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My Christmas Wishlist Monitor

lawn_ornament writes " I found something that will go to the top of my Christmas wishlist. A huge LCD monitor and it can do about 3840 X 1024 resolution. Dimensions are 43.5 " x 11.5" - 478 sq inchs viewable. The monitor looks great and it could be yours for only $27,000. " /me wipes drool off of chin.

123 comments

  1. I want! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want one too, time to write that letter to Santa

    1. Re:I want! by P1 · · Score: 1

      Can't Rob just put it on his expense report?

  2. Wow.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this shall revolutionize the online porno industry :)

  3. Site already down? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No comments and only a minute after the original article and the sites down? Come on :)

  4. DROOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    DDDDROOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL

  5. slashdot is evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the /. effect in action again!!

  6. Flatpanel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want one of those giant flat Magnavox screens that those kids hung on the wall in that commercial...

    1. Re:Flatpanel by pvthudson · · Score: 1
      Here is the list of their other products, who cares about a flatscreen when you could have the a panoramic projection screen. Talk about gaming action. Its some pretty cool and pricey stuff.

      --


      Its karma, Kramer.

  7. One problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Il have to also buy a step ladder to see stuff way up at the top of the monitor.

  8. Re:Christmas wish list. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    3. A sixer of Guinness. 4. A 24*PIII Beowulf to set my beer and nachos on. Guinness isn't beer!

  9. Re:Christmas wish list. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    3. A sixer of Guinness.
    4. A 24*PIII Beowulf to set my beer and nachos on.

    Guinness isn't beer!

  10. DROOOOLZ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am wiping the seamen of my pants now.

    1. Re:DROOOOLZ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you are drooling seamen?

    2. Re:DROOOOLZ by alumshubby · · Score: 1

      At least they aren't Marines.

      --
      "How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
  11. A Much Cheaper Way for the same effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We have had this sort of setup for our traders for years. A 4 port Colorgraphics card driving 4 IBM 16" Flat panels gets you a 5120 x 1280 resolution (and isn't that more important than the physical size of the screen?) This does however have a very small seperator between the screens compared to our setup. Using 19" or 21" traditional CRT's and a 4 port card, you could easily create this for less than 5K (but it would be hot and you might twist your brain on all the EMR - also you would need an enormous desk)

  12. Argh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The pixels at that funky-ass resolution are not going to be square unless the screen has a 3:1 ratio. The evil of non-square pixels must be stopped!

    1. Re:Argh! by Doppleganger · · Score: 1

      Unless I missed something...

      Since the screen basically consists of three screens side-to-side, doesn't that give it a 3:1 ratio automatically?

  13. Re:Christmas wish list. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What kind of sick bastid would put Kathy Ireland at the end of the list? And the NACHOS before the Guinness. I mean the proper numbering should be 1.Guinness, 2.Kathy Ireland,3.Nachos, 4. World peace, 5. Whatever

  14. Re:You must be awfully short. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thats what she said.

  15. Beowolf... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey! Let's put linux on these suckers and link 'em up to make a beowolf cluster!

    Hey, it'd be the best looking cluster in the world.

  16. Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's another mirror...

    Enjoy!

  17. *My* Christmas wishlist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm still waiting for a reasonable price on a flat panel display that does 1280x1024. It's easy to find 1024x768 for less than $1K. Why aren't there any manufacturers out there filling this niche?

  18. My Christmas monitor... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... is going to be less funky. I'm currently trying to get a decent 19" one (CRT). I already got IIyama 450 and didn't like it so I'm returning it to get something nicer. I'm seriously considering Philips 109S. Any opinions?

    BTW. I'm gonna do lots of typing on it so _clear_ text at all resolutions is a must.

  19. Why not a multi-head display? It's much cheaper. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are dual-head video cards (vards with two monitor ports), and a few card brands can be multiply installed into the same box. Three 1280x1024 displays (localhost:0.0 localhost:0.1 and localhost:0.2)would get you your equivalent resolution for far less than $27K. besides multihead displays just look sooo cool! Anyone ever see Lain?

  20. Re:Christmas wish list. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Technically, a beer is any drink brewed from
    grain (I've often wondered about saki....)

    Guiness is a stout. Stouts such as Murphy's,
    Beamish, and Guinness, are all beers.
    So are lagers, bitters and ales.

  21. Re:Too Expensive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That will only give you two-thrids as many pixels; the second monitor on the G400 dualhead maxes out at 1280x1024. The way to do this on the cheap is with three video cards, three conventional LCD displays or nice monitors, and the Xinerama extensions to X. Three G200s and three Hitachi 813s would give you 4800 pixels wide easily, and 5820 if you could stand the lower refresh rate -- all for about $5k. Of course, you've got to deal with the bezels interrupting your screen real estate, so it's not quite as nice as this segmented display ...but I don't think the segmented display is $22k nicer.

  22. Re:Not a *real* product by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Intel makes money on the Xeon... something they don't do very much of on the Celeron. By introducing the high end to high margins, they can justify the price of a multi billion dollar fab that will be obsolete in 2 years. Intel has to charge high prices on new chips. The AC is watching you.

