Inexpensive Ways To Reduce Computer Screen Blues?

jnaazgul writes: " I've been a programmer for well over 5 years. I don't have access to high end hardware such as LCD monitors, new low-radiation monitors or the such. I've been searching all over for a low cost solution to keep my eyes from becoming fried globes from staring at code for more than 8-13 hours straight. I've heard about screen protectors, but they do nothing. Knowing that the slashdot comunity has a large population of programmers and computer-tied people like me, I'd like to ask you all what you do to avoid monitor radiation and ways to protect your eyes."

Comments

Same problem....

[NoWhere Man]

I find that sun glasses in general work pretty good. Yellow lenses seem to help the most.
Frames Direct
That link has some glasses that wrap around the head...which I find helpful. I have also seen contact lens that are photosensitive...I will probably be picking up a pair myself soon. Anything with POLARIZATION would be good.

Refresh rate is paramount

[GenetixSW]

The single most important thing you need to consider is the refresh rate when you're staring at a monitor for hours on end.

In theory, a monitor that displays past 72Hz is extraneous (because supposedly that's all the eye can see), but believe me, the difference between 72Hz and 85Hz becomes painfully obvious within a few hours.

If your department's budget can't afford an LCD (which is best for your eyes because refresh rate really doesn't exist, and the light is softer), see if you can get something that can do about 1280*1024 @ 85Hz. This is good for a 17" or a 19" conventional monitor. Even if you don't need that high a resolution, it is still helpful. The smaller the pixel size, the more fluid the screen appears. Always helpful.

After testing a few monitors for my own use, I settled on an LG Flatron 795FT Plus. It's flat, which is really nice because it also reduces glare. However, you really should take a look around a computer store and see for yourself. Test different resolutions and if it possible, see what it looks like in the dark (will *not* be possible in your average big box store).

One last note. Check to see what the white is. The purest white you find on most monitors is a 9300K (Kelvin) white, while cheaper monitors opt for around 6500K, which is more beige. A whiter white makes for better clarity, but for some monitors, may impair refresh rate.

Happy hunting!

Guaranteed to get the blue out.

[fwc]

To get the blue out of a monitor, perform the following operation:

1. Unplug the monitor cable from the computer. Hold it facing toward you, with the thickest part of the D connector upward.

2. Using needle nose pliers or other suitable tool, remove pin 3 from the 15 pin connector. In the orientation as described above, this should be the middle pin on the top row, or counting from the left, skip the first two and remove the third. Usually these can be broken out by either just pulling hard or by wiggling them back and forth.

3. Reinsert cable. Presto, no monitor blues.

If you'd like to know how this works, see any standard VGA monitor pinout diagram such as the one at Technick.net

Important: The author cannot be held responsible for any damage caused by anyone actually attempting this modification. Perform at your own risk!

Try this

[photozz]

I would try blinking once in a while......

changing convergence setting on your glasses

[eduardo]

I've often wondered about the relationship between eyestrain and focusing on a monitor ~2 feet away for hours on end.

If I'm not mistaken, opthamologists set up your glasses prescription such that the convergence between the two lenses is set to infinity. This has got to put a major strain on your eyes.

I'm wondering what the effect of changing the convergence to ~2 feet would be. Anyone have any feedback/experience on this idea?

Brightness, Temperature, and Simplicity

[kcarnold]

Yes it all looks pretty at the highest brightness setting your monitor can muster, but it can really hurt one's eyes. I watch movies (Divx ;) and DVD) with my brightness around 85, which was how the monitor shipped, but for normal work it goes down to 30 or 40. It looked quite unusual when I first got the suggestion to do this, but white does look more white, and it's much less of a strain on my eyes. I also set the color temperature down to 6500K, but I'm considering moving to 5000K. It's not about high technology. It's about the first controls a monitor ever had (the Power switch is also very useful; turn the monitor off and go walk around for a few minutes every once in a while).

Ambient lighting is also an issue; bright fluorenscent lights tend to glare a lot. If possible, turn off the light and use soft white incandescant lights, preferrably out of your direct field of view.

When I first tried what I describe here, each setting hurt my eyes more, but as I got used to it they hurt much less. So make your changes gradually to avoid headaches.

High-quality monitor + Matrox

[GooseKirk]

I find that a high-quality monitor and a Matrox card work for me. Crank up the refresh rate, tune the controls just so, set up the lighting around your workstation so it's comfortable, and you should be all set. Never mind with the rest of that stuff. Sunglasses seem like a good idea if your eyes do start to go screwy, though.

I swear by Matrox cards, though. No, you won't get the highest possible FPS out of a Matrox card, if you care about that sort of thing, but put one side-by-side with some other cards and I think you'll see a difference. My office has two workstations with (surprisingly) decent Compaq monitors, one with a Matrox G400 and one with a TNT2, and the difference is pronounced. I couldn't work on the TNT2 machine like I can on the G400. YMMV, natch.

You know the answer

[morzel]

" keep my eyes from becoming fried globes from staring at code for more than 8-13 hours straight"

Don't stare at your code for 8-13 hours straight. It's not only very tiring for your eyes, it's also very bad for your concentration, and hence for the quality of your coding.

Even if you work on a cubicle planet, there are always options enough to take little breaks. Go for a little walk, have short meetings with co-developers on difficulties/problems, empty your nerf gun collection on the new intern... Get away from that screen now and then.
It'll improve your mood, your eyes and your code all at once.

Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.