You don't have to be rich to be thin. Product/Link: Dell™ 1503 Flat panel Color Monitor Synopsis: One very flat screen. Requirements: Windows 9x/Me/2000. Price: USD450.00. Rating: : It's about time. Comment: Tad recently purchased a small Dell Dimension L computer (the only option being a CD-RW). At the same time Dell had a special on their 15" active matrix, TFT LCD flat panel monitor - USD399, no shipping charges. This is something we'd seen not long ago only in places like the New York Stock Exchange, with prices of USD2,500 or more. We were envious since all our CRT monitors take up huge amounts of space, one weighing over 80 lbs. In comparison the Dell is flat out gorgeous. It barely tips the scales at 12.5 lbs., the tilt/swivel base is only about 7 inches deep supporting a 2" thick monitor, and the 15" screen has a 15" viewing area, about that of a 17" CRT. Unlike many laptop monitors you can change the resolution, though 1024 x 768 pixels is recommended, using an unusually slow refresh rate of 60 KHz. The sharpness is every bit as good as a CRT, displaying rich, bright colors and crisp, clean text. A horizontal viewing angle of +/- 50° means you don't have to aim yourself at the screen. It does exhibit one peculiarity: scrolling down Web pages with vertical blocks of solid color causes flickering. We tried changing the refresh rate without success. Surprisingly, videos are not affected. Initially, we were startled by the presence of two video cables protruding from the monitor's rear. It seems one is for analog signals and the other for digital. Ideally you'd feed a digital signal into the monitor, but most computers put out analog which is then re-converted to digital. That supposedly degrades the image, but you wouldn't know it by us. George was so impressed he's ordered a 17" flat panel for his new machine. What a showoff. (PCWorld.com review of two 17" monitors.) While we don't recommend rushing out to replace your CRTs, when you upgrade to that Pentium 7, 30 GHz powerhouse, compare a few flat panels. By then they should be even cheaper, perhaps standard equipment. Tad's next step: a wall-size plasma monitor. But don't hold your breath for that review.