  23. Slashdot Award by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We were slashdotted and all we get was this stupid T-shirt." ?

  24. It does Dummy! (NT) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NT means No Text...

  25. With your luck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't wish Hemos. With your luck you'd leave it plugged in next to your tinder dry Christmas tree, and burn down the house.

  26. Re:Big monitors... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are places where even a 21 inch monitor seems too small. When I'm testing code and I need to monitor diagnostics for different hardware components I like to have them all laid out in front of me. When that happens, I run out of desktop quickly. A 17 or 19 inch monitor is great for games and webrowsing, but when I'm at work I'd be lost without my 21 inch monitor, and I keep begging for something 'just a bit larger.'

  27. Wholy Smeg! Its only Early November!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Xmas crap this early, oh please!!!

  28. So it's just 3 monitors glued together! Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Darn, I'll just have to deal with the 3 20"ers on my desk. I'm just scraping together 3 identical video cards so I can watch Windows choke on it. But if I can just manage to play Need for Speed on the setup, I'll be happy puppy.

    Too bad I can't find any 3x AGP slot mobos. Heh

  29. Re:Mandrake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Autually he has 3 21' monitors all hooked up to XFree 4.0 beta.

  30. too damn small by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... if you ask me. nothing beats a big o 21 inches. calling monitor freaks out there: what's the best 21 inches monitor in your opinion?
    EIZO? SGI?

    1. Re:too damn small by coats · · Score: 1
      The best monitor out there right now is the 2560x2048 @ 150dpi flat-screen unit produced by Xerox's dPiX subsidiary for AWACS and medical imaging applications.

      I just wish I could afford one, fwiw. 25K ;-(

      --
      "My opinions are my own, and I've got *lots* of them!"
  31. LCD's still flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LCD monitors still flashes! as a matter of fact, i have a friend with a special eye condition that he can see the flash. you need a pure digital video card to push LCD's in order for it not to flash. if it's transfered to analog it still will flash.

  32. Re:Good for you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Takes up less desk space and runs at 16x12.

    Bummer of a resolution man, the pixels must be the size of fists!

  33. Re:It is a swiz and a swindle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly right. If you divide up the display by the three panels, you would realize it's 3 1280x1024 flat panels glued together. Considering I can get those retail for around $1500 each, that only adds up to $4500 to replicate it. WAY too pricey. Once they get one that is continuous, I'd consider spending the money for it.

  34. Hitachi SuperScan Elite 751 is nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's what I use with a Matrox Millenium G400 Max... quite a nice video setup...

  35. Dream Monitor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Although this monitor allows you to see lots of information its resolution is still inferior to that of paper. I wish we had displays that are as sharp as paper.

  36. Re:Cheaper way to do it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You won't get 18" LCD panels for $1200, it's rather about $3500 each, but otherwise you are pretty much right. Biggest problem of course, is that you need three video cards (something they did not state very prominently on their page).

  37. You must be awfully short. by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 2
    It's only eleven inches tall...

    - A.P.
    --


    "One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

    --
    "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
  38. Good for you. by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 2
    I don't understand why people on slashdot feel compelled to let us know that they have absolutely no interest in whatever's being talked about. Big friggin' deal!

    For what it's worth, though, my (brand) new 21" Sony 520GS monitor weighs about as much as and has a shorter throw (less depth) than my old 17" Goldstar monitor did. Takes up less desk space and runs at 16x12. Plus it cost me $500. Can't go wrong with that.

    - A.P.
    --


    "One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

    --
    "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
    1. Re:Good for you. by jkorty · · Score: 1

      You probably got cheated with a reconditioned unit. The Sony 520GS lists for $999 and the best Pricewatch price is $808.

  39. Re:too large by zal · · Score: 1

    but imagine how many xterms would fit on that baby at the same time :-)

    --
    -- never underestimate someone who overestimates himself
  40. Re:Too expensive, Buy a PC projector. by bluGill · · Score: 1

    I've thought about a PC projector. Very useful at times, but I need to hook it up to my old atari (8bit). Every time my relatives come over they ask if we still got that game with the battery. Unfortunatly I've not even turned those comptuers on in years.

    For those that don't get it, the game is "Adventure in the fifth dimintion" from Analog computing (magazine). At one point they found a device with a spot for a battery. There was a store to buy a battery, and they knew where to get money in the game. So after some work to get the battery... The look on their face when it didn't fit was priceless. (There is a green battery for sale at the store - better buy it cuase you will need it after you can't get to the store, and a blue battery that you have to search for.

    So I need to put this game on a big screen so they can finially solve it. Course I want the screen for other things. Can't put my CRT in bed, and I dont' want to fall alseep on a laptop. I could also use it in the tub, if someone would only make a waaterproof wireless keyboard.... Yes yes, lots of uses, too bad the resolution is too small for X to be of use.

  41. Not a *real* product by jafac · · Score: 3

    excuse me for sounding communist again on the subject of flat panel displays, but they're just way too expensive. The pricing is demand-driven, not cost-driven. It's the same sort of thing that makes Intel Xeon CPU's $4000, and a nearly identical Celeron $300. (not ACTUALLY identical, NEARLY identical - but the difference doesn't justify the cost difference, it's just price gouging).

