/clublove1.html/

This device is a classic example of unpatentable subject matter. It is also the funniest OSHA complaint that I have ever read.

Medical devices - no problem. Tools such as this one - well, it is illegal to use without meeting the OSHA bodily fluids protocol.

I'd say that the "industry" has been an early adopter simply because the profits are so high for the producers - and, certain male medications now make one of the major problems on set a thing of the past.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[DustyShadow]

Can't patent sex toys - not patentable subject matter. If you are a patent attorney, I hope you don't give this advice to your clients. I suggest you read the recent Juicy Whip case. This will get you started.

The PTO is not authorized to determine whether an invention is "immoral."

Also see this patent and this patent.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[grolaw]

And, do you take a patent prosecution where you know that any challenge to the issuance will be successful?

Juicy Whip is inapposite to that issue. In fact, it is a wholly specious argument.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[DustyShadow]

n late November, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in KSR v. Teleflex -- the case that will determine what constitutes a "nonobvious" invention. We should have a ruling in the next two months. Am I missing something? Did this case go back to the Supreme Court? This was heard November 2006 and the decision was released in the spring of 2007. You aren't a lawyer are you?

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[DustyShadow]

Obviously you should not advise a client to patent an invention that is illegal to use. I'm not convinced by your immorality argument, however. Courts haven't used that doctrine for close to 100 years. Juicy Whip is on point and is the leading case taught on this issue to patent law students.

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[RockDoctor]

Nope, sex toys are excluded as un-patentable subject matter (immoral)

Sex toys are un-patentably immoral, while gatling guns and nuclear weapons are not?

[/self cannot understand the things people, or politicians, do]

As for patenting my drug paraphernalia ... well I do the design work then come up with some other slightly plausible use for my new design of bong. Problems solved. "That's not a bong, Ossifer, that's a nebuliser for treating my cough."

Re:That thing can really take a pounding

[grolaw]

Nuclear weapons are patentable subject matter - but they are confidential.

We wouldn't want somebody of "ordinary skill" in the field able to make and use the invention in the best mode from the patent, now would we?

Soviets...

[jemenake]

"In soviet union, monitor shoots crossbow". I loved how bent-over the bolt-tips were afterward. Next, there'll be a video of someone using one of those monitors to bash open a Master lock or something.

Re:Soviets...

[kiatoa]

That crossbow was pretty weak. I'm guessing maybe a 50lb pull or so. I had an (also rather weak) 90lb bow that required holding one end with your foot and pulling with both hands. None the less still a pretty impressive material to withstand even a weak crossbow bolt.

Re:Soviets...

[cheater512]

It bent the tip of the bolt. What more could you ask for?

Re:Soviets...

[Anonymous Coward]

What was the tip made of? Some metals bend pretty easily. They should do it again with a diamond tipped bolt.

Re:Soviets...

[Mr. Jaggers]

Maybe the same stuff the HAMMER was made of? Maybe not.

some of the youtube comments are funny..

[oedneil]

ordodk (2 hours ago) Show Hide Marked as spam +6 Poor comment Good comment Reply | Spam I am getting a couple of these! The last four monitors I had was pierced by crossbow bolts.

Crossbow Strength

[QMalcolm]

That crossbow seemed pretty weak. I've seen compound bows and crossbows shoot arrows through some pretty dense stuff. But it did bend the tips so who knows.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[wizardforce]

That crossbow seemed pretty weak.

even so, you probably wouldn't want this to happen your your flat screen monitor and that's the point, by the looks of it, this monitor is *better* at withstanding abuse in comparison to the average one most people would be buying.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[dvice_null]

Yeah. You only need to get attacked by a crossbow about 5 times and that monitor has paid itself off.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[badfrog]

I agree, it looked like he required no effort at all to pull it back.

I'd like to see it hit with a 175lb crossbow!

Re:Crossbow Strength

[John Miles]

That looked a lot like the handmade crossbows fabricated by "Iolo the Bard," a well-known SCA figure in Austin circa 1990 (and inspiration for the character of Iolo in the Ultima games.)

Iolo's bows weren't made to be competitive with modern polonium-doped nanocrystalline bolt launchers or whatever, but to recall the craft of medieval weaponsmiths. Still more than enough to shoot your eye out with.

I agree with the other poster who suggested that these LCDs are coming to police riot shields near you. That's just too cool an idea to pass up. Shove enough images of flowers and frolicking puppies in their faces, and the Black Bloc crowd will surrender without a fight, right?

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Hillview]

The tips could have easily been bent by that shot, even by a weak crossbow as it appears was used here.. if they were first annealed. From the glance at the quarrels in the video, they appeared to have been subjected to high temperatures at some point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_(metallurgy) Perhaps even made from lead or babbitt, from another look at the video. Hard to tell.. Regardless, though.. I am impressed by this demonstration.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Ian Alexander]

I agree with the other poster who suggested that these LCDs are coming to police riot shields near you. That's just too cool an idea to pass up. Shove enough images of flowers and frolicking puppies in their faces, and the Black Bloc crowd will surrender without a fight, right? Why show puppies and flowers when you can sell that space for advertising?

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Antique Geekmeister]

That crossbow is a sad, sad joke, the sort of thing you'd sell to an ignorant tourist or use in a target range for a child. Pulling it casually with one hand the way he did, with the crossbow raised, means that it has no more power than a child's bow. 30 lb. pull, tops, and thorugh the noticeably shorter length through which the crossbow accelerates the bolt, it's going to have noticeably less energy deposited in the quarrel or the bolt than a bow of similar pull. Frankly, I've got a stronger crossbow in my workshop, an old Sharper Image one-hand crossbow, that I've used on machinery I've given up on. (I shoot cheap wooden dowels with it, with a notch for the string cut in one end and the other end sharpened iwth a pencil sharpener.)

It makes me wonder how they skewed the other tests: the deep red background that the screen displayed, for example, will tend to hide scratches or even the marker that the girl used on it and wiped off.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Bandman]

I think that you are, somehow, missing the point.

I don't give a damn how strong the crossbow is. He shot it at the monitor and it bounced off

Re:Crossbow Strength

[An Extremely Fatal E]

I agree with the last part because if you look closely at the slow motion reaction shot of the crossbow hit, you can see dents (light reflection) from where the previous hammer hits and the like took place. And I don't really see the utility of the marker tests; my monitor could stand up to being drawn on with a marker, long as I have some Windex nearby before it dries.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[dhasenan]

Medieval weaponsmiths were paid to produce stuff that could punch through scale mail. That? It'd be a terrible bruise.

I could shoot out someone's eye with that, but I could do it with a compound bow with a fifteen pound draw.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Frnknstn]

I totally agree with your post, except for the general sentiment of it, your implied conclusions, and almost every single point you tried to make.

I guess that means I didn't really agree with you much.

Well, why not take your best crossbows and your superior bows and fire them at your own LCD screens and compare your results? You can use any background color you like.

You may need someone to help you aim, as your vision might not be as good as you think, otherwise you may have noticed some other things in that video. Things like the part where the marker is removed from a part of the screen that was displaying white, not red. Or perhaps the part where the same bolts that were able to disable the screen penetrate a half-inch into a sheet of wood. Or perhaps the part where the screen is struck with a hammer.

According to you, this screen fared poorly as "the deep red background that the screen displayed, for example, will tend to hide scratches". Seriously, try these tests yourself. See if any color except black will hide the scratches on your monitors.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Anonymous Coward]

Medieval weaponsmiths were paid to produce stuff that could punch through scale mail. That? It'd be a terrible bruise.

There was no such thing as "scale mail". Scale armor and maille are two different things. Do some more research and try again.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[ozmanjusri]

Shove enough images of flowers and frolicking puppies in their faces, and the Black Bloc crowd will surrender without a fight, right?

...and if that doesn't work, there's always goatse, tubgirl and lemonparty?

Re:Crossbow Strength

[mobby_6kl]

> That crossbow seemed pretty weak.

Well, duh. Of course it's weak, and feeble. It's the Ukrainian crossbow after all. Still, the monitor was a sitting duck in this case, I'm sure they could really put the hurt on it with a 9mm.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[HunkirDowne]

Missing the point? I think the arrows are now missing their points.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[metallik]

That looked a lot like the handmade crossbows fabricated by "Iolo the Bard," a well-known SCA figure in Austin circa 1990 (and inspiration for the character of Iolo in the Ultima games.)

Except that Iolo-the-Ultima-character was around back in 1980. Ultima (the original game - not sure if he appeared in Akalabeth).

Perhaps that inspiration went the other way? Or is your date off?

Re:Crossbow Strength

[HunkirDowne]

Scratch sapphire? With sapphire being #9 on the Mohs hardness scale... not going to happen (except with a ruby, another sapphire, or of course a diamond). Maybe silicon carbide if you believe a certain wiki. Incidentally, the "transparent aluminum" tag isn't too far off. Never thought about sapphire during, what was it, ST-4 ?

Re:Crossbow Strength

[dreddnott]

Iolo the bard says: "Ho eyo he hum!"

