On Wed, 2 Jul 2003, Jon Baer wrote:

> can anyone make a good recommendation for an anti glare for a laptop?
>
> i thought id be able to buy some film (vs. attachment) but not the case and
> id like it to fit my thinkpad snug and not flimsy ... something like ...
>

Err, might I ask *why* you need it?

What anti-glare filters do is to polarize light that passes through the
filter.  Since CRTs are emissive, you do not lose as much "light" that is
generated by the CRT (unpolarized->polarized), but cuts down on glare
considerably (outside source->polarized->bounce off CRT glass->filtered by
anti-glare).

Since LCDs are non-emissive, it work by polarizing and twisting a source
of light (backlight->first polarizing film->color film->crystal->second
polarizing film).  The crystal determines how much "light" will pass
through by "twisting" the light so it either passes through or gets
filtered by the second polarizing film.

If you are having trouble reading the screen outdoor, that is because the
ambient light is overpowering what the LCD provides, similar to how a
flashlight is less effective at daylight than it is at night.  Reading an
LCD is like having a piece of paper that has print on the "back side" of
the page and you need to shine a light through in order to read it.
"Your" light has to be stronger than the ambient light.  Anti-glare will
NOT fix that.  Either turn up the brightness, or read below for a "cheat".

If you have glare "indoors" (true glare - ie, what you would experience
with CRT), then the only thing I can recommend is reorient the laptop, or
change the angle of the screen.  But I have a feeling this isn't what you
were referring to.

Now, for the cheat.  Forget filters.  You can improve the readability of
your screen with ~$2 or less of parts, and it doesn't have to look
half-bad.  Get yourself some black heavy-duty construction paper.  You
need to create an overhang, similar to this:

http://www.necmitsubishi.com/products/home/ProductDetail.cfm?product_id=254

This will cut down the side light, and give you more angle where the
screen is "viewable" outdoors.

Kevin "Starfox" Arima
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