    I mean, maybe some of this is just sour-grapes because I can't afford one, but geez, can't they price one of these high-end monitors in the ballpark of "high-end" rather than, geosynchronous -orbit? I'd pay $5000 for one, but only someone who has way more money than they know what to do with would pay $27,000.

    I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    1. Re:Not a *real* product by James+Willard · · Score: 1

      Where did the $27k price tag as listed in the article summary come from? I didn't see anything on the page about pricing. Did the contributer call for pricing?

    2. Re:Not a *real* product by Lxy · · Score: 2

      I must admit that it really looks like one of those "let's see if we *CAN* do it" products. At the same time, if one fell out of the sky and landed on my desk I probably wouldn't mind. $27,000 is an unreasonable amount for something that isn't that useful anyway. I think the LCD flat panel industry should rely more on cheaper manufacturing and lower prices than how big they can make something. If they debuted this panel in the $8,000 range or so it would have crunched down on the 17-21" panel prices and possibly made them affordable to normal people. I was holding my breath for the 21" flat screens to come down to a reasonable price but when the industry is wasting its time developing monitors for the higher-class techies there's no way I'll see a cheap flatscreen in the next 5 years.

      Secondly, flat panels have shortcomings. Anything below optimal resolution just looks bad. Playing Dark Reign or any other low-res game on it is almost impossible. There's also the viewing angle problems. Aside from their sexy looks and small footprint, a flat panel can't compete with a good CRT in viewing angle or low-res mode. On top of that they want to charge double the price for a 17" flatscreen as a 17" CRT. In my personal opinion flat screens are not yet ready for prime time. At any price.(although free is nice :-)

      I really hope this isn't an attempt to raise sales for flat screens. If it is, the flat screen industry has completely missed the point.

      --

      There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
      :wq
  42. This thing sounds cool! by jd · · Score: 2
    Yes, using multihead support in XFree 4.x & some regular high-res monitors would be cheaper, but this would look seriously nice on a wall, somewhere!

    Anyone fancy a game of Netrek, with full-scale viewscreen?

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  43. Re:Will they *ever* cost $1000? by TheGreek · · Score: 1
    Does anyone know what the intrinsic cost to manufacture these things is? In the last 15 years we have seen "consumer" monitor size increase from around 10" to 15" (call it 14" to 19" if you prefer). Will it take another 15 years to see another 5 inch increase? Monitors just don't seem to follow Moore's Law.

    My old 386 (purchased in 1988) had a 14" monitor. In 1997 when I purchased a new computer, I bought a 14" monitor again. I just recently bought a 17" monitor and could not imagine using anything smaller--even this is a bit small. Many "higher-end" consumer computers (i.e., home computers that Gateway, Dell, et al plug that have P!!!s instead of Celerons) are now being bundled with 17" monitors--some with 19". The rate of growth is faster than you might think.

    Me? I'm saving up to buy:
    A) New PowerBook to replace my rather tattered Rev. A Wallstreet.
    B) Big-assed Athlon with big-assed monitor (21"+)

    Dunno how long it'll take--PowerBooks are expensive (but nice), as are Athlons (but nice as well), and I don't get paid very well (not nice).
  44. Re:Mandrake by TheGreek · · Score: 1
    Autually he has 3 21' monitors all hooked up to XFree 4.0 beta.

    I wish *I* had three 21-foot monitors. :(
  45. 1280 x 1024 times three... by cirby · · Score: 1

    It's just three 1280 by 1024 panels slapped into a single unit, with half-inch black strips between the panels.

    1. Re:1280 x 1024 times three... by maroberts · · Score: 1

      It used to be possible to use 3 computers to give left right & forward views in DOOM - I suppose with this panel you can have them all on one display

      --

      Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
      Karma: Chameleon

  46. Too expensive, Buy a PC projector. by Colin+Smith · · Score: 1

    Can pick up a projector for about $5,000 and just project on to the screen.


    Resolution is only 1024x768 though.

    --
    Deleted
  47. Re:Christmas wish list. by suitcase · · Score: 1

    mmmm... Guinness... some things in life are just right...

  48. Re:Same Monitor? by Pascal+Q.+Porcupine · · Score: 2

    Nope, the one at ALS was an actual single panel, and it looked to me like a plasma display. This is just 3 LCD panels tacked together in a rather cheesy way.
    ---
    "'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.

    --
    "'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
    Quine "quine?
  49. Same Monitor? by Bolen · · Score: 1

    From the description, this sounds like the same monitor set up at the IBM display at the Atlanta Linux Showcase. Boy, was it nice! IBM had Q3test running, and it looked good. And yes, you could see the action from an angle.

  50. Technical Specs.. by SgtPepper · · Score: 3

    For those of you that can't get onto the site...i must say...it does look impressive..i like the wraparound effect :) *drool*


    Screen:

    Type: Flat / Segmented

    Material: TFT/LCD technology



    Dimensions:

    Screen: 43.5" X 11.5" (111 X 290 cm)
    478 sq. inches of viewable

    Image separation: 5/8" (16 mm)

    Aspect ratio: 3.86:1



    Resolution:

    > 3.9 million pixels ( 3840 X 1024)


    Pixel density:

    > 8,200 pixels per square inch.



