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From: meuchen@grad2.cis.upenn.edu (Paul Eric Menchen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Monochrome, greyscale or what?
Message-ID: <20532@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 18 Feb 90 02:14:57 GMT
References: <29613@brunix.UUCP> <1990Feb16.231217.27252@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu> <10935@zodiac.ADS.COM>
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Reply-To: meuchen@grad2.cis.upenn.edu (Paul Eric Menchen)
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In article <10935@zodiac.ADS.COM> anders@penguin (Anders Wallgren) writes:
>In article <1990Feb16.231217.27252@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu>, kanefsky@umn-cs (Steve Kanefsky) writes:
>>BTW, I wonder why Apple downplays their monitors by calling them
>>"monochrome" when they're all capable of at least 16 shades of grey
>>and the Hi-res "monochrome" monitor can display 256 shades of grey
>>with Apple's card.
...
>Mono-chrome: (1) n. [monochroma, fr. L, fem. of monochromos of one color]
>		1.  a painting, drawing, or photograph in a single hue
>	     (2) adj. 
>		1. of, relating to, or made with a single color or
>		   hue.
>		2. characterized by the reproduction of visual images
>		   in tones of gray <monochrome television>		      

The artist and pysicist in me has to be nitpicky here.  Actually,
monochrome would be one color or perhaps different shades of that one
color. The color is at a particular wavelength.  Greys, as an artist
knows, are not color.  They are nuetrals.  The variation of greys are
a result of different intensities.  In this respect, the Apple
Monochrome monitors aren't even monochromatic.  They're achromatic.
Then again, if you consider white light as all colors, the monitor has
all colors, but can't seperate them.  Anyway, I agree with the orignal
post that Apple should call them greyscale.  That's what I tell
friends mine is.

Paul Eric Menchen
meuchen@grad1.cis.upenn.edu