I don't watch American Idol, but I understand the basic format of it and the fact that Simon plays the "ruthless" judge. He looks a little ridiculous in those t-shirts (do some curls and push-ups Chief), but I guess his actual personality informs his TV persona well enough to play the role...There's also the nice judge, but I'm not sure if it's Emilio Estevez's ex or the fat dude, but just keep that whole yin-yang judge dynamic in mind...

Maybe we need to port good ol' Simon and the wholeIdolgimmick over to display electronic land...

Y'know, Lights Camera Action!...AMERICAN MONITOR, presented in HDTV (provided all your gear is HDCP compliant, of course).

If this is gonna work, Simon can't be so...Simon-like, because he IS kinda creepy, but we need someone who's going to be tough on the current crop of 23 to 24 inch LCD computer monitors. (Even though there are only two widely marketed 30'' LCD PC displays out there now [Dell 3007 and Apple 30'' CinemaDisplay], they're S-IPS panels and they get a pass today, I'll explain later.)

Ok, casting change, Simon is out, Mark Cuban is in. Mark Cuban can yell. Mark Cuban can be opinionated and tough on people (like Microsoft), and he’s a huge HDTV advocate. He can have the job if he wears a t-shirt that says “I SEE DEAD PIXELS”. The fat guy can stay too, because he played bass in Journey for a little while, and whether you admitted it or not, Journey ruled. (I know waaaaaay too much about American Idol; remind me to put myself under suspicion.) Jessica Biel replaces the girl. That choice needs no explanation.

Let’s parade the first contestant, the Dell 2407, about: Mark Cuban had this (previous early user review from JP) to say about the Dell 2407, while the nice judge had this (scroll down to the part about the PC Authority magazine review) to say.

Wow commercial time already…Well, producing such rapier wit and mesmerizing blog design is pricey! When we return, the Apple 23’’ Cinema Display, the Sony PremierPro SDM-P234, and (again) the HP LP2335 are up. Excluding the Dell, notice a pattern here (hint: it’s NOT a vertically aligned pattern.)

Side Note: The Sony 23’’ S-IPS panel may not be the newest thing on the market, but it’s kinda gettin’ this MILB (Monitor I’d Like To Buy) vibe all of a sudden. At least we know about the performance and issues associated with some of these older panels. Now, if only Apple and Sony would buck tradition and actually lower their prices more than 5 bucks :) once in a while.