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Torvaun]

You can see that the monitor was dented by the crossbow by looking at the reflections. Still, my monitors would have exit wounds, so it's still pretty impressive.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[servognome]

That crossbow is a sad, sad joke, the sort of thing you'd sell to an ignorant tourist or use in a target range for a child. Pulling it casually with one hand the way he did, with the crossbow raised, means that it has no more power than a child's bow. 30 lb. pull, tops, and thorugh the noticeably shorter length through which the crossbow accelerates the bolt, it's going to have noticeably less energy deposited in the quarrel or the bolt than a bow of similar pull.

And in the end it doesn't matter how strong the crossbow is because it's the bolt that gave way. Just change the bolt tip with a hardened steel and it would probably easily crack the monitor.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[hobo sapiens]

"I'd like to see it hit with a 175lb crossbow!"
Haha, you'd have monitor crumbs.

But good lord! Take your monitor at home, a spoon, and a marble. I'd bet you could use the spoon to catapult your marble towards your monitor and bust it real good. That's one durable monitor!

Re:Crossbow Strength

[jhantin]

It's the same Iolo, proprietor of New World Arbalest.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[coldcell]

Top ad choice: Need a Lawer? Call 555-9370 today!

Re:Crossbow Strength

[jdcope]

I don't give a damn how strong the crossbow is. He shot it at the monitor and it bounced off

No kidding. A friend of mine had an LCD ruined by his kid...he shot an Airsoft gun at it. That plastic pellet bounced off too, but it did a number on it. Cracked glass, leakage, etc. He was pretty pissed.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Descalzo]

"Call Mike Maloney, Bail Bonds. 555-FREE"

Re:Crossbow Strength

[cavebison]

No no, this is a fantastically socially responsible idea! I'm excited about it.

Think about it - armed police issuing warnings that they will use capsicum if provoked, or are in "baton mode" or simply want the crowd to "disperse peacefully"...

There is so much violence caused by misunderstanding between police forces and crowds, this would be a wonderful idea!!

Re:Crossbow Strength

[gomoX]

Hardness isn't everything. You can break a diamond into pieces with a hammer, even if the diamond is harder than the steel. Hardness means basically that you can't scratch a sheet of diamond with a steel bolt.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Antique Geekmeister]

Yes, and if you take an old LCD monitor outside and throw a pencil at it it will bounce off too. And since the monitor display was a dark background color and we never saw the screen closely after the various attempts to damage it, we don't really know if it was damaged.

Holding together is one thing: not being scratched up, so that you don't have permanent marks on it, is another and is far more valuable.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Antique Geekmeister]

At 5 feet, thorugh a television camera? Try it yourself with an old monitor and a webcam. You have to get the camera up extremely close to see the damage, but your eye notices it quite well. And scratches accumulate.

Even my hand bow would probably have knocked the monitor off the table. I'd guess it would have at least twice the energy. Withstanding the sharp tips of those bolts is good, but given the obvious chicanery of using such a pitiful bow and the obvious pulling of the hammer blows, the demonstration is pretty obviously cooked.

Withstanding abuse is fine. But if you're going to marvel at "withstanding a crossbow", use a real crossbow.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[HunkirDowne]

Hardness (Mohs) is NOT everything -- I agree. But the demonstration with the hammer (in a way) answers the question of breaking diamonds with hammers. Although, if you notice, the screen is struck with the hammer in the center where the surface will have the greatest ability to flex. I wonder if the same result would be seen if the hammer struck a side or a corner. Depending on how tightly mounted the "glass" was, this may prove too much for this material and it may snap, crack, or chip. Nevertheless, this is certainly a durable interface. Pretty neat.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Nefarious Wheel]

Actually, the medieval crossbows were quite strong, and were designed to go easily through the 16 to 20 gauge mild steel plate the knights and men-at-arms used at the time. A mere 30 lb longbow at 28" draw would go through 20 gauge mild steel with a field point pretty easily too, I know this from tests I've done. But to compare the SCA crossbow used vs a medieval crossbow with it's hand-crank winch to cock the prod and 3/4" diameter steel bolts, well, not much similarity there. You'd probably be better off comparing the medieval crossbow to a fairly large bore pistol, say 357 mag with target loads.

SCA crossbows (at least here in Lochac) are designed not to hurt. They're pretty gentle things. I know this because I wrote the proposal to get the Victorian group on the police registry of legal sports users back when I was on the OziBoD. Did the research, documented our modern application and we restricted use to equivalent of a 30 pound draw longbow. With an SCA rubber blunted bolt instead of the um, somewhat malleable bolts shown by our Ukranian friends you might raise a bruise in re-enactment combat, just. No real physical damage to the armoured loons on the field.

I suspect a proper 250 lb prod crossbow with a period broadhead bolt would do serious damage to whatever was on the other side of that display.

Impressed with the display, though -- the hammer example was really cool.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[It'sYerMam]

The point is that if they actually wanted to test its destroyability (as opposed to the likelihood of it being damaged in your office - a more a useful, but less fun test) then they should have used a more powerful crossbow and some kind of firearm; a crossbow you can just pull back like that isn't going to be a good test of destroyability although its enough to show that it's one tough screen.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[nickname225]

Here is a real review of the display http://crave.cnet.co.uk/monitors/0,39029456,49290999,00.htm Not quite so impressive...

Re:Crossbow Strength

[AdamThor]

I know what goatse is, but...?

Nevermind. Forget I said anything.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[torkus]

Scratched, maybe. But it DID NOT CRACK. That would have been plainly obvious. Scratches are annoying on an LCD but generally leave fully usable. Cracks mean it's going in the garbage heap (and you're going to the store to buy a new one).

Even a wimpy crossbow and soft lead bolt will deliver enormous pressure at the tip of the bolt on impact.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[multimediavt]

I was about to comment on how they used a rather wimpy (to today's standards) 14th Century crossbow. Of course, in the Ukraine that may be all they have. I think a modern Commando 2 similar to the one I used as a youngster would probably penetrate that thing. We used to shoot bolts through hefty Northern Virginia phone books. The whole bolt wouldn't go through, but the head would usually get all the way through. Sounds like a Mythbusters project.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Amouth]

yea same thought here.. i know what goatse and tubgirl are but lemonparty? sorry but considering that it is associated with the first two.. really not intrested in looking it up.. *shutter*

Re:Crossbow Strength

[phoenixwade]

Still more than enough to shoot your eye out with. not this time of year, it isn't a Red Ryder BB gun, after all.....

Re:Crossbow Strength

[xoff00]

Iolo is still around and making crossbows via his website, New World Arbalest - http://www.crossbows.net/.

I have a #4 (Flemish design, 15-16th century) with a 75lb prod. Great fun for target archery!

I'm unsure if he's still active in the SCA, however.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[xoff00]

His dates are off. Iolo the game character was indeed based off Iolo the SCA member who was a real life friend of Lord British, the author of the Ultima games.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iolo

Re:Crossbow Strength

[Neanderthal Ninny]

It is hard to gauge the crossbow bolt's energy and velocity from just the video. It is strange that tip of point was bent in such manner also I never seen that type of point before (I only seen the stuff if the US only). However that does appear to be an "weak" crossbow and it is pity they didn't have a ballistic meter to measure the energy and velocity of the bolt. Also the point of the bolt also affects the performance of penetration of the bolt. If you had a sharp broadhead hunting point it will most likely penetrated that monitor, depending on the power of the crossbow. Nevertheless that any monitor that take any type of abuse (weak crossbow, hammer and other abuse) is definitely nice.

Re:Crossbow Strength

[John Miles]

Perhaps that inspiration went the other way? Or is your date off?

Nope; that's the original "Iolo." He's been making crossbows since the early 80s at least, but I didn't meet him until 1987-1988. Good to see he's still in business (going by the link in the other post.)

Re:lets see....

[ScrewMaster]

You do realize that, sooner or later, one of us is going to find you and kill you, don't you?

Blendtec

[werdnapk]

Will it blend?

Re:Blendtec

[wizardforce]

in former soviet ukraine, monitor blends you

Re:Blendtec

[calebt3]

Too big for the blender.

Re:Blendtec

[nxtr]

No, no, you've got it all wrong!! The question should be if the monitor will blend in a blender made out of those monitors!

Re:Blendtec

[Slashdot Suxxors]

Thank you for the information. Without your astute observation, I never would have been able to guess that.

Re:Blendtec

[MBCook]

That just means the blender isn't big enough.

Mwahahahahaha

Re:Blendtec

[calebt3]

Exactly what I was thinking.

Re:Blendtec

[T-Unit]

Who modded parent??? Anytime any mention is made of anything Soviet, of the former Soviet Bloc, or remotely related to any communist organization, some *genius* feels compelled to chime in with, "In Soviet , s you!" Funny? No. Mis dos pesos (~$.2USD).

Re:Blendtec

[Anonymous Coward]

you've been here what a year or so and *this* was your first and only post? wtf?

Re:Blendtec

[The One and Only]

20 cents? Your opinion's worth ten times as much as ours?

Re:Blendtec

[Technician]

Will it blend?

