LESSON 34

MONITORS [2]

Task 1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст:

Computer Monitors are similar to televisions because they both display images on a screen. Monitors are used more than any other part of a computer, yet many people treat them as an afterthought when purchasing a computer. Don't! Regardless of what you're doing on your computer, you're staring at the monitor. Therefore, shop for a good monitor that's easy to look at and won't cause eye strain.

Monitors come in various sizes usually ranging from 14" to 21" and above and are usually referred to by their size. For example: most people have 15" or 17" SVGA color monitors. The size of a monitor is based on the diagonal distance from one corner of the monitor tube to the other. This doesn't mean the visible part of the monitor tube, but rather the actual corner of the tube. Therefore, you may see a monitor that is labeled as 14", but the visible part of the tube is less than 14". In monitors, this is perfectly normal, and almost every manufacturer labels or sizes them this way regardless of the size. So when you're looking for monitors, don't be too shocked when your monitor turns out to be a little smaller than the name or label implies. If you're curious, most television manufacturers refer to their television by the size of the display (corner to corner) that is actually showing and not by the tube's actual size.

The "Dot Pitch" of a monitor is very important because this number indicates how clear the image on your monitor will be. Have you ever adjusted the focus on a camera so it's almost right, but not quite, and the picture doesn't look as good as it could? This is how the dot pitch works. The lower the dot pitch number, the better the image will be. The dot pitch, measured in millimeters, actually indicates how close the dots (that make up the letter or image on the screen) are together. An average dot pitch is 0.28 while and 0.26 or 0.25 is considered great so pay attention to the numbers.

Therefore, when you're shopping for monitors (or the monitor that comes with the computer) look at the dot pitch because monitors with a poor or less than average dot pitch will appear out of focus and may cause eye strain.

In the last couple of years, monitor manufacturers have begun producing what is called "Flat-Square tube" monitors (also called Flat screen monitors). There are several advantages of flat tube monitors compared to curved tube monitors and they are as follows:

1. Less glare on the front on the monitor

2. More accurate colors along the edges or corners of the monitor front

3. More stable graphics along the edges or corners of the monitor front

4. A more realistic image (especially with highly graphical images)

If you can purchase a flat screen monitor for little or no difference in price
then do it.

Whether you realize it or not, your television actually displays the image by a combination of vertical and horizontal lines. This is called resolution and all televisions and computer monitors use this to display what you see. Your television has one resolution, and it adjusts everything to that resolution so all the images you see fit nicely on your television screen. However, most computer monitors can display or use many resolutions, and are therefore more flexible to display many different types of images. Higher resolutions (more lines on the screen) give you more detailed images while lower resolutions give you less detailed images. When you're looking at resolutions they are usually written as horizontal lines by vertical lines (640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 1024 x 768).

When it's time to shop for a monitor (or the monitor that comes with your computer) you'll need to pay attention to what resolution the monitor can handle.

When shopping for monitors you're likely to see the letters VGA and SVGA written everywhere. These letters simply indicate the type of monitor it is and what resolutions the monitor is capable of displaying. VGA (Video Graphics Array) is a standard that IBM developed some years ago for displaying information on the

monitor in a certain way and resolution. VGA by default uses a resolution of 640 x 480. SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array) is a newer standard based on VGA that gives you a higher resolution of 800 x 600. SVGA is considered absolutely the bare minimum for any monitor buyer these days. Today's monitors can handle resolutions higher than the SVGA resolution (800 x 600), but they're still called SVGA.

The Vertical Refresh Rate (also called a vertical scan rate) indicates the number of full screens the monitor can "paint" in one second. The vertical refresh rate is often written in terms of Hz such as 72Hz. Since most humans can perceive a "flicker" effect when the vertical refresh rate drops to or below 60Hz, you should buy a monitor that can display a minimum of 72Hz in every resolution (at least the standard three resolutions mentioned above).The more resolutions your monitor can handle, the more flexible it will be to do the things your want. Most monitors today will do this, but not all, so be careful. The net effect of using a monitor with a vertical refresh rate of 60 Hz or less is sometimes headaches and eyestrain.

Better quality monitors are now supporting even higher resolutions such as 1280 x 1024 or 1600 x 1280. These resolutions pack so much information on the screen at once that you will usually need a larger (17" or above) monitor to appreciate the fine detail you'll see.

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

Задание 2.Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. Why is it very important to choose a monitor that you are buying very carefully?

2. What important characteristics of monitors do you know?

3. Do you have a computer at home? What kind of monitor have you chosen for it and why?

4. What health dysfunctions can a monitor with vertical refresh rate less then 60Hz or equal cause?

Task 3. Use the right prepositions and fill in the blanks:

Задание 3. Заполните пропуски предлогами:

1. There are several advantages of flat tube monitors compared … curved tube monitors.

2. The size of a monitor is based … the diagonal distance from one corner of the monitor tube to the other.

3. When shopping … monitors you're likely to see the letters VGA and SVGA written everywhere.

4. The letters VGA and SVGA indicate the type of monitor and what resolutions the monitor is capable … displaying.

5. Monitors come in various sizes usually ranging from 14" to 21" and are usually referred … by their size.

Task 4. Find the Russian equivalents for the words and word-combinations given below:

Задание 4. Дайте русские эквиваленты следующим словосочетаниям:

Dot Pitch, "Flat-Square tube" monitors, curved tube monitors, resolution, Vertical Refresh Rate, by default, dot pitch number, vertical scan rate, a “flicker” effect, flat screen monitors.

Task 6. Say what these abbreviations mean:

Задание 6. Расшифруйте следующие аббревиатуры и переведите их на русский язык:

VGA, SVGA, Hz, IBM.

Task 7. Translate these words into Russian:

Задание 7. Дайте определения следующим словам на английском языке:

Resolution, monitor, screen, dot pitch, vertical scan rate.

Task 8. Retell the text:

Задание 8. Изложите главную идею текста (5-7 предложений). Постарайтесь осветить следующие пункты:

1. Sizes.

2. Dot Pitch.

3. Flat screen.

4. Resolution.