    Inputs:

    Video in:

    HD15 X 6 (Main and Aux. each segment)

    composite video inputs require a video to RGBS interface

    Audio in:
    RCA pin jack



    Dimensions:

    h: 18.5" (47 cm)

    w: 48" (122 cm)

    d: 17" (43 cm)



    Weight:

    Display: 78 lb. (35 kg)

    Power Supply: 12 lb. (5.5 kg)

    Shipping: 120 lb. (55 kg)

    1. Re:Technical Specs.. by pvthudson · · Score: 1
      The only part that I don't like is that it looks like they glued 3 flat panels together. The lines between where they connect would get in the way for some gaming experience. At Gameworks in Seattle, they have a racing boat game that uses a monitor that looks really similiar (forgot if its flatscreen or not) on top of a hydrolic lift. Its one of the lamest games ever made, no action at all, more like a Sunday drive. The flatscreen is still better than my 19in CRT, but hey I didn't spend $27k on it.

      --


      Its karma, Kramer.

  51. Mirror by scottj · · Score: 1

    here
    --

    --
    .-.--
  52. Here's a mirror! by scottj · · Score: 2

    here. For the URL-impaired, here it is in plain test:
    http://ffa17.ffanet.com/pv290/
    --

    --
    .-.--
  53. Modern tech meets reality :-) by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 2

    The discreetly hidden volume control is manual rather than electronic making it a breeze to reach over and turn down the sound

    A touch of reality! Fire that copywriter! Fire that designer!

    --

  54. Apple Cinema Displays WAS:Re:It Sucks by rthille · · Score: 1


    My main machine at home is a NeXTCube with 2 heads, 1120x832 each. One mono, one color. Surprising how useful it is having a second monitor, even with a bunch of bezel in between. The mono monitor is also much crisper for small text than the color, so it's what I use for code. I think in the future, a 4 processor G4 with 2 Cinema displays would be on my wishlist!

    --
    Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
  55. Multi-monitors by KyleCordes · · Score: 1

    FYI, Matrox also has a four-output card - one graphics card could run four 19" monitors, all this could be yours for a few thousand $.

  56. Mandrake by Schleppy · · Score: 1

    I believe the dude from Mandrake.net has that monitor. if you look at his recent screenshots they are all in 3840x1024 or whatever the hell that sick resolution is. Drool....

  57. What are they good for? by Tyrell+Hawthorne · · Score: 1

    What could these actually be used for? It would be cheaper, and the size wouldn't be so strange, if you just bought "plain" plasma screens. Things like this just cause people to drool, but they don't sell any. Too bad.

  58. Big monitors... by JTFritz · · Score: 1

    Personally, I feel that after 19" monitor size is a waste.

    As is, I don't use all of my desktop space, so why do I need to spend the money for a larger monitor that takes up more area (desktop, or hanging on a wall, or wherever) and is going to be a bigger pain in the ass to move?

    I really enjoy using my 17' and 15" monitors at home. I don't need 21" or 38" or whatever.

    If I want Quake large and in charge, I'll buy a VR helmet.

    Jeff

    1. Re:Big monitors... by kevin805 · · Score: 1

      This is a good point. I use a 17" right now, and never use any app full screen. What I would like to see is a portrait display the width of a 17" monitor (and height about 150% of what normal is).

  59. Odd aspect ratio by maroberts · · Score: 1

    3840x1024 is a strange aspect ratio, perhaps only good for ultra widescreen movies ?

    If you could modify Quake/ other first person shooter games to drive it, so the width provides a wider angle of view then it would be an ideal present for the Quake player who has everything.....

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

  60. Re:Quake by Monkey · · Score: 1

    Thats ok... neither do most video cards

  61. Gaps by tweek · · Score: 2

    The only thing that would make this thing more beautiful is removing the gaps between the panels. Sort of steals from the effect of the whole thing.
    "We hope you find fun and laughter in the new millenium" - Top half of fastfood gamepiece

    --
    "Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
  62. Slashdot needs a Slashdotted award by Xenious · · Score: 1

    for sites that go down to post as a badge of honour...maybe even 2 like another one that says We got slashdotted, but didn't crash or something like that.

    --
    -Xen
  63. It Sucks by Hubec · · Score: 1

    It's simply three large laptop screens placed close to each other within the same case. It'd be really crappy to work with, imagine doing 2/3rds of you're work with your neck crooked to the side. Plus of course the 2 panel intersect points would be unusable (i.e. you'd have to make sure your apps didn't overlap them). Finally, I don't think they've even managed to get it working yet. The photos they show are pure BS, in one of them the guy is pretending their's a keyboard under his fingers (check out the one with the red car picture to see what I mean).

    1. Re:It Sucks by Don+Sample · · Score: 1

      I guess you haven't worked much with multiple displays. Once you've done it for a while you never want to go back to using just one. You keep the main thing you are working on in the center screen, and less important stuff on the sides. Instead of having to switch windows all the time, you just have to glance off to the side to see the other stuff.

