alt Hacker NewsThat's an interesting case of a display being off actually indicating something ("loss of power") which can't be replicated with a bistable screen.
On the other hand, you probably don't want that glow of an active screen all the time. Status LEDs are annoying enough.
This screen is entirely independent, with its own power source, so unlike most bistable screens this one could also report when its connection with the Machine is lost, and in a different way than simply turning off.