Apple ditches fat, ugly CRTs

APPLE IS ditching its last CRT screens and moving over to all-LCD line-up. The news has given rise to plenty of mournful "I remember when" page-filling exercises on behalf of desperate hacks everywhere.

In truth, it's surprising that these monstrosities have survived so long given the prices of LCDs today.

Dell's online guide steers you to do the right thing in a way that wouldn't disgrace propaganda sheets and children's history books in tin-pot dictatorships.

It notes that LCDs are better in pretty much every way, longer lasting and better for the environment.

However, "for users seeking exceptional quality and great value … Dell CRT monitors offer many advantages to the customer who does not require the latest features and who does not have space or power consumption concerns."

In other words: you, the tightwad with the badly configured Ikea desk and piles of paper everywhere on the floor. That's right, you, the slob who doesn't mind what sort of world you're leaving for the next generation.

The Dell UK website has 17-inch CRT displays from £89 and LCDs of the same size from £139. Shop around and you can pick them up a lot cheaper. Wander around near Tottenham Court Road and the shops aimed at students will give you an old gas guzzler for the price of a round of drinks - in a Weatherspoon pub.

But if you have any self-respect, you know it's still not a good deal.

Farewell then, CRT boxes of my youth, we've all found a slimmer model we prefer. [Who she? Ed.] µ