"Andy Blackburn" wrote in message
...

Getting a big display bright enough to see in direct
sunlight without running the battery down might be
the biggest challenge - just try taking you laptop
outside on a sunny day as an experiment.


The laptop/tablet screen vendors are always trying for the widest viewing
angle and advertise the fact as a feature. This spreads the energy from the
backlight over a wide angle and mandates a much brighter backlight for
acceptable viewing. This, in turn, makes the LCD screen backlight one of
the major drains on a laptop battery.

In a glider cockpit it would be much better for the screen to concentrate
its light toward the small area occupied by the pilots eyes. This would
significantly increase the perceived brightness while reducing the power
drain. Fortunately, such screens are available and they tend to be cheaper.

On the other hand, all plastic, super bright, low power OLED screens are
said to be only a couple of years away.

Bill Daniels