Gone are the days of the bulging, toxic green computer screens on the old cathode ray tube monitors. The invention and application of the CRT as an output device for the inner workings of the computer were brilliant. Using a computer without some kind of output can be a little dull, but for the longest time we had to live with the hulking, hot and sweaty monitor on our desk top. Even using the smaller screens there was still a lot of hardware (a laser beam included) on the inside and it would take up all the space you had to give. If you wanted to actually get a clear look at the computer output you had a monitor the size of, well, your whole room. Also in the old days, the phosphorus coating on the inside gave a green glow as a reaction to the electron beam at the back. Color monitors came along giving us at least a limited palette of colors to work with. You could create artwork with 4 or even 16 colors, and with imagination you could view photographic images. Credit the engineers for going all the way and creating screens with very fine display resolutions (dots per inch or dpi). We could finally view photo-realistic images utilizing millions of colors.

The next great development in computer technology, rivaling the benefits of sliced bread, was using liquid crystal display technology (LCD) to create compact and bright computer screens. These were fist used for making portable computers, but the sizes were only eight to ten inches to start. Lately it has become feasible and price effective to produce large screens (17 inches and larger) that are flat and thin, liberating vast tracts of yardage from desk tops everywhere. Some of the manufacturers that have led the way in quality and low prices are Samsung, Dell, Viewsonic, and Sony. Let's not forget Apple, which is still strong on the market. They are know for producing high design models (with high prices) that blow away the size and style of many other brands. Apple produces some LCD monitors that are much larger than most family TVs and is very easy on the eyes. For all models the prices continue to slide down, and it's increasingly uncommon to see the old, bulky CRT monitors. As with many computer parts the owners are just waiting for the day that their old hardware wears out. With the older monitors it's a little tricky too since they are considered hazardous waste. You can't just dump them in the garbage can because a compartment containing lead, phosphorous, cadmium, barium and mercury is safety sealed inside. Not only will a monitor not biodegrade, it will probably crack open and burn a hole through to China at some point.