Notebook computers are a peeper's delight: they allow the guy in the next airline seat to read your confidential spreadsheet and your co-workers to realize you're writing a novel rather than taking notes.
I just tried two products that fix the problem: the Spectrum Secure-View security filter, from Kantek, and GlareGuard's Traveler 2000. Both work by blurring and darkening the screen for off-axis viewers; Spectrum's darker screen is slightly more effective.
Spectrum is smaller and lighter: it fits up to a 10 1/2-inch screen, while Traveler fits up to an 11-inch screen. Spectrum attaches with four hook and-loop fasteners, while the Traveler's swing-up frame clamps onto your screen. The frame clamps take up more space, but they also make it easier to transfer the filter to another computer. Both screens claim to enhance contrast Spectrum says it prevents glare but I found this wasn't the case, and both were more reflective than my Compaq's real screen. So don't expect either of them to work well outdoors.
Neither screen disguises solitaire enough to make it look like a sober text but both will keep your seatmate from kibitzing.
Ivan Berger
Spectrum Secure-View for notebooks: US$89.99. Kantek Inc.: (800) 536 3212, +1 (516) 593 3212, on the Web at www.business1.com/Kantek/. Traveler 2000: US$69.99. GlareGuard: (800) 545 6254, +1 (707) 525 7669.
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