      The price on this thing is a little steep though. You could get 3 Apple Cinema Displays for about 1/2 the price they want to charge for this thing, and have a total desktop area of 4800 * 1024

  64. Re:too large by hanway · · Score: 1

    Existing UIs will need to be tweaked (a little, but perhaps not too much) when big displays like this become more common. I've spent some time using a high-end SGI with side-by-side 24" 16x9 widescreen monitors, and it was very easy to lose track of the mouse pointer when it was out of the center of my field of view.

  65. Flight Simulator dream come true! by Jimhotep · · Score: 1

    man would this be great for a flight simulator

    and
    a 3d sound system
    +/- g simulator built into the chair


    screw all that, could get a small plane for
    what the display costs!

  66. Eye problems - Be careful! by jonathanclark · · Score: 2

    I've been using 3 21" ViewSonic monitors for about 1.5 years. After that I developed an eye stigmatism. The refresh rates on monitors is much more visiable out of the corner of your eye (try it). Somehow my left eyelid would spaz out at random interval even when I wasn't look at at moniters. I started turning off the side monitors when I'm not looking at them, which is most of the time. About 2-3 months later my eye problem stopped.

    This probably won't happen with LCD monitors, but be careful! If you are using normal monitors put them at the highest possible refresh rate they will do.

  67. Re:Quake by uncleFester · · Score: 1

    it looks like each panel has its own db-15 input, so this makes it more doable. i'd drive each panel by its own box, connect all three boxes to the server, run the outer two in 'observer' mode and tweak their display angles/perspectives. with all the cg_* vars in quake/2/3 it shouldn't be hard to play w/the angles.

    course, downsides are needing:
    -3 boxes with kickass graphics
    -3 connects into your server

    but if it's to YOUR advantage, who the fsck cares!

    -fester (where did i put those other two boxes?)

    --
    -'fester
  68. Re:Christmas wish list. by jordang · · Score: 1

    That's completely incorrect.

    Any stout, by definition, is beer. The term stout derived from what used to be known as a "stout porter", porter being a working man's darker beer.

    Maybe you are confusing lager (which Guiness is not) and ale (which it is)

  69. It's *not* demand driven by Bothari · · Score: 1

    Actually the LCD industry had been running at a loss for years. Even the exorbitant costs they ask for them wouldn't cover the cost of production.

    You have to remember that an LCD screen is actually a *huge* silicon chip! This things are expensive to make.

    The industry is only recovering now because:
    1 - A lot of the players quit and sold their LCD businesses...
    2 - There's a *lot* more demand since everybody and their gran started building desktop screens.



    No, I can't spell!
    -"Run to that wall until I tell you to stop"
    (tagadum,tagadum,tagadum .... *CRUNCH*)
    -"stop...."

  70. Multiple Inputs by LRandomfactor · · Score: 1

    The best thing about it is the multiple inputs... you've got your main computer hooked up as a multi-head display, but if you need, you switch your left panel to the server's console, or your right to your linux machine's video out, or DVD. It's too bad they didn't incorporate a nice keyboard/mouse switcher, but a cheap Cybex box would do it. Hmm, I wonder if my lab would get one for research purposes.

  71. Re:too large-- no, Immersion computing! by poopie · · Score: 2

    When was the last time that anyone went to an imax theater and complained that the screen was too big?

    When was the last time your went to see a movie that was playing in multiple theaters and tried to find the smallest screen the movie was playing on?

    I think we're heading towards immersive computing, where your whole field of vision is your work/play or whatever you're doing. I like that.

    but... as to the price, I could take 3 $1500 lcds, use Solaris or Xinerama and have a pretty decent clone of this setup and I could by a CAR with the spare change...

    cool, but too expensive. Anyway, with windowing environments and digital video that don't REQUIRE a specific aspect ratio, expect to see more interesting shapes of flat displays.

    ... and why not have an ultra-hi-res VR headset? It's gotta be WAAAY cheaper, and more immersive.

  72. Re:firsts!!! by Mazurbul · · Score: 0

    j00 4r3 t00 s10w j00 l337 h4x0r.

  73. Quake by Mazurbul · · Score: 2

    Quake doesn't support strange resolutions like that, someone email John Carmack.

    (would have been first post but I had to login)

    1. Re:Quake by NullGrey · · Score: 1

      Actually, it says 3840x1024, so it's just 3 1280x1024 screens together. You could run Quake in one, and have your desktop in the other two. It'll work real well, one XFree gets the Xinerama extensions working.
      -G


      +--
      stack. the off .sig this pop I as Watch

      --
      +-- (Score:-1, Moderator on Power Trip)
  74. Re:Slashdotted already? by Mazurbul · · Score: 2

    I think sensible webmasters these days have scripts in place to remove any file that is linked to from slashdot. The reasoning behind this is that if they can avoid the slashdot effect on their server, then they can still play tty quake from their server console with decent frame rates :-)

  75. Re:Christmas wish list. by jsfetzik · · Score: 1

    That all depends on what you mean by "Guinness". If you mean "Guinness Extra Stout", then yes it's not beer it's stout. However the Guinness company also produces other beverages that are beer.

