Does a display exist that is physically incapable of showing images, so it can only present letters, numbers, and other text characters? A text-only monitor would be an interesting way to use a computer without any graphical output.
4 Answers
You can get the same practical experience by opening a terminal and making it fullscreen on Windows, macOS, or Linux. That hides the desktop, although the system can still display images if you launch a graphical program.
A dumb terminal or text-only display can connect to a computer and show a command-line shell. The computer itself still supports graphics, but the attached display would only present text.
Yes, but usually not as a normal modern monitor. You could use a dedicated alphanumeric LCD, a segment display, or a split-flap-style display. Those are limited by their hardware to characters and simple symbols, so they cannot render regular images or video.
Older options included teletype terminals and character-based displays. Modern USB alphanumeric displays also exist, but they are generally small status panels rather than full-size monitors.
You definitely wouldn't need to install a different operating system just to fullscreen a terminal. All three major desktop systems can do that.