I need to 'break' my monitor - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

astyles · 03-28-2008, 08:50 AM

I need to break my clumsy 20" inch CRT monitor in order to get a new LCD monitor. It's company policy that the monitor has to 'die' before I can get a new one. Short of obviously cutting the cord or opening the monitor does anyone know how I can kill this piece of crap so I can get a new one?

A. I can't obviously break it.
B. The IT guy will notice if I just turn down the brightness all the way.

Creativity counts, I will post back which method works!

Lasereth · 03-28-2008, 09:13 AM

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3...20x12802mj.jpg

We've actually fooled a few people at work using this as their screensaver. Tilt the monitor a bit and for a second it can get some people.

Realistically I'm not sure if there's anything you can do. Maybe leave a really defined image up for a week and see if you can burn it in?

fresnelly · 03-28-2008, 09:50 AM

Gnaw on the cables until you break through or short it out. Then blame it on mice.

For added realism, buy some mice from a petstore and let them loose in the office.

As a bonus, you and your coworkers can stage and bet on mice races during coffee breaks.

BulletCatcher · 03-28-2008, 09:53 AM

Just take a magnet and rub it across the screen a few times.

astyles · 03-28-2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fresnelly

Gnaw on the cables until you break through or short it out. Then blame it on mice.

For added realism, buy some mice from a petstore and let them loose in the office.

As a bonus, you and your coworkers can stage and bet on mice races during coffee breaks.

I think that this one would be hilarious! Let us see if I have the balls to do it!

Daniel_ · 03-28-2008, 02:49 PM

Big magnet, left to sit on the tail end of the CRT for the weekend (or in a cardboard box under the back end of the CRT) should screw the steering electrodes.

Or...

Unplug it, drop a cup of coffee into it.

Or...

Make friends with the IT guy, and ask him nicely to give you a new monitor. If you can justify this by showing that (for example) you regularly need to work on a large monitor at a high res (in order to process image files, or work on immense spreadsheets) then the CRT is not good enough.

MSD · 03-29-2008, 06:59 PM

Do you have administrator privileges? If so, you can blow the electron gun assembly by setting the horizontal sync (refresh rate) way above the range the monitor can handle. Or you can just put up with torment of having a CRT like everyone else.

I'm pretty sure you'd also get an LCD if you complained that the flicker of the screen (if the h-sync is set low) was giving you headaches.

SSJTWIZTA · 03-29-2008, 07:59 PM

im to simple, i was kick doing to say "kick the fucker."
but that'll never work.

so far i think MSD had the best idea, thats genius.

yeah, im so downloading that cracked screen screen saver. time to watch my sister flip the hell out.

Redlemon · 03-30-2008, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSJTWIZTA

im to simple, i was kick doing to say "kick the fucker."
but that'll never work.

I'd say create an accident, witnessed by a coworker. The coffee drop is good. Also, if you could rearrange your office such that the monitor is in a somewhat precarious spot, then whack it with your briefcase as you suddenly have to leave the office quickly.

Then get caught in your misdeeds and be fired.

Daniel_ · 03-30-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redlemon

I'd say create an accident, witnessed by a coworker. The coffee drop is good. Also, if you could rearrange your office such that the monitor is in a somewhat precarious spot, then whack it with your briefcase as you suddenly have to leave the office quickly.

Then get caught in your misdeeds and be fired.

QFT!

Whatever you do - if you've been talking to people about hating the CRT, everything you do to it will be looked at as deliberate.

xepherys · 03-30-2008, 03:19 PM

From the Bastard Operator from Hell

Quote:

So, to relieve the boredom, I get some iron filings and pour them into the back of my Terminal until it fizzes out (Which doesn't take all that long, surprisingly enough), then call our maintenance contractors and log a fault on the device. Sometimes they'll send someone who knows what they're doing, but it's a lot more fun when they don't - which is about 98% of the time.

syquestrd270 · 03-30-2008, 04:56 PM

Make an ergonomics complaint. No one wants to deal with L&I for eye strain related injuries right?

Redlemon · 04-01-2008, 07:23 AM

Business Technology : Bigger Computer Monitors = More Productivity:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wall Street Journal

Working late? Blame your computer screen. A new study finds that bigger monitors make people more productive.