  76. ohhh quake3... by TheDeal · · Score: 1

    ohhh wet dreams of quake'n on that wench of a lcd... starcraft... ohhhh

  77. Oh yeah by FeeDBaCK · · Score: 1

    I can see this being used for Quake 3. Unfortunately, to get some real use out of this would require extensive reprogramming of much of the software people would want to run on this. It could be very useful for CAD people, or even for Photoshop, etc., but I don't see anything like this catching on for more than anything but a nice monitoring station.

    Would be cool to see a FPS that used something like this, but let's try and really get dualhead supported first.

    --
    wolf31o2 Developer, Gentoo Linux Games Team
  78. Things to think about regarding this monitor... by Kit+Lo · · Score: 1

    1. Let's see... I would have to use three graphics cards for the three monitor segments... Does this mean I can use one video card with a TV tuner to watch TV in one screen? Has anybody at least tried a multi-monitor setup with one TV tuner/video card? Write an essay, watch Letterman, and read /. at the same time...

    2. From the Panoramtech web page: composite video inputs require a video to RGBS interface. I'm not familiar with the RGBS interface. Is that the interface with the separate red, green, blue, and sync wires all ending with the BNC connectors?

    3. Does anybody know where would somebody get a good wallpaper picture for multiple monitors?

    4. I wonder who does the photos in the ads for Chicago: The Musical (especially the old NYC bus ad with superdiva Ute Lemper)? I can imagine a big-ass photo of Ute sprawling onscreen, reaching the length of all three screens (I think her legs can reach one screen and a half). The picture of her co-star Ruthie Henshall in the same show from a few years ago is a good example of what I'm talking about... Imagine that on the PV290!

  79. I remember... by jcr · · Score: 1

    When a 1024x768 pixel CRT, in a 19" form factor would run you about $10K if you could find one.

    Sure, this thing is steep, but last year it didn't even exist. Buy it when the price drops into your tolerance range. (It *will* come in range, the question is when.)

    Now, the only other thing I want to see is this display mounted on a spring-arm base so that I can grab it and position it 2' away from my face as I lean back in a *very* comfy chair.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  80. Multiple Monitors by gregm · · Score: 1

    I have 2 17" Monitors on my 98 box. They're the only reason I keep 98 around. Photoshop is sooo nice when all the toolbars are on one and the image you're working on is on the other. And you can change screen resoution and color depth independently on each monitor.

    I had a matrox that had 2 outputs but it sucked for me. It treats both monitors as one... when you maximize a window it maximies it across both monitors. It's pretty irritating to read text across one monitor to the other. I hope Xfree 4 will handle maximizing windows like 98 does.

    I had three 17" monitors hooked up for awhile, but they were all three different brands and I couldn't get the refresh rates high enough and the same and I got bad headaches from it.

    just my 2 cents.

    1. Re:Multiple Monitors by SamIIs · · Score: 1

      98 does a pretty good job of the dual-head display. The problem is that it's like all plug&pray crap, in that you have to desperately hope that your dual configuration is 'supported'. Not just your monitor(s), not just your video card(s), but the combination of both video cards together. If you get a bad pairing, Windows will just say

      "Your Video Driver is Not Configured for Dual Head Display Support. Please Contack Your Hardware Vendor for a Newer Driver."

      Really obnoxious. Nothing you can do. It's Windows.

  81. too large by BorgDrone · · Score: 2

    Isn't this a bit too large for working, I think it will be more suitable for presentations and stuff like that than for e.g. webbrowsing.
    It's so large you have to move your head a lot to see all of the screen, and that's not too comfortable to work with. or you have to put a great distance wich has basically the same effect as a closer, smaller monitor at a high resolution
    ---

  82. Re:Wait for XFree86 4.0 by LinuxParanoid · · Score: 1

    Does the multi-head support in XFree86 4.0 include support for a single large 3D graphics window being stretched across three screens? (e.g. like the fighter-plane in the Powerview 290 ad?)

    --LP

  83. I believe mine says Etcha-Sketch on the side by Dark-Helmet · · Score: 1

    "..Got a flat-screen monitor, 40" wide
    I believe that yours says, "Etch-A-Sketch" on the side.."

    -Weird Al; Its all about the pentiums

    Geez, compared to this thing my 17 inch sony Trinitron is> an etch-a-sketch. I guess we won't be far off from people sayin that in IRC =P

  84. Will they *ever* cost $1000? by kwclark · · Score: 1

    Does anyone know what the intrinsic cost to manufacture these things is? In the last 15 years we have seen "consumer" monitor size increase from around 10" to 15" (call it 14" to 19" if you prefer). Will it take another 15 years to see another 5 inch increase? Monitors just don't seem to follow Moore's Law.

    Ken

  85. Re:LCD? by j+a+w+a+d · · Score: 1

    Most LCDs give you 160 degree viewing angles. I'm on my laptop right now, and 160 degrees seems like a bit much. I would guess more like 90 degrees for a good view, and you should pretty much be directly in front for a perfect picture.

