I couldn't tell you what they were designed for, but they were absolutely stronger in practice, as I have seen friends turned away from shops (yes, I'm in the UK) due to dead pixels, and the exact same shop would be entirely powerless to prevent you returning exactly the same laptop if bought online. It's not about easier - it's just different.

By the way, I didn't refer to the regulations as the Distance Selling Act as that no longer exists - it's been replaced with the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

The great thing about it is, the 2 weeks only start when you receive the item. And you can return for any reason. So I'd say the following: if the device contains _annoying_ dead pixels which you are unable to fix, return it. Simple. If they don't bother you, or you can't notice them (likely means they don't bother you) then stick with it. That's the rule of thumb I use with regards to screens. I only had once (in what was it 2003?) that I had to return a 2nd hand monitor from Germany to Netherlands with too many dead/stuck/whatever pixels. And I don't care that they find it possibly annoying. I'm not swimming in easy money...