Hi! I noticed that over the three years that I intensively used my IBM T20 laptop, the screen brightness gradually began to fade a bit. Well, I just bought a new laptop (a Panasonic Toughbook W2 which is really cool, but that's another story), and I am intent on trying to preserve the display brightness on this one for as long as possible. So, here are my questions: 1) Will it help to make my Windows desktop theme "icons floating on a black backround"? My thinking here is that this will minimize the amount of lit pixels, and thus prolong their life. On the other hand, though, when I do this, I still notice some light eminating from the base of the screen. I presume that this is the backlight, and this makes me wonder if gradual "screen fade" is due to the lifespan of the backlight, rather than the pixels. Is this the case, and thus would using the black desktop theme not help any? 2) Would using the display's least acceptable brightness setting help to prolong its life for when I *do* need all the brightness (i.e., in outdoor conditions), or will the brightness fade at the same rate regardless of what setting I use? 3) Is it possible that the display won't fade at all, and that my IBM situation was a fluke? (I put a LOT of hours of use on my screens.) Thanks for any and all responses!

My feeling is that it's the back light that's fading. It doesn't seem logical that all the pixels on the LCD would fade more or less equally (if at all).

It is. The only thing you can do, and this MIGHT or MIGHT not help, is lower the brightness on the screen, but hey, then your eyes will be screwed instead. Preserve your eyes instead and don't worry about the light. You can replace them for about $60 and a little bit of effort and a VERY small screwdriver!!!