IBM has developed a flat-panel display that could signal the end of CRT technology. The new display, due to be formally unveiled next week, offers four times the resolution of current LCDs and, claims IBM, shows images with as high a defintion as print. The panel, codenamed Roentgen, used 15.7 million transistors to create a matrix of 40,000 pixels per square inch. Its 16.3in diagonal size makes it equivalent to a standard 17in monitor. Such a high resolution could also help bypass the problem current LCD screens have switching to lower resolutions. A typical 800 x 600 display can only switch to 640 x 480 by blanking out a portion of the screen or distorting the image, usually badly. Theoretically, the extra resolution provided by Roentgen could be used to smooth out the distorted image so much that it looks fine. However, IBM admitted it might be some time before its new technology makes its way into laptop and desktop displays -- initally it will be sold to markets, such as medical imaging, where price isn't such a sensitive issue. ®