matt@karazm.math.uh.edu (Matt Emerson) (04/08/91)
My MegaPixel display seems to be developing some flaws. Small flaws, but nevertheless noticeable and annoying ones. These flaws are very small black specks -- it looks as if they're not even pixel-sized, so I'm pretty sure it's not VRAM or anything. "What a whiner!" you might exclaim, and perhaps you would be right. But the worst of the two or three specks is in the prime real estate in the middle of the screen. I always have some window in the speck's area, and being somewhat fanatical about having a clean screen, I find myself continually grasping for the nearest tissue to wipe it off -- a fruitless effort, needless to say. So, if anyone has any suggestions on what I could do to determine the cause of (and find a remedy for) this small but irritating speck, I would be grateful. (FYI, I got my system from the Businessland sale, and it looks like the monitor has been shipped all over the world -- one label on the box indicates that it's been to the UK and back! I doubt that Businessland would be pleased if I said that I wanted my monitor replaced because of a pathetic little speck.) -- Matt Emerson matt@karazm.math.uh.edu
izumi@mindseye.berkeley.edu (Izumi Ohzawa) (04/08/91)
In article <1991Apr7.174834.14313@menudo.uh.edu> matt@karazm.math.uh.edu (Matt Emerson) writes: >My MegaPixel display seems to be developing some flaws. Small flaws, but >nevertheless noticeable and annoying ones. These flaws are very small >black specks -- it looks as if they're not even pixel-sized, so I'm pretty >sure it's not VRAM or anything. > >"What a whiner!" you might exclaim, and perhaps you would be right. But the >worst of the two or three specks is in the prime real estate in the middle >of the screen. I always have some window in the speck's area, and being Do the spots appears to be etched in the phospher and do not change pattern from one power-up session to another? Sounds like a severe phospher burn caused by stationary electron beam. This might happen if the high voltage for the CRT is not turned off quickly enough before the horizontal and vertical scanning are lost on power-off. In normal CRT displays this should not happen, and I think you have every right to expect the problem fixed, which probably requires replacing the display itself. Izumi Ohzawa [ $@Bg_78^=;(J ] USMail: University of California, 360 Minor Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 Telephone: (415) 642-6440 Fax: (415) 642-3323 Internet: izumi@violet.berkeley.edu NeXTmail: izumi@pinoko.berkeley.edu
mldemsey@cs.arizona.edu (Matthew L. Demsey) (04/08/91)
(Izumi Ohzawa) writes: > (Matt Emerson) writes: > >My MegaPixel display seems to be developing some flaws. Small flaws, but > >nevertheless noticeable and annoying ones. These flaws are very small > >black specks -- it looks as if they're not even pixel-sized, so I'm pretty > >sure it's not VRAM or anything. > > Do the spots appears to be etched in the phospher and > do not change pattern from one power-up session to another? > Sounds like a severe phospher burn caused by stationary electron > beam. ....more... > In normal CRT displays this should not happen, and I think you > have every right to expect the problem fixed, which probably > requires replacing the display itself. Ok.. i got my station, etc in early January and after the first power-up i noticed one back pixel (more like a speck, yes) in the NW quadrant of my screen.. but this was at the time of the news group when every one was complaining of a diagonal deviation near the menu windows on the screen; so, i figured that all NeXT monitors are screwy in one way or another.. the speck bothers me immensely, but all windows that i have control over their placement are placed so a black line is under the speck (i.e. in most cases i can ignore it..) well.. my point is that if more and more people actually have this stupid problem.. i'd love to get my monitor fixed too.. pointlessly perhaps, Loki
crum@fcom.cc.utah.edu (Gary Crum) (04/11/91)
At least NeXT prices monochrome monitors reasonably, so you all with slightly imperfect monitors can buy new ones for not too excessively much. Don't y'all wish that NeXT would distribute a kernel configured to take advantage of multiple CPUS in the Mach style, and allow multiple monochrome displays to be controlled from a single keyboard and mouse set? (Maybe a cable splice device would be needed to provide power for the second monitor.) Also, have a look at what comes in the Starting Point Kits if you haven't, and especially if you'd like a new keyboard with the slightly changed design. I hope NeXT keeps up these niceties which are not appreciated by most people untiil they have problems. Personally, I am a NeXT-style perfectionist and I'm glad I am able to purchase "extras" with no problem. Check the prices of new monitors, keyboards and mice for other UNIX workstations sometime. Now that NeXT has announced a service program (NeXTedge) that doesn't involve local high-priced retailers, NeXT is all set to sell computers through an efficient, reasonable place like NeXTConnection. Is anyone else out there hoping for this "jump"? If so, you might want to call NeXT (800)848-6398 and NeXTConnection (800)800-0021 to make your interests known. Oh yes, and corresponding non-800 numbers are (415)366-0900 and (603)446-7771 for those outside the U.S. Note that NeXTConnection is selling double-sided Canon optical disks (which work and can be "flipped" in old single-sided NeXT OD drives) for $179 each. Pretty reasonable. Gary
anderson@dogie.macc.wisc.edu (Jess Anderson) (04/11/91)
In article <CRUM.91Apr10180000@fcom.cc.utah.edu> crum@fcom.cc.utah.edu (Gary Crum) writes: >Note that NeXTConnection >is selling double-sided Canon optical disks (which work and can be >"flipped" in old single-sided NeXT OD drives) for $179 each. Pretty >reasonable. I've seen these disks mentioned here before. Our place charges $150 for blank OD disks, which I'm pretty sure are the one-sided variety. I have a 030 cube with OD drive and 330MB hard disk, now upgraded to 040 w/ OS 2.0. I'd like to hear from confirmation from someone who has actually used the two-side OD disks in this drive: is it 256MB per side, does everything work exactly as for the old (one-sided) media, apart from your have to remember which way up is? I ask because if all is well, it would be like buying one disk and getting a second one for $29, for me. <> Tact is the unsaid part of what you're thinking. -- Jess Anderson <> Madison Academic Computing Center <> University of Wisconsin Internet: anderson@macc.wisc.edu <-best, UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson NeXTmail w/attachments: anderson@yak.macc.wisc.edu Bitnet: anderson@wiscmacc Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888
crum@fcom.cc.utah.edu (Gary Crum) (04/11/91)
About using double-sided Canon optical disks in the old NeXT/Canon single-sided optical drives: "The Big Green Disk" from Lighthouse Design comes on one of those double-sided disks these days, with files on both sides. The design of the disks is more "sleek" than the older ones, but the metal flap still slides in just one direction. It's pretty neat that Canon designed the single-sided drive to accomodate "flipping", i.e. to be able to open the flap either way. Too bad the drives are not being "pushed" by NeXT anymore. They must really have been a giveaway at the time NeXT started selling computers. On a related tangent, has anyone come up with a bootable collection of NeXT Mach files sufficiently small to fit on a floppy disk, for repairing munged hard disk boot partitions and doing perfect level 0 dumps and such? Gary