    --
    i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.
    Discuss /. policies
  86. Re:Wait for XFree86 4.0 by Capt+Dan · · Score: 2

    It should. I really don't know. I don't have the sack to run the snapshots. I do know that the major pint is that you can have a single desktop accross multiple screens. I have seen screenshots from rasterman where Elightenment does this.
    "You want to kiss the sky? Better learn how to kneel." - U2
    "It was like trying to herd cats..." - Robert A. Heinlein

    --
    Sig:
    Barbeque is a noun. Not a verb.
  87. Wait for XFree86 4.0 by Capt+Dan · · Score: 5

    Honestly.

    In a couple of months XFree 4 will be out with its neato multihead support. Then plunk down 12 G's for three of Apple's Cinerama flatscreens. 22" diagonal at 1600x1024 resolution each. More sceen real estate, at half the cost.

    Or get a couple of the regular flatscreens. Then do one of the following with the savings:

    - pay off *all* of your student loans
    - hire a maid service
    - feed and clothe orphans
    - eBay eBay eBay.
    - Pay some guy to wait in line for you for Matrix 2 tickets
    - Build a school in some third world country
    - Pay some guy to reload /.'d web sites for you
    - buy a car
    - Strippers. Strippers. Strippers.


    "You want to kiss the sky? Better learn how to kneel." - U2
    "It was like trying to herd cats..." - Robert A. Heinlein

    --
    Sig:
    Barbeque is a noun. Not a verb.
  88. Andover IPO fixes /. Xmas bug by eries · · Score: 1

    In a press release today, Andover.net announced that they will be fixing the /. "not enough presents" bug by going public. The "not enough presents" bug has plagued /. employees for some time, and is (according to insider sources) similar to the Microsoft WinCE "no power on" bug reported by news sources earlier this year.

    An anonymous source inside /. was quoted as saying "I can't wait to have a dumptruck full of money driven up to my house. Then I can have anything I want. Except women - oh wait, no, including women too."

    Microsoft CEO Bill Gates used his 18 Charisma to make the following statement: "I have not had the not enough presents bug appear in any of my code for the last 20 years. Besides, bugs are a myth designed to scare the public."

    In unrelated news, more and more tech toys are getting more and more expensive.

    Hey, if you wanted real humor, you should have read theOnion.

  89. Bigger Better? by OctaneZ · · Score: 1

    It saounds great, however it is pretty much overkill, while it would be nice to mount it vertically and see all of your code on one screen, it's not really useful for playing quake.... I am still partial to the SGI Flat Screen, good stuff.... http://www.sgi.com/peripherals/flatpanel/

  90. Christmas wish list. by technos · · Score: 1

    That monitor might be nice, but my Christmas list is still

    1. World peace.
    2. A bucket of nachos.
    3. A sixer of Guinness.
    4. A 24*PIII Beowulf to set my beer and nachos on.
    5. Kathy Ireland.

    Please Santa Hemos?

    --
    .sig: Now legally binding!
    1. Re:Christmas wish list. by technos · · Score: 1

      Ms. Ireland was an afterthought. My back hurts, and I figured someone sexy to rub it might be nice, so I tacked her on the end. As for the Guinness, I suppose I have finally given in to the US custom of labelling everything remotly beer-like 'beer', instead of the proper form.(stout, ale, bitter, lager, etc.) They (we) have no real class, I suppose.

      --
      .sig: Now legally binding!
  91. would be a nice mirror by daWulf · · Score: 1

    take a camera, connect it with your computer and you'll have a nice mirror...

  92. It is a swiz and a swindle by Bob+Ince · · Score: 1

    Well, the page seems to be back up, at least, though the main image doesn't work for me.

    From the other pics it looks like it's just three more normal-sized panels stuck together with special TFT glue. "Segmented", as they call it, meaning you get whopping great black strips down your picture, chiz chiz.

    Which isn't bad, I suppose, but for the price I had expected more.

    And how you're going to drive it I don't know; the resolution is far too big to stick through a regular DFP/DVI connector. Do you need a graphics card with three digital outputs? Does such a beast exist?

    Erm. So probably doesn't work under Linux... but imagine a Beowulf cluster... ect ect.


    --
    This comment was brought to you by And Clover.
  93. Cheaper way to do it by Ledge+Kindred · · Score: 3
    Just slap three really nice video cards in your PC grab three of a really nice brand of "standard" LCD monitor on the market, like IBM's or Viewsonic's, put them all right next to each other (look for a brand of LCD monitor with a very slim edge around the viewable display to maximize screen display and minimize the clutter between screens) and use new new XFree86 beta with its panoramic multi-head support thingie (I forget what it's called) and get pretty much the same results.

    Let's say really nice video cards are $200/ea and really nice LCD monitors are $1200/ea, that puts you at $4000 even to do virtually the same thing this $27,000 mostrosity costs. The only difference being that you'll have three seperate pieces of monitor instead of one.

    That actually looks pretty much like what these guys did except they have a custom case they put the three seperate monitors into and built a custom connector so that you only have to plug one cable into your PC instead of three.

    If you're any good at hardware, I bet you could even take your LCD monitors out of the plastic cases and come up with some way to mount them so they would be literally right next to each other and do it for a lot less than the $23,000 difference in price between buying one of these and making one....