It's too big to fit inside the blender. A better question is will it shred?

http://www.ssiworld.com/watch/watch-en.htm

Re:Blendtec

[BESTouff]

In /., Soviet Russia posts mod *you* !

hmmmm....

[DMoylan]

well if he can cock the crossbow with just his hand then it's not a very powerful crossbow. try a 90lb long bow and get back to me.

like that monitor though. wonder if it would survive a sledge hammer to the screen. i've seen monitors taking a few punches from angry windows users.

Re:hmmmm....

[avandesande]

A more powerful crossbow requires a winch to cock. A real crossbow would have gone completely through that piece of wood.

Re:hmmmm....

[KillerCow]

well if he can cock the crossbow with just his hand then it's not a very powerful crossbow. try a 90lb long bow and get back to me.

You must have pretty tough working conditions. We've never felt the need to put "ability to withstand 90lb long bow attack" on any of our purchasing forms.

Re:hmmmm....

[SuperBanana]

well if he can cock the crossbow with just his hand then it's not a very powerful crossbow. try a 90lb long bow and get back to me.

Try a compound crossbow and arrows that don't have wooden shafts and soft iron heads, and call me when the arrow doesn't pierce the monitor, punch through the wall behind it, and impale itself in a marketing intern.

It is pretty impressive that he can pound on it with a hammer, even lightly- that's far better than anything else...buuuuuut there were a lot of things going for the monitor that I noticed:

Wood is soft and compliant, as is cast iron (he showed the rather bent arrowheads)...and the crossbow he used didn't put that much force into it. Also, did you notice how floppy the stand was?

All of that adds up and helps spread the force of the impact over time...

Re:hmmmm....

[DMoylan]

a compound bow? well i have seen a person shooting a target and knocking over the target stand. it was a huge compund bow and he was not a small person. he used blunt arrows as they only went half way through the target block and could be extracted. sharper arrows went all the way through and ripped the fletches off the arrows. something like that would penetrate any personal armour currently available. that monitor wouldn't even slow the arrow down.

i don't think that much more power is needed to damage the monitor. the longbow arrows would be slower than the crossbow bolts but would have more mass. remember the longbow was used to penetrate plate armour with the right head and was used effectively for centuries against fully armoured opponents.

have to say that the video of that monitor resisting a cross bow will still probably sell asus a lot of monitors.

Re:hmmmm....

[thelastquestion]

oh, trust me, I've seen monitors taking a few punches from angry non-windows users too...

Re:hmmmm....

[Daltin]

Informing and subtle trolling. Nice.

Re:hmmmm....

[iapetus]

Really? It's pretty much compulsory round here. Ideally they should be able to withstand long bow and crossbow (proper crossbow, not the pussy one from that video) fire, and hold up well under assault with broad sword or mace. That pretty much covers the weapons we frequently have in the office. In a perfect world laptops and other field kit should be able to handle cannon and trebuchet fire as well, but those laptops tend to be a little on the pricey side.

Re:hmmmm....

[Antique Geekmeister]

I agree about the power of a typical longbow, or a typical crossbow. Compound bows are wonderful, but expensive and difficult to maintain in the field, so they're not a combat weapon.

There was a fascinating NPR special about the longbow versus plate armor claims. English longbows, according to modern tests of the soft iron used for their heads and tested against plate iron similar to that of plate armor, simply bent the tip and was deflected. What the arrows *did* do was go easily through chain, leather, unarmored bits, and horses when fired in an arrow storm, and knock armored knights off their feet. A decent English archer, who was basically a farmboy who practiced at least once a month, could easily fire 10 times a minute. The result was that very, very expensive armored or mounted knights were easily disabled by farmboys who could kill them from 100 yards away, then close in at leisure and use hammers or long daggers on the remaining knights.

Theh result is similar to that of RPG's versus a modern tank. Enough cheap RPG's will destroy any modern armor, the trick is to kill the armor before it can fire on the infantry.

Re:hmmmm....

[DMoylan]

> Compound bows are wonderful, but expensive and difficult to maintain in the field, so they're not a combat weapon.

i prefer traditional bows myself. simpler purer somehow. compunds are definitely more difficult to maintain (when a string snapped on a compound near me i thought it was louder than a gun shot) but the guy who trained me was in the irish army and when i asked he said that different special forces around the world still occasionly use bows for their ability to silently deliver either an armour penetrating arrow or a rope. the bows he said were compound bows as they were smaller and more compact than a traditional bow as they delivered more power per weight. it's not likely that would use a bow in a shootout.

i think i saw a very similar program about how even plate armour was built with sloping surfaces to deflect arrows. but with the arrows been used as the machine gun of the middle ages it was still possible for a lucky shot to hit square on or hit a joint or find an eye slit. either way that lucky shot make the rest of the armour obsolete.

as for the farm boy training only once a month. in tudor times:

The Tudor kings and queens encouraged archery . It was the law that every fit man over 24 should be able to shoot a target 220 yards away. They had to practise on Sunday after church. of course in ireland we remember when poisoned arrows were used very effectively against irish peacekeepers in the congo in the 'niemba massacre' during the 60's.

back to the monitor. it has no sloping surfaces and even if the screen resists the arrow i reckon the impact may still be high enough to damage the electronics inside.

Re:hmmmm....

[russ1337]

ummm, news flash.... you know those weapons you're talking about? the ones inside "your office" AKA - World of Warcraft? well, they cannot penetrate into the 'real world' (the one we all live in) - no matter what level Sage/Dwarf/wookie you are.


;-p

Re:hmmmm....

[iapetus]

I'm pretty sure those weapons are real, big, solid and fairly effective at causing damage. Is it a good sign or a bad one when the director of engineering at your company occasionally brings a sword to team meetings?

Re:hmmmm....

[lysergic.acid]

or maybe he just has really strong hands?

the world will never know...

Re:hmmmm....

[Arcturax]

Yeah but that bow would have torn any normal LCD to shreds. This can take a knock onto the floor or a thrown toy (childs or geek) or something that might happen in an office or home. Don't expect it to deflect bullets, but do expect it to take a damn good knock to the screen that would render any other LCD a piece of junk.

Re:hmmmm....

[DMoylan]

ummm, newsflash update...

in my office in the past year...
* 2 sets of bows + arrows. we used to go to an archery club 2 miles away from our work place one a week before the other nerd's missus had a kid. currently trying to find a club a bit closer to my home. great fun, very relaxing. and the people you meet are fascinating.
* 1 shotgun. boss holds a licence
* 1 .22 rifle. boss likes to target shoot.
* 1 air pistol. boss is an idiot who doesn't know when to stop.
* 1 crossbow. my brother was showing the other nerd here as he was thinking of getting one.
* 1 sledgehammer. i use it to ensure that disks that are thrown out aren't casually used to see if there is any info on them. very therapeutic, i heartily recommend it. :-)

Re:hmmmm....

[Baron_Yam]

Your post makes me wonder - has anyone ever tried putting a sharp steel 'x' on the front of a bullet to help it cut through body armour? You could even put a small amount of twist in to assist with rifling.

Re:hmmmm....

[Anonymous Coward]

well if he can cock the crossbow with just his hand then it's not a very powerful crossbow. try a 90lb long bow and get back to me.

Screw the crossbow, get harder bolt tips.
Reminds me of an experiment with hardened glass, where the professor bent an iron pick by jamming it into the glass... then he just lightly tapped it with a hardened steel axe and the glass exploded.

Re:hmmmm....

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

We've never felt the need to put "ability to withstand 90lb long bow attack" on any of our purchasing forms. Obviously you are not part of the military-medieval complex.
If you were, then you would have requirements for MIL-SPEC hardware.

Re:hmmmm....

[Warbothong]

Watch this space........

Re:hmmmm....

[Tablizer]

You must have pretty tough working conditions. We've never felt the need to put "ability to withstand 90lb long bow attack" on any of our purchasing forms.

Boss Hawg rekons dat dem arrow shootin' Duke boys are comin' ta git his 'puter.

Re:hmmmm....

[Antique Geekmeister]

Oh, good plate armor was built with sloping surfaces to deflect *everything*, not just arrows! There's no point in javing sticking out ornamental bits to catch a sword blow or a hammer, you want that glancing off if possible.

Re:hmmmm....

[Dr_Barnowl]

It would probably deform due to barrel acceleration. A shaped charge would be better, as it can produce a sharp stab despite being a stumpy lump.

Re:hmmmm....

[Cederic]

My boss has in the past mentioned certain members of the business and requested me to bring in my bow and 'sort them out'.

I _think_ he was joking. The bow's in the car all the time anyway, just in case..

Re:hmmmm....

[Cederic]

(when a string snapped on a compound near me i thought it was louder than a gun shot) Have you heard the sound of a 150lb longbow breaking at full draw?

Actually, the sound is nothing - your ears recover - it's the wooden splinters flying past your eyes and the knowledge that no amount of superglue is putting that baby back together..

Re:hmmmm....

[Anonymous Coward]

Douche bag. If he had shot it with a .357 you would come back and say something stupid like, "well let me see him hit it with a 25mm cannon, that was ONLY a .357" The guy smashed it with a hammer. He tried to drive a nail through it. The monitor held up. ASUS did a great job. Accept it. Of course you will be able to find something that will damage it. The point is that in every household in the world except for yours the monitor will never break.

