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Explore technology education and IT skills development through the history of modern tech, from CRTs to OLED displays.

A single glowing dot in a glass tube changed how we understand the world. We follow that spark from Carl Ferdinand Braun’s cathode-ray breakthrough to radar operators reading life-and-death blips, to living rooms lit by television and desktops shaped by GUI windows. Along the way, we show why screens didn’t just display information—they taught humans to think in frames, patterns, and pixels.

I walk through the interface pivots that mattered: when computers stopped spitting paper and started talking back visually; when text terminals gave way to Xerox PARC’s icons and pointers; when Apple and IBM normalized monitors as the heart of personal computing with standards like CGA, EGA, and VGA. Then we dive into the flat panel turn: the physics of liquid crystals, the jump from passive to active matrix TFT, and the moment LCDs escaped laptops to conquer the desk. We weigh plasma’s cinematic highs and practical lows, and how LED backlights, higher refresh rates, and HDR transformed clarity, contrast, and color.

From there, we explore OLED’s promise—self-emissive pixels with true blacks, flexible forms, and motion precision that redefined smartphones, TVs, and creative workflows. We compare Mini‑LED’s local dimming advances and MicroLED’s potential for brightness, longevity, and perfect blacks, while noting the manufacturing roadblocks. Finally, we look ahead: curved, foldable, and rollable designs that adapt to you; VR and AR that pull displays onto your eyes; and early steps toward holograms and light field systems that project depth without headsets. The through-line is simple and profound: as control over light improves, the screen fades and the experience takes its place.

If this journey reshaped how you see your monitor, share it with a friend, subscribe for more deep dives, and leave a review to help others discover Technology Tap.

PLATE & PONDER: EMPTY NESTING w/ Jen & Chris Fenton
Where a recently empty-nesting married couple discuss explosive headlines over dinner.

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Music by Joakim Karud
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Juan Rodriguez can be reached at
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