Phantom Text

Amie

Amie

Mac Convert for Life
I call it "phantom text" because it's like a ghost lingering ... well, that and I don't know what the technical term is.

You close a window or app and then over the current window (or even on the desktop alone) there appears leftover text from a previous window or app, even though it's no longer showing/running. Has this ever happened to you? I don't see this very often, but it's happened maybe three times since I've had my iBook. What IS that, and how/why does it get there?

Just in case the above paragraph is confusing, I'll illustrate a quick example: I was was checking my e-mail in Hotmail the other day, I signed out, and the word "Hotmail" still appeared on my screen, even though I was in a totally different window and Hotmail was long gone.

Can anyone explain this "phantom text" thing?
 
teszeract said:
Is this screenshottable or a monitor thing?
Click to expand...

Tell you the truth, I'm not sure what the heck it is. I think it's a monitor thing. Next time it happens, I'll attempt a screenshot.

Has anyone every heard of this? I remember it happening on my old PC too. A few times in ICQ ... I would be IMing my friend Chip and close out the ICQ window and work in, say, AOL and the little phantom box with the phantom text "IM to Chip" would still be showing on my screen.

Very odd.
 
It could be the LCD going, but if it's just the text, and not graphics, it would seem like more of a software thing.
 
.. and, of course, you don't have AppleCare? :)

Wait, is the only text that sticks stuff that has been sitting there for a while? You might want to boot from the install disk and see if you can duplicate the problem there. If you can't, it's likely a software thing.
 
eric2006 said:
.. and, of course, you don't have AppleCare? :)
Click to expand...

No, I don't. See how much faith I have in Apple? :)

eric2006 said:
Wait, is the only text that sticks stuff that has been sitting there for a while? You might want to boot from the install disk and see if you can duplicate the problem there. If you can't, it's likely a software thing.
Click to expand...

If by "sitting there for a while" you mean an app that's been open and running for a while ... well, yes, sometimes. But it hasn't happened in a quite some time now. I've only seen it happen maybe twice. But when it does, it really baffles me. Ah well.
 
Sounds like image persistence, which is common in LCDs. Usually it's temporary, and happens when a high-contrast image (like text) is onscreen for hours on end. For example, my menu bar (which is almost always on screen) persists on my monitor. It's faint, but definitely noticeable on dark-color backgrounds.

So if it only happens now and then, I wouldn't worry about it. You might want to try the fixes suggested on the Wikipedia page I linked to, though. If it happens all the time and with images that were only really onscreen for a short while, then that might be cause for professional repair (depending on how much it annoys you, I guess).
 
A-ha! It did it again and I was able to take a quick screenshot of the "phantom text." Now, keep in mind, this was taken AFTER I closed iChat. The phantom text that you see in the screenshot says "Buddy List" from when iChat was up and running. After I closed the app, the phantom text appeared over my other active windows and apps, as you can see from the image.

Any thoughts on what this might be and what's causing it?
 

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Well, it's a software thing..

I haven't heard of this problem, but you could always try basic things - Onyx, repair permissions, repair disk, delete preferences (CoreGraphics?), the usual.

Just something to do until someone knowledgeable shows up.
 
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