Re:hmmmm....

[torkus]

Compare the surface area of a hammer (~1" dia = ~.8 sq inches) vs the arrow tip (~.025 dia - and i'm being generous = .002 sq inches).

The bolt will exert TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE more force in a given area the the hammer for the same energy. While it's a weak crossbow, i doubt swinging your arm will produce 400x more force.

Yes, it's not a scientific test and sure...a real crossbow/bolt would probably go straight through the monitor. So would a sledgehammer, rifle bullet, or tactical nuclear weapon. WHO CARES? I'd be happy to have one (ok, 4-8 in many cases) knowing Joe Trader won't be calling for a replacement when be bashes it with his phone on a bad market day.

Re:hmmmm....

[Desert Raven]

Wood is soft and compliant, as is cast iron

If the arrowhead was bent, it wasn't cast iron. Cast iron is very hard and very brittle. If it reaches failure point, it shatters, not bends.

Bending means it's poor-quality forged or wrought iron.

As for the wood, it's job is pretty much done once the projectile hits the target, doesn't affect the damage much if it breaks on impact. Though again, if it were of proper quality materials, it would hold together just fine.

Re:hmmmm....

[D4C5CE]

It is pretty impressive that he can pound on it with a hammer, even lightly- that's far better than anything else...

Which is the whole point of it: It won't have to resist more than occasional ellbow punches or accidents caused by ballpen-toting coworkers in a typical environment - all of which would (and routinely do) easily wreck similarly-priced conventional displays.

Few will worry that it might crack under assault by an even more powerful bow&arrow, or when facing an incoming bullet or truck with the LS201's name on it.

Now if only it was available in WUXGA (i.e. somewhat larger and at a resolution sufficient for FullHD) and with a more advanced panel than TN (the less glossy the better of course)...

Re:hmmmm....

[Kirth]

well if he can cock the crossbow with just his hand then it's not a very powerful crossbow. try a 90lb long bow and get back to me.

Yes, judging from the force he exerts maybe 10kg. That's about 18 pound for you longbowmen (because crossbowmen don't use pounds. ;)). So this really isn't a real crossbow, it's a toy. 13th-15th century non-metal crossbows are somewhere around 50-150kg, later 16th century ones with a metal bow go upwards, 250kg is not uncommon but 500kg ones also exist.

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

bring it on but while you are looking please feel free to take a look at this

if only...

[MarkRose]

I'm sure Big Blue would have love it!

Weeeeee.....

[youthoftoday]

... bounce. Perfect for anyone who gets their hands on one this Christmas.

Re:Weeeeee.....

[pushing-robot]

These displays should have a sticker:

Warning: Rebounding Wiimotes may cause severe injury.

I am in AWE

[retiredtwice]

While that left me agape, I keep having visions of police with these things strapped on the front and back flashing subliminal messages and doubling as bulletproof vests.

I do wonder how they do against a bullet (slow bullet like an ordinary 38), maybe you need to double them ...

Re:I am in AWE

[kypper]

It would be cooler to have mini video cameras on the back of the cop routed to the chest monitor so that it looked like you were looking right through him. In dark lighting that could be really interesting.

Re:I am in AWE

[pushing-robot]

It would be cooler to have mini video cameras on the back of the cop routed to the chest monitor so that it looked like you were looking right through him. In dark lighting that could be really interesting.

Assuming you were standing in precisely the right spot to see in line with the camera's vision, yes, it would be convincing. Otherwise it would look like a guy with a TV on his chest, and draw even more attention than no display at all.

Unless the system can project a different image in every direction, the best approach for active camouflage is not to try to precisely duplicate anything but simply try and blend in with the surrounding colors, breaking up the human outline. Essentially it would be just like regular camouflage except for its ability to adjust to changing environments and light levels.

Re:I am in AWE

[Bandman]

At the risk of giving ideas to people who don't need them....

How hard would it be to flash patterns that flickered at a rate known to give seizures, and just give the police forces polarized glasses to field them out.

Even coordinating a moving pattern among multiple units could be very distracting and make it hard to attack an individual. Three lines of police officers covered in LCDs that just display the classic "static" would be very effective camouflage from attackers on the ground.

Re:I am in AWE

[Anonymous Coward]

Make them man sized and stick them and a camera front and back. I wonder if a riot shield that puts out disorienting images would work.

Hitlarities face would work but might be cruel and unusual punishment.

Re:I am in AWE

[Jarjarthejedi]

Well as far as I know (not being a seizure expert) there is no rate which will cause seizures in everyone, and besides that would probably be deemed illegal somewhere along the way. Much better to program in some moving image so that the police look like they're moving when they're standing still, that would make the primary threat to bullet proof armor (high caliber long range rifle) hard to use.

There are way to many interesting applications for something like this...

Re:I am in AWE

[jovin6]

The guy in the video says there are claims of it being bullet proof as well. But then he goes on to fire a crossbow at it instead. Maybe they couldn't find a gun. Or a safe way to test it in case of ricochet.

Re:I am in AWE

[dbIII]

I do wonder how they do against a bullet

With bullets you want to absorb energy which is why something soft like a strong nylon such as Kevlar is used in a lot of layers. It's a bit similar to be wrapped in lot lot of layers of really strong bubble wrap to prevent damage and works the same way as if you hit a roll of bubble wrap with a sledgehammer - the stuff squashes and the energy is absorbed. If you wear something hard like a great big chunk of steel armour plate instead it doesn't work as well. You get a lot of energy transmitted through the material instead of spreading out so you would have to shock wave from the bullet impact playing havoc with bones and tissue. Thinks like tanks have layers of soft and hard stuff to alternately survive the impact and absorb the energy to not pass it on.

Re:I am in AWE

[ikkonoishi]

A bullet wouldn't scratch the screen because lead is soft and sapphire is hard. It would however most likely crack it and puncture through.

Running a diamond ring across it would scratch it easily.

Re:I am in AWE

[Anonymous Coward]

slow bullets ?

Not living in the war/terror zone that is the US I've not had the pleasure of witnessing bullets passing me by, but surely you don't get slow ones ?!? :-)

Re:I am in AWE

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be cooler to have mini video cameras on the back of the cop routed to the chest monitor so that it looked like you were looking right through him. In dark lighting that could be really interesting.

Actually, dark lighting itself could be interesting.

smarter monitor

[ILuvRamen]

I'm gonna build one with a built in crossbow so the user knows if they shoot at it, it'll return fire. That will prevent the user from damaging it in the first place. Don't build tough, build smart lol.

Re:smarter monitor

[Burning Plastic]

No need to build - Shop smart - Shop S-Mart.

Re:lets see....

[Gordonjcp]

Yay, a spam link. What a clever little AC you are...

what about firearms

[FudRucker]

shoot it with a .44 mag or a rifle with a 7.62 or a .50 cal sniper rifle :)

Re:what about firearms

[Hillview]

All this talk of shooting monitors only makes me think "High Tech Redneck". ;)

Re:what about firearms

[systemeng]

Somewhat thicker sapphire vehicle window armor (the same material) was shown to resist four 7.62mm rounds with no penetration two months ago. This was in the magazine Advanced Materials and Processes, a magazine of ASM, the Materials Information Society!!! see abstract at http://asmcommunity.asminternational.org/portal/site/ASM/AsmStore/ProductDetails/?vgnextoid=0271ad467ab86110VgnVCM100000621e010aRCRD

Hard core!

[fedx]

In most offices I've worked in your monitor just has to withstand NERF darts and the occasional hacky-sack attack. I take it Ukranian office wars are a little bit more serious with their choice of weapons.

Re:Hard core!

[LoganTheRed]

In my office our stuff had to withstand being pegged by a glowing rubber ball at high speed. Ah, I miss that job with random bouts of Australian rules indoor quidditch.

Good but..

[Anonymous Coward]

It's no titanium. Or is it? :)

Wow!

[Anonymous Coward]

What a great version of Classical Gas!

Re:Wow!

[Wonko the Sane]

I'm pretty sure it came from this CD. I'll have to dig that one out of my collection.

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll email you his address.

Cleavage

[fermion]

I guess we learn something everyday. Most crystals I have worked with cleave, so I thought, how is this possible. The arrow will at least cleave the sapphire. But aluminum oxide, apparently, does not cleave. Cool. Now I understand why it is used for so many things.

I agree with other comments that it seemed like a pretty lame cross bow, and I wonder of which material the tip is made. It looked soft. It is still a good lesson on the strength of single crystals.

Re:Cleavage

[speedingant]

Cleavage?! Giggidy giggidy giggidy giggidy, let's have sex!

Re:Cleavage

[rts008]

Yeah, I see cleavage on my monitor all the time, but it never seems to harm the screen.

Re:Cleavage

[confused_demon]

Sapphire is monocrystaline aluminum oxide with one impurity, ruby is the same thing with another impurity. It's been a few years so I don't remember which impurities.

However, I do remember that it has a hardness of something like 9.2. Which means that it takes a diamond to scratch it.

