Pixinator is a simple tool to aid in identifying dead or stuck pixels in an LCD screen. It was created for those of us who can't stand having a stuck pixel in the middle of our workspace. Enlist the Pixel-Terminator today!

• When buying an LCD screen:
  You'll want to make sure the screen is as defect-free as possible. When purchasing used, make sure the seller has checked the screen for defects and has an appropriate return policy. When purchasing new, it's best to find a retailer with a no-questions-asked open-box return policy, so that you can return the screen if problems are found. If there is an open-box return fee, it's might be time to compare the cost of returning it with reselling the screen yourself.
• When selling an LCD screen:
  Most buyers will want to know whether the screen has any pixel problems, and Pixinator will aid you in fully disclosing the condition of the display. You'll see the greatest return if your screen is defect-free or if the problematic pixels are close to the bottom or right edges of the display, out of most users' workspaces.
• When problematic pixels develop over time on an LCD screen:
  Sometimes you can fix the pixel or deal with it. Otherwise, it might be time to sell!
• When you simply feel like checking up on your screen:
  If you find your display to be stuck-pixel-free, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing it!

There is no sure-fire way to fix a dead or stuck pixel. Some have had luck gently rubbing the area of the pixel, possibly applying light pressure to both the front and back of the screen. You're milage may very, and try at your own risk - it worked for me on my Pismo 500Mhz PowerBook, but hasn't worked on my GHz SuperDrive PowerBook.

Alternatively, you could consult the display manufacturer to see if they will replace the screen. Usually, manufacturer's guidelines state that several problematic pixels must be present in a given area before the screen will be replaced. See below for a list of customer relations numbers.

Or, you could just deal with it. A dead green pixel in the lower right hand corner of the display - almost invisible in everyday use - is much more manageable than a stuck red pixel in the middle of your preferred web browsing or typing area, but you might be able to train yourself to ignore both. Remember, some people aren't even bothered by problematic pixels!.

If none of these solutions work for you, as stated above, it might be time to replace the screen.

Pixinator was designed to be as straightforward, small, and portable a utility as possible. At 48k, it is several hundred k smaller than similar products. Pixinator does away with useless features such as patterns or the ability to test any color and annoyances like registration screens or pop up windows. Plus, Pixinator is a bit more fun, allowing fading between colors in addition to immediate color switching. Nevertheless, sometimes another product may fit the bill:

• LCDTest (runs only on Mac OS 9)

Pixel problems arise from manufacturing defects and can manifest themselves right out of the factory or over time. Each pixel in an LCD screen is composed of Red, Green, and Blue sub-pixels. Any one, or even all of those sub-pixels can short out, either never turning on - a dead pixel, or always staying on - a stuck pixel.

Today, if companies didn't sell displays with pixel defects, we'd all be paying exorbitant fees for them and likely be stuck in front of CRTs. My current PowerBook has a 1280x854 pixel screen. That's 1,093,120 pixels. When we count sub-pixels, we're up to 3,279,360. My PowerBook has a dead green sub-pixel in the lower right corner. That one dead pixel results in a pixel error rate of only .00003049375% in this display. Considering this, it's amazing that there are so many perfect displays out there!

We need to let manufacturers know that dead and stuck pixels are a serious problem, presenting a distraction to the user and affecting an LCD's resale value. We need to encourage manufacturers to develop better fabrication processes so that we may all benefit from fewer pixel defects. A quick call the the customer relations department of your display manufacturer should help the cause (I'll add more numbers as people send them to me):

• Apple Customer Relations: 1-800-767-2775
  Replacement Guideline: 8 stuck pixels in a small area of the screen

Pixinator presents Black, Red, Green, Blue, and White backgrounds to aid in homing in on an offending pixel. A stuck pixel will show up best on the Black background (a dot of color will appear). A dead pixel will show up best on Red, Green, or Blue (a dot of black will appear). White will show both types of pixels and presents an "everyday" view of what it would be like working with the pixel in a text program. When the color is constantly changing, defective pixels will be small dots that appear and disappear.

Use the Up and Down Arrows to cycle through Black, Red, Green, Blue, and White.
Use the Left and Right Arrows to fade between the colors.
Keys 1-5 let you jump between the colors; 6-0 fade between them.
Keys r, g, b jump between Red, Green, and Blue. Capital R, G, B fades to the color.
Hitting c cycles through BRGBW. Hit again to turn off.
Hitting a chooses from BRGBW, fades to it, then repeats. Hit again to turn off.
Hitting p does the above, except picking from a larger color set.
Help or ? brings up the help dialog.
Escape exits the program.

• Support Java 1.4.1 and its updated focus model
• Support most major Java platforms (Mac OS X, Windows, Linux)

• Pixinator doesn't hide the floating palette of the CPU Monitor (and probably similar palettes). The solution is to hide those programs before starting Pixinator.

• Added the ability to automatically cycle and fade between colors.
• Hopefully addressed a user-reported problem where multiple monitors weren't being used on an ATI Radeon PCI video card.

• Manual/About dialog shows immediately when program is first started.
• Reorganized full screen methods to hopefully get around a user-reported problem where the menu bar wasn't fully hidden.