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It may sound a little weird but the next time you flip on your computer monitor, I want you to think about this: you are watching your computer watch you back. Okay, so it’s stretching a point, but when you think about it, the screen you look at is, in a way, watching you, isn’t it? It may not be active, although it can be, if you have a camera attached, but let’s assume for the moment you do not. Do you really think about the screen, whether it’s a flat panel or standard cathode ray terminal? Do you have any idea how they work? It’s actually quite simple! Every computer has a set of microcircuits that are dedicated to creating video information. Usually known as graphic chipsets, they generate the three basic signals you need to see the information you are typing or the mail you are reading. The three signals are Red, Green and Blue or RGB. By mixing the color palette created by the color signals and shooting them through devices known as “guns” in cathode ray tubes (the old, big, bulky things that looked like TV sets), or directly to the screen via a special ribbon cable known as the video bus, you have the display you see. It’s just that simple – at least in concept. In execution, it is far more complex and involves lots of intricate programming to ensure that your Times New Roman typeface does not end up, but this is exactly what happens when the happy marriage of programmers and chip designers get together to create what you see on the computer display. Granted, there are times when you do want to use symbols such as those just outlined, but usually that occurs only when you are creating a fancy presentation where you need special fonts. In other words, this need does not arise very often. Still, when they are needed they are there thanks to the hard-working programmers. What it boils down to can be summed up by paraphrasing an old saying: “As the eyes are the ports to a person’s soul, monitors are the mirror of your computer.” Yes, it is a bit flowery to put it like that, but when you think about it, that’s exactly what your computer screen is, now, isn’t it?
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