    -=-=-=-=-

    --

    -=-=-=-=-
    My mom's going to kick you in the face!

  94. chair by Master+Pookie · · Score: 1

    I think that I need to clean up my chair now.....................but it's to much money. ya think that it will ever drop.......and what's next a holodeck (I would pay for one of those) hee hee

  95. Imagine on websites by blogan · · Score: 2

    How long till we see the phrase at the bottom "This site best viewed at 3840 X 1024"? Maybe slashdot should detect the resolution size and if you have 3840 X 1024 then it'll render a special layout for you (and Rob will become your best friend).

  96. Re:PixelVision released a bigger one in 1996 by Darby · · Score: 1

    Actually you can see this on a Macintosh.
    Falcon 3 is written for 3 monitors; left, right and
    forward views.

    You do need 3 video cards though, but they can be at different resolutions and bit depths.


    Side question, I've never seen multi-monitors on windows since they finally realized this was a good idea. Can you have different resolutuions and bit depths?
    ---CONFLICT!!---

  97. Would be nice... by Nipok+Nek · · Score: 1
    Too bad the site is now /.'ed so I can't get the details that Santa needs to make me a happy boy. :) And the Online Porno Industry is still waiting for something better that 56K over copper before they are even gonna THINK about a monitor like this :)

    Ken

    --
    Why choose white shoes?
  98. LCD? by Kinthelt · · Score: 1

    It's LCD, so doesn't that mean you have to be directly in front of the screen to see anything? I can't access the site right now (slashdotted), so I'm a little unaware of the technical details.

    --

    "Evil will always triumph over good, because good is dumb." - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)

  99. Obscene by rdpiazza · · Score: 1

    The company that I work for has a large, very nice flat panel LCD monitor in its training area. (It has to be at least 11" by 20-25".) Do you know what it uses it for? To post the room assignments for the training seminars. It makes me sick that they get such a cool toy when all they use it for is to emulate a $20 cork board.

    I'm sure this monitor is marketed at the same group of people: suits who want the coolest new toy, have money to burn, and will have no idea what to do with it once they buy it.


    --
    The phrase "and then the company is screwed" is not something you want in your business plan. (B. Schneier)
  100. Slashdotted already? by Wag · · Score: 1

    Looks that way. And so it goes...

  101. Why it Costs $27k: Screens are Bigger by billybob+jr · · Score: 2

    Another difference:
    Screen 43.5" x 11.5"
    which translates to 3 screens that are 14.5" x 11.5", comparing to my 19" Sony 420GS which has a viewable screen size of 14 3/8" x 10 7/8"

    A quick search on Yahoo finds that I can buy a Nokia 800XA for around $3k. It's dimensions are:
    14.1" x 11.3".

    So that puts the cost of an equivalent home made solution in the $10k ball park

  102. Too Expensive by PureASM · · Score: 1

    I would love to have that thing, but $27,000? I ponder what the real manufacturing cost is on that thing. It would be cheaper to buy 2 trinitron monitors and one dual-head Matrox G400 video card. agnhardware.com has a nice video review on one: http://www.agnhardware.com/hardwaresection/default .cfm?revid=256

  103. Three Screen Wide by PureASM · · Score: 1

    I remember this arcade game called Darius that was three monitors wide and it used mirrors to cover up the spanse in-betwwen each monitor. It was fairly nice.

  104. $27000 by DanCentury · · Score: 1

    For that kind of money I'd rather...

  105. $27000 by DanCentury · · Score: 2
    For that kind of money I'd rather...
    1. Spend a really nice month in Hawaii
    2. Spend two really nice months in the Bahamas
    3. Buy 43 cars from the Classifieds and have my own demolition derby in the Menlo Mall parking lot
    4. Buy 1000 Furbys and simulate the migration of the lemmings with the help of a snowplow
    5. Pay off my Subaru and then set the piece of crap on fire
    6. have an inground pool put in my backyard, and only invite good looking people to swim in it.
    7. buy shares of overvalued Internet stock
    8. Just chill...
  106. PixelVision released a bigger one in 1996 by skintigh · · Score: 2

    I had a summer job with PV and got to play with it. One videocard runs up to four 15" or 18" monitors that can be put in a number of configurations. The monitors can be monitored over a net for heat and other info. I thought a 3-monitor wrap-around with a forth above would make a great flight simulator cockpit. You can see there products on ER, Chicago Hope, and the floor of the NY stock exchange. No, I don't still work there, but there're located in my home town, so buy their stuff. http://www.pixelvision.com/products/smartglas/desc ription.htm

  107. Dad's BRIGHT multihead idea... :oP by MOSFET · · Score: 1

    yeah I guess staring right at a HUGE LCD panel could be a little harsh... but at least it'd be better than my dad's bright idea. after installing windows 98 on the computer in our "home office", he got a couple of dual S3 virge/dx video cards, spent about three late nights trying to make it all work, and plugged in three monitors... unfortunately these aren't nice BIG monitors, they're old clunker 640x480 60hz VGA's... eeeeww.