Dell's One-Touch Privacy filter keeps your Latitude E6400 screen undercover

We're a bit miffed as to why Dell's keeping its new One-Touch Privacy system exclusive to the Latitude E6400, but whatever the story is there, it'll definitely keep straying eyes from seeing too much confidential information. Interestingly, this here filter isn't hardware based; rather, it's a software-driven application that "creates a pixel-based pattern on the screen, reducing the side viewing angles of people seated next to the user." Dell assures us that it has "minimal impact on display brightness" and that it can be activated with a single touch key, but we're still wondering how it landed on the seemingly sky-high $139 price. Talk about paying for the privilege.

[Via T3]

[Colin Potter @ Sep 26th 2008 2:45AM]

I can't wait til someone makes an open source program that allows the same thing... sounds useful.

[v3xx @ Sep 26th 2008 3:45AM]

try demonoid in a few weeks. hopefully there will be a mac port as well.

[nDee @ Sep 26th 2008 6:30AM]

ON most laptops with rubbish TN screens,
you can do so by dimming the screen.
Mostly used on my Thinkpad R51, the viewing angle was so tiny that you don't need any thing like that.

[tom @ Sep 26th 2008 8:25AM]

@nDee, the narrow angle is GOOOOOOD. Great for Pr0n at work or wherever people around. Nobody would notice

[JAdmiral @ Sep 26th 2008 2:59AM]

I remember a few years ago on The Screensavers, Sarah Lane showed how to do this by manually adjusting some settings on the display. I was never able to find those instructions, but I can only assume Dell essentially created a macro to do teh same thing. Unless they're doing it a different way? Say, with a software-driven application that "creates a pixel-based pattern on the screen, reducing the side viewing angles of people seated next to the user?

Maybe...

[The Mad Mule @ Sep 26th 2008 3:04AM]

The price to pixelate your screen on command: $139

Being able to keep your job: Priceless

[BlissX @ Sep 26th 2008 3:12AM]

I was taught to punch people in their face if they stared at you too long. Some kind of man-thing apparently...

I personally welcome this UNDERpriced, ass-whoopin'-prevention technology.

[mattkenny @ Sep 26th 2008 3:30AM]

So they came up with a way to turn a current-day LCD into an early laptop LCD.

I assume that this technique would have to use TN panels, since other types of panels were developed to increase the viewing angle?

[Jason Litka @ Sep 26th 2008 1:18PM]

Dell uses TN screens in just about everything these days (and the screen on the E6400 is a particularly bad example of TN tech).

[Michael @ Sep 26th 2008 3:52AM]

Or for about $40, you could get a passive 3M Privacy filter, sold by Dell.com's own website!

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A0628490

[icepop4who @ Sep 26th 2008 10:26AM]

ha! that's exactly what i bought. it isn't great, but it works.

if anyone's interested in buying it, here's my take: it will dim your screen about 25% but it will pretty much cut off anyone sitting elbow to elbow from you. You should probably dim your screen on the go for 2 reasons: it increases the efficiency of the screen and saves battery life. This filter has 2 sides, one glossy and one matte. I use the matte one because it reduces glare. Also note that this filter does not black out 100% (for you purists), but it makes it pretty darn hard to read from the side. It is both permanent enough so you can put it on and forget about it, and removable whenever you want. I recommend it if privacy is a concern. (which for me wasn't, i wanted an anti-glare screen for my glossy laptop lcd, but couldn't find a good one)

[*brotha @ Sep 26th 2008 4:17AM]

a little pricey

id.. go with the torrent

maybe if it was like 20 bux

but a poor college kid like me.. paying anywhere more then that for something like this..

cmon

[pball_inuyaha @ Sep 26th 2008 7:34AM]

So to you who are complaining about small viewing angles, how often do you need extreme viewing angles? The only time I care about viewing angles is when I'm looking at another persons monitor, cause I know no one else looks at my monitors and i sit in front of mine.

[NHAnimator @ Sep 26th 2008 8:14AM]

"we're still wondering how it landed on the seemingly sky-high $139 price"

How they came at that price is right there on the laptop screen in your photo. What? You can't see it from the angle you took the photo?

[icepop4who @ Sep 26th 2008 10:28AM]

heh. that's pretty funny

[m-p{3} @ Sep 26th 2008 11:26AM]

Or try TunnelVision from http://www.cockos.com/tunnelvision/

[9bit @ Sep 26th 2008 4:49PM]

Dell Latitude E6400. Now with discreet graphics.

[ehrgeiz7 @ Sep 28th 2008 10:17PM]

... how about a screen filter? the one that's used for cellphones... how about making a large format
for laptops?