My guess is that that monitor will take punishment, but when you go past it's limit it will shatter. However, it's limit might be something like a bullet or being driven on by a car.

Re:Cleavage

[trooper9]

Most of the Crystal cleavage I've had dealings with has been quite beautiful, firm, but never hard. This Crystal was quite impure as well as actually enjoying punishment.

Re:Cleavage

[timeOday]

I was amazed at the video, but I wonder if it could withstand flexing, such as sitting on a laptop or PDA? Also, though it seems pretty shatter resistant, how scratch-resistant is this? Might make a neat wristwatch from it.

Re:Cleavage

[the_povinator]

I'm confused about this... based on searching on google for "sapphire largest crystal", it looks like it's very hard to grow sapphire crystals above 30cm or so (e.g. see wikipedia article ). So how do they make it only $350? It looks to me like even small pieces of the stuff are darned expensive (e.g. see here ). Dan

Re:Cleavage

[the_povinator]

Update on this: based on the asus.com page here , it looks like it may not be sapphire at all - it makes no such claim, only that it has has a hardness of 9 (the same as sapphire). Dan

Re:Cleavage

[the_povinator]

Further update: looks like it *might* be aluminium oxynitride , which is similar to sapphire but can be formed into large sheets (and is not single-crystal). Either that or they are lying about the hardness of 9. Dan

Re:Cleavage

[the_povinator]

It may be aluminium oxynitride (see here rather than sapphire, which is too hard to manufacture in such large pieces (max about 30cm, I believe, and very expensive). Asus do not claim it is sapphire .

Re:Cleavage

[dabraun]

I think this is basically the same thing that has been used on good watches for a long time:

http://www.europastar.com/europastar/watch_tech/watchcrystals.jsp

Re:Cleavage

[iivel]

They've used this material for watch-faces for quite some time, and I was wondering how long it would take to see it in more consumer-grade electronics (specifially screen protectors for non-touch applications). I know that I'm particularly abusive to my watch which is why I went with a tungsten-carbide band/case with sapphire crystal face on my latest purchase ... I've scraped against concrete walls & smacked against steel supports with not so much as a scratch anywhere on the watch. Really, the thing is damn near unscratchable! Movado and some of the other luxury watchmakers have lines of tungsten/sapphire watches, and I'm sure some off-brands do too - well worth it in my book.

I don't get it

[dangitman]

They make a nice monitor, with expensive materials, and then they put it on a shoddy non-tilting stand? WTF? What an insane world we live in. Why the hell does anybody even make non-tilting display stands?

Re:I don't get it

[Lumpy]

Because most of us don't use a stand if you get a high end monitor. I use monitor arms, I could not even imagine wasting desk space with the stands let alone having to suffer with looking at them that low.

People blow $599.00 on a "premium" LCD monitor and then bitch about paying $199.00 for a decent arm that will outlast 12 monitors and give you real freedom. Hell get decent LCD arm and the speakers are even off the desk mounted off the arms as well.

Re:I don't get it

[sheldon]

That's the nice thing about LCDs... There is a standard mount, and you can buy any stand you want.

Re:I don't get it

[dangitman]

Because most of us don't use a stand if you get a high end monitor. I use monitor arms,

I think you're kidding yourself if you think that most people do this, even most purchasers of a "high end" monitor. It is a distinctly minority item, even among high-end purchases. Personally, I do use a monitor arm in my office, but I'm one of the very few. And there are plenty of situations where a monitor arm isn't feasible or practical.

Re:I don't get it

[dangitman]

That has two problems - you have to spend more money, when they could have simply added a hinge for very little cost, that would suit most users fine. The other problem is the waste involved in throwing away more plastic because the display is shipped with an inferior (and often unusable) stand. We already throw away enough plastic crap, why add to that mountain?

Re:I don't get it

[Anonymous Coward]

Really, I'd better tell my boss that the 30,000 monitor arms we sold last year were fake and did not exist.

Companies like Moview sell them faster than they can make them, they have been back ordered because of demand for 2 months now.

Oh well, you know more than everyone else so it must be true. Lumpy and others like my company that sell them must be wrong. Thanks for telling us! I'll go burn all the money we made on selling them.

Re:I don't get it

[noidentity]

The iMac flat-panel has the best damn adjustment I've used. Too bad they eliminated it on later models.

Re:I don't get it

[toddestan]

30,000 is nothing compared to the number of computers out there. Are you really that dense?

Re:I don't get it

[dangitman]

By that impeccable logic, most of the world's photographers use Leica cameras.

Re:I don't get it

[SmokeyTheBalrog]

Well obviously because projectiles don't rebound properly if the display changes angel. Like, duh.

Re:I don't get it

[dangitman]

So, your reasoning is that thid display was made to have projectiles shot at it? If so, wouldn't a tilting display be better, because it would lessen the impact force, and help prevent the projectile flying back and hitting the person who flung it?

Re:I don't get it

[Tablizer]

They make a nice monitor, with expensive materials, and then they put it on a shoddy non-tilting stand? WTF?

If you shoot it hard enough, it tilts

Re:I don't get it

[SmokeyTheBalrog]

I was joking. And yes that is the exact reasoning behind my joke.

Re:I don't get it

[Anonymous Coward]

Why the hell does anybody even make non-tilting display stands?

It might fall and break?

Re:I don't get it

[sheldon]

Asus might see the target market for these as business, in which case they're going to toss out the in the box mounts in favor of multi-display, swing arm mounts, or wall mount.

Re:I don't get it

[dangitman]

So, why not provide them without ANY mount? That would stop the ridiculous waste, and possibly a couple of bucks off each unit. And I think the assumtion that all businesses use third-party mounts to be faulty. Most just plonk them on the desk with the mount they come with.

Re:I don't get it

[sheldon]

So is the premise that everybody wants a super duper mount that rotates, tilts, height adjusts and plays sodoku.

Going back to... the nice thing about LCDs is you can buy your own mount.

Re:I don't get it

[mcfedr]

so your saying that comment was nothing more than a cleaverly disguised advert for moniter arms, which you happen to sell?

Re:I don't get it

[OverlordQ]

They make a nice monitor, with expensive materials, and then they put it on a shoddy non-tilting stand? WTF? What an insane world we live in. Why the hell does anybody even make non-tilting display stands?

BZZZZZZZZZZZZT Dont know why this got modded insightful, might do some research first fucktard.

Doesn't have much but has a +20 to -5 degree tilt range.

cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[caferace]

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/monitors/0,39029456,49290999,00.htm

One such product is the Asus LS201 -- a TFT monitor with a protective panel made of crystal-sapphire. Our Asus rep says not only is it scratch-proof, but it's also 'punch-proof'. We were dared to hit it as hard as we could and told it wouldn't break.

Never ones to shirk from a challenge, we formed an orderly queue and gleefully punched the hell out of our first LS201 sample. Unfortunately one of our punchers was wearing a ring, and the offending jewellery left a 2cm scratch on the supposedly scratch-proof monitor.

Asus sent us a replacement and politely asked us to remove any jewellery before we let rip. We duly obliged, but instead of emerging unscathed, the LS201 developed a small, unidentifiable blemish below the protective panel. It wasn't a scratch or a dent -- it looked more like a small piece of fluff.

Our verdict: the LS201 will not shatter into a million pieces when punched (don't try this at home). It's therefore ideal if you're the type of person who likes to attack inanimate objects, or just drop blameless pieces of technology. But it's most definitely not scratch-proof -- we don't care what the stickers say.

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[Zironic]

About the jewelry, it was most likely diamond or another saphire, makes sense that that would scratch it. However it should resist all kinds metals.

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[rolfwind]

Sapphire Crystal has a hardness of 9 on the mohs scale -- it's hard to scratch. I assume that the piece of jewelry of had a diamond -- the hardest natural substance known. They may be other stones, that scratched it, but not many.

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[MMC Monster]

Reminds me of the commercial about the detergent that would get any stain out of carpeting, or your money back. Someone sent in a swatch of carpet "stained" by battery acid. They made a print add out of it about a decade ago. (Sorry, I can't remember the name of the product.)

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[rossifer]

My wedding ring is Tungsten Carbide. 9.5 on the Mohs scale. I'm pretty sure the sapphire screen would acquire a scratch.

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[TjOeNeR]

He/She was propably wearing a diamond ring, that's the only thing that can scratch those sapphire things...

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[Zironic]

The saphire crystal is 9 so yes anything equal or above that will scratch it.

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[It'sYerMam]

Hardly surprising; diamond is used to cut the stuff into slices, so a diamond ring will scratch it. If it wasn't a ring with some hard gemstone in it, then it would be puzzling.

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Diamond is indeed a hard metal; but dragonforce is harder..

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[mooglez]

And this piece of jewelry didn't happen to be a diamond? or another Sapphire?

Re:cNet UK review. We scratched it.

[m50d]

What happens when you punch it with Dragonforce?

Not too surprising

[the eric conspiracy]

During the Vietnam war some US helicopters were using synthetic sapphire crystals for bullet-proof windows.

It's nice they have gotten the process cheap enough for LCD screens. Definitely won't scratch when you clean it with ordinary cleaners.

