Comment by MontyCarloHall

Unlike the Hot Dog Stand theme, the "Plasma Power Saver" theme also featured in the article actually was function over form, not just an aesthetic choice (or lack thereof). It was to reduce burn-in on the plasma displays of old portable computers, e.g. here [0].

[0] https://retro.swarm.cz/20170331/windows-31-running-on-ibm-ps...