**** no plasma sux. I've spoken with people high up in retail and management of sales for companies producing plasma.. they sell because people want to buy them. The plasma has a strong tendancy to attract dust which destroys the picture.
And yeah he's right, plasma TV's last for on average just over a third of what LCD's last for.. ouch. Also, my uncle a year ago bragged to me about his 42" or 47" plasma tv. 7 months later the entire thing was scrap. and his story is the common story.
So many Plasma TV owners fight the 'burn-in' syndrome. Colors displayed on teh tv for extended periods of time. For instance, watching a movie in widescreen... those two black bars on top and bottom stay black for hours.. and that's only for one movie.
Interestingly, the technology of the future will be far better than anything we have right now. The screen will actually be a thin film between 2 very tiny anti-reflective panes of glass using LED lite technology. The word Organic has come up numerous times.. There will be no tubes like in moniters today. The 'organic LED' will consume FAR less power by having the ability to limit light.. as opposed to having your entire screen lit 100%.
I don't know too much about it yet as it's new technology, but it's exciting. Supposedly after they come down in price they'll be less expensive than moniters today.