Re:Not too surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm... no.

Even today, no sapphire crystal is going to be more than a few inches across. Despite the marketing material consumed without question by the idiot slashdot editors and stupider slashdot readers, no-one is producing crystals large enough for a monitor even today. There were no crystals large enough for a helicopter window back in the 60's and 70's. Your story is not true.

Re:Not too surprising

[Alioth]

Forget LCD monitors, generally they aren't in very harsh, scratchy conditions. I'd like to see this type of screen protection on mobile phones. Most scratch so ridiculously easily just in normal pocket conditions.

Here's them firing a .50 cal at the monitor

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-2D9osn6yI

This looks like a job for...

[Hawthorne01]

The Box O' Truth !!!

Heck, if they can test ammo penetration on books, frozen clothing and bread, why not this monitor?

I'd trust a Ukrainian product review show ...

[Charles Dodgeson]

... as far as I could bribe them.

Re:I'd trust a Ukrainian product review show ...

[Ksevio]

So I guess you're saying you have a lot of faith in this review

Re:I'd trust a Ukrainian product review show ...

[Charles Dodgeson]

Oops. It does come out that way, doesn't it? Still, I hope that my point comes through.

Since I made my comment, I've read other reviews, and now feel confident that what's in the video is genuine. I would like to know how hard the nail hammering really was and why it was near the edge instead of nearer the center. But I no longer think that anything was actually faked.

Mason Williams's Classical Gas

[mosel-saar-ruwer]

can claim prior art

The Ukrainians' background music was Mason Williams's Classical Gas:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/clipserve/B000000ED3001001/0/

I wonder if they have to pay these things called "royalties" in the Ukraine?

Re:Mason Williams's Classical Gas

[gradedcheese]

and for what it's worth, he's speaking Russian the whole time, not Ukrainian.

Re:Mason Williams's Classical Gas

[Anonymous Coward]

and for what it's worth, he's speaking Russian the whole time, not Ukrainian. and for what it's worth, .ua is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Ukraine.

Re:Mason Williams's Classical Gas

[superdude72]

I've had that song going through my head all day, before I watched the video. I think it's because

a) More classical guitar is broadcast during Christmas season than for the rest of the year combined.

b) My dad always puts that record on for the Christmas party. I'm surprised he hasn't worn it out. It's older than I am.

Re:Mason Williams's Classical Gas

[HateBreeder]

In the Ukraine, Royalties pay you!

Re:Mason Williams's Classical Gas

[XsCode]

I'm pretty sure it was Vanessa Mae's rendition of Classical Gas to be more specific.

The Ukraine is weak.

[Pvt. Cthulhu]

With the hammer, he was definitely holding back at the last second of the swing. the crossbow was not all that impressive looking, i was expecting a modern hunting setup with titanium and pulleys and everything, but the 'weapon' he used was probably inherited from his Ukrainian dirt-farming ancestry. The bolt would have blunted just the same fired at my CRT. What i learned here is that Ukrainians are timid and have access to only the most primitive of arms. How are they surviving the onslaught of Chernobyl super-mutated wildlife?

Re:The Ukraine is weak.

[Nephroth]

Wow, you seem to be harboring quite a bit of rage toward the Ukraine, any particular reason for that?

Re:The Ukraine is weak.

[Pvt. Cthulhu]

rage? i was merely making assumptions on the Ukraine as a whole, based entirely off of a few minutes of a guy showing off a monitor. but honestly, you wouldn't see that kinda stuff in America, our crossbows would totally pwnz0r any kind of display device, as there is a market for strong personal ballistae. had we a demand for LCDs that could stand up to that punishment, we would have those as well. this would start an arms race of sorts between the crossbow and computer monitor industries, fluxing with the market. The Ukraine? They have no market, Russia took it. and the subject title isn't mean, it's a quote from Seinfeld.

Am I the only one..

[R_Growler]

Who parsed the opening credits as: "Crackpot"?
Until I realized it was a foreign alphabet and then I parsed it as "Cockpot"...
Apparently I need help.

Re:Am I the only one..

[daniel23]

It read like foxtrott for me.

Re:Am I the only one..

[Anonymous Coward]

And guess what - it actually is.

Re:Am I the only one..

[Romwell]

Yep, as the anonymous coward above said - it actually is FOXTROT, in cyrillic

Re:Am I the only one..

[Cyberax]

Yes, that's the name ("Foxtrot Electronics") of the company which conducted the test.

Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[Animats]

That kind of toughness makes real sense in expensive mobile devices. I was surprised that the iPhone didn't come with a sapphire or diamond screen.

This isn't exotic technology today. The typical supermarket checkout scanner uses sapphire or diamond coating on the glass. That's why it can survive years of canned goods (and, for Home Depot, hand tools) being scraped across the scanner. In the checkout scanner world, plain glass lasts 2-4 weeks. For diamond, the makers claim 9 years. The sapphire vendor offers a lifetime warranty.

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[Colin Smith]

Why doesn't the iPhone have this? Because an iPhone costs about $10 to make.

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[PWNT]

diamond is stronger (harder) than sapphire. Ergo diamond will last longer.

lifetime warranties are not a measure of durability, they are of economics.

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[cnettel]

That's not the only thing to take into account. As it is a coating, things like (off the top of my head) different thermal expansion coefficients and the thickness of the actual coating might mean that sapphire is the better choice.

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Glass at least is relatively heavy for a mobile device. The old Palm PDAs used to use glass. How does sapphire compare?

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[Dr_Barnowl]

I see this as sarcastic, rather than trollish. I'm sure the iPhone costs nowhere near the sticker price to manufacture. I'm also sure it's rather more than 10 dollars. I've seen an estimate at around $250 (for the 4GB version), which means they are selling it at a handsome profit even before you factor in network contracts.

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because you can't have a touch screen with something that doesn't bend?

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[sholden]

And of course development costs were $0. They put all the parts they had in a box, gave it a shake, and they formed an iPhone with the left over parts organized nicely in piles to the side. And the software wrote itself, during the shaking process.

Re:Why doesn't the iPhone have this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure you can. The iPhone has a glass screen. I'd be really pissed if the glass bent.

The iPhone's touch sensor is based on capacitance, just like a laptop trackpad. This fact has been widely reported and is the reason you both do not need a stylus and actually cannot use on with the iPhone. It's all finger-based.

Oh no...

[thewils]

It'll take all the fun out of Call of Duty 5 if they model the monitors after those.

It's fun shooting the monitors while the sarge is talking...

Re:Oh no...

[skinfitz]

Clairvoyant? Or just a typo?

This monitor is for pussies!

[TheMiddleRoad]

Yeah! What kind of weak-ass monitor can only take a couple hits from a 90lb pull crossbow? Shit, I hit my LCD with a 280b pull all the time. Just the other day, I put ten rounds with my 9mm into it. It's still standing! I put a youtube up of it. 50,000,000 hits in two hours. SUCK IT DOWN!

Translation

[Strange Quark Star]

First, it's Russian he is speaking, despite the commercial being Ukrainian. The only thing worth translating he says at about 1:00 : "The thing is, that the coating of the monitor is out of the ordinary. In theory, it should withstand extreme stress, some even say it is bullet-proof. That's exactly what we wanted to check. The monitor has survived the shoot, but since the manufacturer gave it to us for tearing apart, we decided to literally kill it. For this we have a crossbow and crossbow arrows." In the end he concludes that this is probably the most resilient monitor in the world.

Re:Translation

[Anonymous Coward]

Clearly it's not Soviet Russian, otherwise it would be the LCD monitor shooting arrow at him!

Re:Translation

[GottMitUns]

Exactly! Like 80% of his fellow Ukrainians he speaks Russian. But written commercials are in Ukrainian.

Listen up, Lenovo!

[n1hilist]

.. and put this tech into the next Thinkpad! .. with LED backlighting, kthnx

Re:Listen up, Lenovo!

[Valkarie70]

Or better yet, into replacement screens on current Thinkpads.

Re:Listen up, Lenovo!

[n1hilist]

That'd be the bomb, my T61 is perfect except for the sub-par screen.. ohwell.

Re:lets see....

[Walt Dismal]

Note to self: Ukrainians do NOT understand how to play video games. Rewrite instructions to say, when the game requires you to shoot someone onscreen, we do NOT mean shoot the screen. Really. Also tell the Poles there is a Delete key for word processing, and WhiteOut is not actually a good idea.

A far more rigorous test

[Blancmange]

Ship it across the United States and back using FedEx, in a cardboard box marked "Fragile."

Re:A far more rigorous test

[gkwok]

I think you misspelled "UPS" there.

Re:A far more rigorous test

[Anonymous Coward]

Haha. Well, the LCD monitor design is definitely a step in the right direction, but I wouldn't mind seeing it dropped from 6ft high, onto it's corner, and also subject to some vibration.

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that, sooner or later, one of us is going to find you and kill you, don't you?

Who are we going to find and kill? And why?

Why is your post moderated funny? There is no context. What are you talking about?

How are your comments related to the article? Are you frustrated with the monitor's creator and intend to find and kill them? If so, why?

Re:lets see....

