Finally! A new monitor
When I bought my current desktop computer two or three years ago, I decided I didn’t want to spend the money on a new monitor as well. So I kept using the old 15″ CRT monitor that came with the first computer I bought for myself, back in 1996. I can’t believe it is almost eight years old. Wow. So anyway, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when it started going haywire.
I mean, it had always been too dark (unbelievably, I didn’t find the controls for gamma correction until a month or two ago–it hadn’t even occurred to me that there would be a way to change that). But it was still usable. Until a couple weeks ago. All of a sudden the screen started flickering and the picture was all warped in the middle. I could only read text in certain areas of the screen.
So, time for a new monitor–and oh how I wanted a flat panel!
Fortuitously, a day later I got an email from Staples about an online-only sale. With a 17″ flat panel monitor on sale for $100 less than its usual price (after rebate). Wonderful!
Though I hadn’t heard of the Norcent brand before, and I had trouble finding any reviews of the monitor or other monitors made by the same company, I decided to go for it–after all, it was a hundred dollars off.
I got the monitor (a Norcent LM730) last Friday (it would have gotten here sooner if I’d had better luck with the timing of the UPS truck–I finally had to go and get it from the warehouse myself, after three failed attempts to deliver–at least the warehouse is only a few blocks from my house). I must say I’m delighted with it.
The LCD screen is so beautiful. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to using a dull CRT. And it may not be a big name-brand, but it seems just great to me. It certainly seems no worse than the Dell monitor I have at work, and the Dell laptop I had at my previous job (though it’s smaller than my 20″ monitor at work, of course).
The only problem with such a nice new monitor is now it’s even more obvious how slow my computer is (at least when I have several applications open). And it makes me wish my setup were a little more ergonomic and comfortable so I could enjoy it more.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention. One member of the household isn’t so sure she likes the new monitor. Chloe has lost her oh-so-warm napping spot!
August 3rd, 2004 at 10:52 pm
Have you seen the new Apple 30″ displays? I’m drooling over them lately.
I still have a 15″ CRT on my PC, and probably will for awhile now that I bought the PowerBook.
My previous monitor did the slow miserable death thing…I actually used it for a year and a half in sort of spooky-red-black monochrome, since the G and B apparently went out, or some pins were missing; I can’t remember.
August 3rd, 2004 at 11:15 pm
Whoa - 30″ displays?! I’m not sure what I’d do with all that screen real estate, though I imagine it would be great for watching DVD’s.
Hehe, the spooky red-black sounds kind of neat, though I don’t think I’d want to use it for too long. I hope you had another computer you were using at the time! I can’t imagine trying to come up with color palettes or editing photos in that situation.
August 6th, 2004 at 3:49 pm
It was actually my only machine. But it was before I got into graphics or web development; I was just using it for Internet access with a 28.8 modem and typing papers. It made life interesting, but I can’t say I miss it.
June 21st, 2005 at 9:51 pm
I own the LM730 as well… What an excellent monitor for the price! Its even better than some Viewsonic and Samsung models I have seen.
Its just so great… one of my better purchases. My only gripe would be that the speakers suck, but I don’t use them and hadn’t really intended to. I only bought an LCD monitor with speakers because it looked better than even the well-known name brand LCDs in the store.
BTW… Chloe probably helped your monitor die if she slept on there. Hehe.
Being 8 years old it was probably going to die sooner or later but CRT monitors need a lot of ventillation.
Cheers