Comments on: Think Tank Pixel Sunscreen: Don’t Let Your Laptop Get a Tan

By: David T

David T — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:31:32 +0000

I invented this method using a cardboard sun shade for car to cover a CRT being used in outdoor. There is no way we could go indoors as the author of this article asked. We were doing communication exercise (called Field Day), partly for emergency preparedness. If we could have gone indoors, the purpose is lost.

I bet the author has never had a used for computing in the outdoors?

How do you figure what we used for GPS street navigation before they were available for PDA over 10 years ago? We use small laptops but they were not very easy to see in bright day light. A cover hood is nice.

If you never been to a boat, you would have noticed that many of the electronics instruments (radar etc) have a sun shade as well.

Or you could tell the boaters to go indoors. Nope, they don’t need radar when they are indoors either.

By: dev.nvll

dev.nvll — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:00:04 +0000

just want to throw in my vote for pragmatism/practicality. you should not care what other people think. if something works and is more than reasonable in both price and functionality then that is true value. who cares what others think. really, who cares.

By: Luscious

Luscious — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:44:50 +0000

I understand the principle is to block light from hitting the screen, but wouldn’t one of those 3M privacy filters do the same thing (in reverse). I’ve never used a privacy filter, but if that can block the light from escaping the display at certain angles, shouldn’t it also stop light from hitting it at those angles as well??? Just curious.

By: ~Damian

~Damian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:32:16 +0000

Phil is correct. It’s got nothing to do with “privacy.” Any pro who shoots outdoors, esp in remote locations, has had to come up with a way to shield the laptop screen to check lighting and color balance. This hood might look weird to JK, but it sure beats the canopies I’ve jerry-rigged over the years to solve this problem.

By: John in Norway

John in Norway — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:08:02 +0000

Finally! I’m sick and tired of old ladies stopping me in the street to look into my pram. They always get upset when they realise that it’s a laptop hiding under the hood and not some screaming brat.

By: SAM

SAM — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:04:34 +0000

I’d be more worried about4 the wind catching this and your laptop goes para-sailing

By: Jimmy Leung

Jimmy Leung — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:55:41 +0000

Since black absorbs heat, it should have a brighter/reflective or white color exterior. I would assume this would cause more heat buildup under the sun.

By: cr0ft

cr0ft — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:31:49 +0000

Yeah frankly dismissing this seems pretty narrowminded. I can think of plenty of circumstances where you need to use a laptop in bright sunlight and where this would be a godsend.

Again… some of us sometimes actually put function before form. But then we’re not all fashion victim Mac users. ;)

By: Phil Lee

Phil Lee — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:13:07 +0000

It’s for pro photographers to use on shoots. Imagine you’re off shooting a model on a beach and need to check your photos are OK. There’s no use chimping on the camera, you need to see it on a laptop. Think Tank make all sorts of amazing bags and gadgets for pros to use.