[ScrewMaster]

One word: myminicity.

Click the Parent link on my previous post. He's been popping up all over Slashdot lately.

pure pwnage

[Techman83]

Finally an lcd that can take some of Jeremy's antics!

But the real question is...

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it Wii safe?

http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/show_cat.php?cat=2

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh I see.

Though I'm not familiar with that word. http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+myminicity and http://slashdot.org/search.pl?tid=&query=myminicity&author=&sort=1&op=users both come up blank, as do I.

Lol, I'm such a lazy slashdot 'reader' - not only do I not RTFA, but now I do not even RTFCs! - I just post randomly with questions like this that exhibit the flaws of the moderation system. I'm surprised you replied. I knew full well to click the parent link (and already have), but you see, I am on dialup and would prefer to see the entire thread in one go, which is not possible (pagination of threshold -1, nested is broken badly enough to render a thread unreadable).

I understood after having to load a new page in my browser that it was an obvious spam link, thus understandably moderated down, and your reply was moderated up as funny with no context.

Regardless, thanks for the polite reply. Much appreciated.

Paging Mr SuperBanana

[Tim C]

call me when the arrow doesn't pierce the monitor, punch through the wall behind it, and impale itself in a marketing intern.

Well I did it, but I missed the marketing intern - I think the monitor knocked the arrow off course. Any pointers?

Translations.

[UncHellMatt]

I found a book of simple Russian phrases to try and figure out that video. It seems that the announcer's record is scratched, and his hovercraft is full of eels. ...bouncy bouncy.

Re:Translations.

[RobFlynn]

This just might be the most random thing I have read today. You win one (1) internets.

Re:Translations.

[dysfunct]

Your geek card is hereby revoked

Re:Translations.

[Anonymous Coward]

My nipples explode with delight!

Re:Translations.

[RobFlynn]

Damn!

WTB geek card. :(

I need to get this for an old customer.

[SocialEngineer]

built a gaming PC for a guy who had serious anger management issues. Caught him punching his CRT once. Lucky he hasn't busted it yet.

Side note - That was a REALLY cheesy arrangement of Mason William's "Classical Gas" in the background. Sounds much better with classical guitar leading it.

Re:I need to get this for an old customer.

[Anonymous Coward]

built a gaming PC for a guy who had serious anger management issues. Caught him punching his CRT once. Lucky he hasn't busted it yet.

Side note - That was a REALLY cheesy arrangement of Mason William's "Classical Gas" in the background. Sounds much better with classical guitar leading it.

I think it's the Vanessa Mae rendition, actually. Yeah, I prefer the conventional guitar stuff as well.

Re:I need to get this for an old customer.

[Carnildo]

CRTs are pretty durable. A typical CRT screen is already holding back a few thousand pounds of atmospheric force; a mere punch or two isn't going to bother it.

Re:I need to get this for an old customer.

[nevermore94]

Punching no, but a former coworker of mine did take a good chip out of the center of the 17" monitor I was given when I started working here by jabbing it with a ballpoint pen!

Re:I need to get this for an old customer.

[sexconker]

Well made CRTs are in fact bullet proof (most hand guns, shotguns).

Glass however, is definitely NOT scratch proof.

Re:I need to get this for an old customer.

[greyhueofdoubt]

At first I was going to gloat over what seemed like a stupid thing- that a CRT is holding back thousands of pounds of pressure. Then I did the math (on a very simplified pyramid-shaped crt model) and found that a 19" screen would hold back about 16,000 pounds (assuming that the crt is a perfect vacuum). So, you were right.

OTOH, that only represents 14.7 psi over the surface area of the crt; aerosol cans made of .010" steel can withstand much more pressure.

Interesting.

-b

Re:lets see....

[mustafap]

>Lol, I'm such a lazy slashdot 'reader' - not only do I not RTFA, but now I do not even RTFCs! - I just post randomly with questions like this that exhibit the flaws of the moderation system.

No, I'd say you are a perfectly normal user. An uncanny description really.

Re:lets see....

[dieth]

Ok guys, I hate the myminicity-com guy too. This is made by a french company called Motion Twin. You can email them at contact@motion-twin.com . This idiots myminicity is called fohootville. Diluge this address, maybe even their http://support.motion-twin.com/ website. With requests that this asshole be tarred/featered, burned at the stake, shot X number of times, where X is the number of posts he's made. And to request the cancellation of his account. I'll probably be trying to troll this message under each of his posts sorry for that :(

Re:lets see....

[novakyu]

I just have fohooCOWtville.myminicity.com (remove herbivore) blocked in my Privoxy setup. It certainly reduces fear of these nasty links.

And, oh yes, if there's a fund setup to catch and kill these bastards, I fully support it.

Or just DDOS ripway.com (or is it h1.ripway.com), I guess.

The Obvious Question

[dynamo]

I just have to know -- Will It Blend?

Also has atmosphere...

[CSdread]

From the Asus website:

"The unique Light-in-Motion LED lights on the base of the ASUS LS201 create a soothing effect and distinct feel to the atmosphere while in operation. A rational blue light is activated to accompany you while power on, and an orange glow signals that the monitor is in standby mode. It perfectly combines technology with human feelings to look after both functionality and decoration."

Transparent aluminum

[sakdoctor]

Sapphire is actually transparent aluminium ... er, well aluminium oxide anyway.
Just as good for transporting whales I assure you.

Re:Transparent aluminum

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep. Tagged "transparentaluminum", even before I saw this post.

Re:Transparent aluminum

[Fleet Admiral]

/. needs more people like you good day sir.

I want one.

[Ralph Spoilsport]

I could see this as part of an Apple "Toughbook". I'd buy one in a nanosecond.

Re:I want one.

[CmSpuD]

Y'mean Panasonic Toughbook, surely? Those things are oh so very purty, and from what I hear quite good for pushing down stairs instead of slinkies and old people.

Re:I want one.

[Anonymous Coward]

Too bad the display isn't the weakest piece on a Macbook. It's the hinge that attaches it to the body of the computer.

Re:lets see....

[AMSRay]

Looks like someone got him, the site is down at 8:40 PM EST

Because it's a touch-screen

[argent]

Because the plastic sensor layer on top of the glass won't be protected.

Re:Because it's a touch-screen

[Anonymous Coward]

What plastic sensor layer?

Oh. You mean the resistive touchscreen layer that the iPhone doesn't use? The iPhone's touch sensor is based on capacitance, just like a laptop trackpad. This fact has been widely reported and is the reason you both do not need a stylus and actually cannot use on with the iPhone. It's all finger-based.

Really, the metal ring around the display is what picks up scratches for me.

This can only end in tragedy...

[TheRon6]

Huh... so they're making computers crossbow-proof now... I can't help but wonder, are they *TRYING* to make it easier for the robots when they decide to revolt or are people just stupid???

crossbow+1

[bumby]

Resisting a normal arrow from a crossbow is nice and all, but how does it handle a fire arrow from a crassbow+1?

Re:crossbow+1

[shutdown -p now]

No. It's Damage Reduction 5/+1 only, not Damage Resistance: Piercing. It has Damage Immunity: Cold 100% though.

Re:crossbow+1

[Anonymous Coward]

And now for a super-nerdy nitpick: inanimate objects have hardness, not DR! (and cold does 1/4 normal damage to them automatically)

Because Apple wants you to pay 4 replacement [n/t]

[mobby_6kl]

4 == "for" for space reasons

Re:OK, you win.

[Anonymous Coward]

I love your sig. Nothing says "I'm an annoying zealot" like that dollah sign.

something easier...

[DragonTHC]

I'll just aim my crossbow for the fleshy part in front of the monitor. problem solved! ;p

Needs a Touchscreen

[VeteranNoob]

After watching the video, I can say that it's quite a nice monitor. All it's missing is a touchscreen.

Can you imagine the manly ora you would put off whilst using the crossbow to click things? I suppose you would need a good supply of arrows, however.

Not strong enough

[aflag]

Is it bullet proof? Only then I'll feel safe enough to play quake. I always feared a bullet missing my character and going right through my monitor!

Re:Not strong enough

[kalirion]

According to the narrator, "some people even claim it to be bulletproof". But I guess they never actually tested those claims.

recycling

[meeya]

well when it comes to recycling, these can be used in Iraq as body armors.

not "down" but merely Slashdotted

[Anonymous Coward]

sigh.

Re:OK, you win.

[lorenlal]

Ahem - Vista *capable*

There are harder substances than diamond

[Anonymous Coward]

Ultrahard Fullerite and aggregated diamond nanorods are harder than diamonds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregated_diamond_nanorods

Re:There are harder substances than diamond

[Anonymous Coward]

Stay on-topic. Those are not natural substances, and certainly were not in the jewelry that scratched the screen.

But can it...

[madbawa]

...withstand a roundhouse kick?

Re:But can it...

[Deideldorfer]

From anyone except Chuck Norris

Re:lets see....

[quizzicus]

Is ripway his ISP or something?