Researchers at the University of Utah tested how quickly people performed tasks like editing a document and copying numbers between spreadsheets while using different computer configurations: one with an 18-inch monitor, one with a 24-inch monitor and with two 20-inch monitors. Their finding: People using the 24-inch screen completed the tasks 52% faster than people who used the 18-inch monitor; people who used the two 20-inch monitors were 44% faster than those with the 18-inch ones. There is an upper limit, however: Productivity dropped off again when people used a 26-inch screen. (The order of the tasks and the order of computer configurations were assigned randomly.)

The study concluded that someone using a larger monitor could save 2.5 hours a day. But James Anderson, the professor in charge of the study, tells the Business Technology Blog to take that result with a grain of salt: It assumes that someone will work non-stop for eight hours, which no one will, and that the tasks they perform will all benefit from a larger screen, which isn’t always the case. But things like moving data between files are ideally suited to bigger or multiple screens. Anderson, who uses a computer with two 20-inch screens and one 24-inch one, recommends that businesses take the time to match employees with the proper size screen based on job requirements.

A caveat: The study was funded by NEC, which makes computer monitors. But Anderson says that it was vetted by the University’s research board. Also, he doesn’t care who businesses buy their monitors from – he just wants businesses to realize that the right monitor can make someone more productive. And if a tech department has to buy 500 of the same size in order to get a bulk discount? Buy the biggest ones you can, Anderson tells us. “Size matters,” he adds.

SSJTWIZTA · 04-03-2008, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redlemon

I'd say create an accident, witnessed by a coworker. The coffee drop is good. Also, if you could rearrange your office such that the monitor is in a somewhat precarious spot, then whack it with your briefcase as you suddenly have to leave the office quickly.

or maybe just spill come coffee down the vents.

explain yourself by stating:
"who in the hell throws a coffee cup!?! honestly!"

03-28-2008, 08:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
astyles Upright Location: Tulsa	I need to 'break' my monitor I need to break my clumsy 20" inch CRT monitor in order to get a new LCD monitor. It's company policy that the monitor has to 'die' before I can get a new one. Short of obviously cutting the cord or opening the monitor does anyone know how I can kill this piece of crap so I can get a new one? A. I can't obviously break it. B. The IT guy will notice if I just turn down the brightness all the way. Creativity counts, I will post back which method works! __________________ ---------------------------------- All time worst pick-up line: "You know, for a fat chick you don't sweat that much" - lol

03-28-2008, 09:50 AM	#3 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	Gnaw on the cables until you break through or short it out. Then blame it on mice. For added realism, buy some mice from a petstore and let them loose in the office. As a bonus, you and your coworkers can stage and bet on mice races during coffee breaks. __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

03-28-2008, 02:49 PM	#6 (permalink)
Daniel_ Evil Priest: The Devil Made Me Do It! Location: Southern England	Big magnet, left to sit on the tail end of the CRT for the weekend (or in a cardboard box under the back end of the CRT) should screw the steering electrodes. Or... Unplug it, drop a cup of coffee into it. Or... Make friends with the IT guy, and ask him nicely to give you a new monitor. If you can justify this by showing that (for example) you regularly need to work on a large monitor at a high res (in order to process image files, or work on immense spreadsheets) then the CRT is not good enough. __________________ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗ Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air, And deep beneath the rolling waves, In labyrinths of Coral Caves, The Echo of a distant time Comes willowing across the sand; And everthing is Green and Submarine ╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

03-29-2008, 07:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
SSJTWIZTA Master Thief. Master Criminal. Masturbator. Location: Windiwana	im to simple, i was kick doing to say "kick the fucker." but that'll never work. so far i think MSD had the best idea, thats genius. yeah, im so downloading that cracked screen screen saver. time to watch my sister flip the hell out. __________________ First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me. -Pastor Martin Niemoller

03-28-2008, 09:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3...20x12802mj.jpg We've actually fooled a few people at work using this as their screensaver. Tilt the monitor a bit and for a second it can get some people. Realistically I'm not sure if there's anything you can do. Maybe leave a really defined image up for a week and see if you can burn it in?

03-28-2008, 09:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
BulletCatcher Crazy Location: America's Outback	Just take a magnet and rub it across the screen a few times.

03-29-2008, 06:59 PM	#7 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	Do you have administrator privileges? If so, you can blow the electron gun assembly by setting the horizontal sync (refresh rate) way above the range the monitor can handle. Or you can just put up with torment of having a CRT like everyone else. I'm pretty sure you'd also get an LCD if you complained that the flicker of the screen (if the h-sync is set low) was giving you headaches.

03-30-2008, 04:56 PM	#12 (permalink)
syquestrd270 Tilted	Make an ergonomics complaint. No one wants to deal with L&I for eye strain related injuries right?