> On Apr 1, 2016, at 1:19 PM, Swift Griggs <swiftgri...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Paul Koning wrote:
>> I remember looking at an SGI PC years ago, with a plasma panel display. That
>> was when plasma displays cost thousands of dollars and LCD displays hadn't
>> quite arrived yet.
>
> I wonder if it was one of these that you saw:
>
> http://www.geocities.ws/hinv.geo/sgipics/flatpanel/indy_presenters.jpg
>
> or perhaps this one:
>
> http://www.bytecellar.com/2008/02/13/the_sgi_1600sw/
It looked like that one, but I'm 98% sure it was plasma, not LCD as that one
says it is.
> ...
>> (I may be partial; I have fond memories, and an actual working copy of, a
>> 512 x 512 "orange and white" plasma display...)
>
> I remember seeing those. I also remember a few laptops that had them. For
> certain applications they were terrific. I know the military used them for
> displays in some of their gear since they didn't easily wash out with
> sunlight. Some even thrived on sunlight by backing the plasma display with
> what was basically a half-silvered mirror.
I can't figure out the mirror bit. Normal practice in the panels I remember
was that they had a polaroid filter in the front, partly to cut down on
reflections and partly to improve contrast with high ambient light. They were
PLATO terminals. And yes, that technology was later applied to military
displays (including in 1k x 1k version, 16 inches high/wide) and early
"luggable" PCs.
paul