Re:Now All I Need

[Anonymous Coward]

You're being modded off-topic, but I think you were making a reference to Limp Bizkit's song "Break stuff." But "Break stuff" wasn't on the "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot dot flavored water" album, it was on the album before it, called "Significant Other." Oh, and I'm posting anonymously so no one knows I know that. ;)

Re:lets see....

[bar-agent]

Heh, dude's got cojones, at least.

Monitor Arms

[Mark_MF-WN]

I just encountered these for the first time when I started my new job. Every desk in IT had a dual-monitor arm thing. Big ones too. Naturally, I was all like "now this is how business is done!" Turns out that only IT has these beauties. Even the top management has smaller, single, stand-mounted monitors. Or just laptops, sometimes without even a docking station. There's something sad about a desk with just a mouse and a power adapter.

Wii Have A Solution

[0rionx]

Forget fists...

Finally we have a display that's safe for Wii-users!

Re:lets see....

[novakyu]

Well, one of his redirects go to h1.ripTREXway.com/slashdot1000/index.php (remove dinosaur; Please don't go to the link, it redirects directly to his Minicity spam. I can safely go there because I have his minicity explicitly blocked in my Privoxy setup). He posted the direct link to that PHP script once, but I'm too lazy to dig it up again.

From this alone, we can't exactly say anything (he could have hacked someone else's account and put that redirect script there---after all, if he has real access to a website, he would do a real redirect with the HTTP server, or he's just that stupid), but, well, I for one am done giving the benefit of doubt. But perhaps DDOSing Ripway wouldn't do the intended harm. We need to find a server for which he actually pays for bandwidth, not a flat fee.

A few points

[MrGHemp]

My first thought is, why didn't the crossbow at least knock the monitor off the table??

Second, what about gun fire? It won't sell here in the US until it can withstand a drive by shooting... hehe

Nice monitor

[Cope57]

But, can it resist fingerprints from kids eating Cheeto's?

Scotty Wins!

[stox]

Transparent Aluminum, well, contaminated aluminum oxide. Close enough.

Transparent Aluminium

[flyingfsck]

Sapphire is the infamous Star Trek 'transparent aluminium', but it comes in many colours, from transparent to blue, pink or red (ruby).

Warning: MyMiniCity Spam.

[sethstorm]

N/T

Flesh Strength

[Anonymous Coward]

"Why show puppies and flowers when you can sell that space for advertising?"

A Johnson & Johnson Band-aid ad.

General translation of the narration

[Anonymous Coward]

Without doing a play-by-play, basically the dude says his show is about abusing household appliances. Then he says they did a few abusive tests, but since the manufacturer gave them the monitor to keep, the decided to try killing it. After shooting the first two arrows he points out that the crossbow is not a toy. That's most of it. BTW, he's talking in Russian while ads on the monitor are in Ukranian, and are something about getting credit :)

relax ...

[freaker_TuC]

... it's time for your medicine now ;)

You forgot something..

[freaker_TuC]

.. you forgot to include taxes.

UPS is not for shipping consumer goods.

[Blancmange]

UPS is for really advanced stuff like splitting the atom.

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

Spamming crappy links via AC is "Cojones"? You've got a different version of what makes a man than most people I know.

Chairs

[Teisei]

Can it handle flying chairs ?

Correct!

[pestie]

Yup, it was indeed Vanessa Mae's version. But mostly, I'm posting this so I can link to a picture of her and point out that, damn, she's hot. Damn, damn, damn...

Here is a translation

[Zeinfeld]

Been a long time since I used my Russian, here is a (very rough) translation

Welcome to TechnoDay. Is your monitor possessed? How can you tell and if so what can you do about it?

We took a standard LCD monitor that had become possessed after an all night LAN-party playing oblivion. (some discussion about exorcism I could not make out)

We tried writing (the exorcism?) on the screen in permanent marker. But the state of demonic possession prevented the ink from sticking, it just wiped off with a small amount of holy water.

We tried smashing the monitor with a hammer.

Research on Wikipedia told us that the only way to undo the demonic possession was with a silver tipped arrow. Fortunately I was able to win a crossbow on EBay, but the arrows supplied are steel, not silver.

You can see the power of the crossbow shooting into wood. Now lets try against the monitor. One! Two!

As you can see Wikipedia was right, if you are faced with demonic possession you have to go with the silver, steel simply does not work. We will try that next week.

Re:Here is a translation

[mdm-adph]

Hey -- that's actually pretty funny. :P (Personally I was surprised as hell when I saw those crossbow bolts bent like that. Guess you really do need silver.)

Re:Here is a translation

[Brian Gordon]

They were razor-sharp at the points; they're made for sliding into fleshy targets, not penetrating something hard. You could probably break it with a stronger or less thin tip.

Re:Here is a translation

[wertigon]

Incorrect.

IIRC Crossbows were actually created to penetrate breastplates. That's why we don't see any full-armor knights anymore - the crossbow (and later rifle) made them obsolete.

Re:Here is a translation

[Brian Gordon]

Well those crossbow bolts weren't going to penetrate anything. The tips were razor-thin, they just turned immediately, which would deflect the arrow's force/

Re:Here is a translation

[Zeinfeld]

Well those crossbow bolts weren't going to penetrate anything. The tips were razor-thin, they just turned immediately, which would deflect the arrow's force/

They would might have cut through a steel breastplate that was thin enough for someone to wear and fight in.

Synthetic saphire is really tough. I have a watch with a synthetic saphire glass and it does not have a single scratch after fifteen years.

But a true period crossbow required a huge amount of force to load it - 500 pound or more, more than anyone could manage by hand, they had a winding mechanism. A good bowman might have two or three winders reloading for him so he could concentrate on aiming.

Also a proper period crossbow has a bolt rather than an arrow. The arrows in the video were the sort you would use for target practice, not taking out a knight on horseback. The easiest way to do that being to take out the horse. Its a bit difficult walking about in full armour, take out the horse and you disable the rider. So the bolt would either have a quarrel, four sided head to allow it to embed as deep as possible in the horse flesh or a compact barbed head of hardened steel for armour piercing.

But its all irrelevant as today your monitor is far more likely to take a stray bullet from an AK47 than a crossbow.

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh, dude's got cojones, at least. What? "Anonymous Cojones" -- is that what AC stands for?
Dumbass.

You want to see cojones? I got your cojones right here.

Because it's not needed

[snowwrestler]

People are not dragging canned goods across their iPhones for 7 years at a time. The iPhone screen is glass, and properly tempered glass is harder than most metals, certainly most metals likely to be in people's pockets. I have one of the original iPod Minis, which had glass screens. Since I bought it I've kept it in my messenger bag pocket with my keys, pens, loose change, Leatherman Micro, etc. Over the past several years of this abuse the aluminum has picked up a number of scratches, but the screen has only picked up one tiny scratch in one corner. It has absolutely zero effect on the visibility of the screen.

The iPhone is a 2.5G mobile device with a soldered-in battery, that is sold on a 2-year contract. Plus it is expensive and most people will try to take care of it. Thus the screen only really needs to resist scratching from occassional light contact, for 2 years. Glass is plenty hard for that application.

Even worse - not recyclable!

[Anonymous Coward]

After all, how do you recycle something you can't break, even with a hammer?

crappy "review"

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a very useful review either- since we don't really know the details of how to reproduce the results.

No idea what sort of ring it was. No idea how hard and how many times they punched the monitor.

At least from the video we can guess that even if the guy didn't push the limits the monitor can get smacked with one of those hammers and likely still work.

Re:lets see....

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, no. Looked at from the developers' perspective, I can only see one purpose for the MyMiniCity thing, and that's as a way to trick and/or mislead as many people as possible into visiting their otherwise uninteresting website. (I assume that they'll have more advertising soon).

They do this by leveraging their "players"; getting them to post as many links to the site as possible, and by getting *them* to encourage others (non-players) to click those links. The way that they do this is quite clever- in terms of social engineering- they create a "game" which (very) superficially resembles like Sim City. However, the only metric for your city's development and health(size, population, etc.) is the number of people who visited your Mini City's website!

In other words, it's a piss-poor game in itself, and requires little skill beyond posting lots of links. It'll most likely appeal to children and to adults seeking a sense of achievement from doing something that requires little real skill (and who are too gullible to know or care about this). The clever (if amoral) part is the way the developers have persuaded all these otherwise talentless and easily-pleased people to do the donkey work under the guise of a game (which isn't, really).

As for the AC, I don't know if he's one of the people I described above, a member of staff at the company or just a troll. Going by the comments on his MyMiniCity page, it's quite possibly #2 or #3 (he knows what the site creators are up to), although #1 is feasible too (some people don't care that they're being taken for a ride, so long as they do "better" than the next guy).

ISR

[eneville]

In soviet russia monitor hits you

Beware

[eneville]

Folks. Beware, no doubt both the packaging and the vista cds will be made from this new material...

AT LAST!

[hack slash]

At last, we can code a realistic version of Wac-A-Mole and use real hammers.

What happens in 3 to 5 years?

[ratrancher]

When the fluorescent tube in these monstrosities burn out and start showing up in Landfills? While it may be a keen sort of toy to play with this is not exactly the most environmentally friendly unit I've ever seen...

Re:lets see....

[jacquesm]

amen.