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Ask Slashdot: What's Out There For Poor Vision?
hackwrench writes: I like to read on my computer, but when I resize text to be comfortably big, web pages and browsers handle it badly, and some applications don't offer an option to enlarge. Some applications even are bigger than the screen, which Windows doesn't handle well. Lastly, applications consist of bright backgrounds which feels like staring into a headlight. Windows' built in options like magnifier are awkward. What tools are there for Windows to increase text size, make things fit inside the screen, and substitute colors that windows use?
Optometrists. And "cheater" reading glasses.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
I use a 27" monitor, the NoSquint addon, and f.lux to dim the screen to softer colors at night. NoSquint is great because it can resize the entire webpage or just the text. There are also themes that can make your browser (I use FF) easier to read.
In the 'large monitor' vein, you can either go for one that just has enormous pixels(there are some 1366x768 and 1920x1080 panels that smear those pixels over a pretty enormous area) or, if other constraints demand it(in a laptop, say) shoot for something with a resolution that is an integer multiple of the one you actually want to use. Non-integer scaling can be done more or less tastefully; but simply doesn't have a 'correct' solution. Integer-multiple scaling is both easier and produces better results.
Also, if you can, turn the brightness down. Monitor manufacturers love setting the backlight to 'suntan'; because it makes the colors look more vibrant, the ghastly reflective screen look actually usable, and allows them to print a more impressive contrast ratio on the box without technically lying. If you have enough control over your computing environment, you ideally want a matte display, with the backlight low enough that the apparent brightness of white areas on the screen is about the same as the whitespace in a book under comfortable reading conditions. You will need a decent screen to actually do this(the cheap seats turn the brightness up because it's the only way to keep darker colors from just becoming indistinguishable; but better panels are up to it). You also want to avoid having to deal with glare from other light sources on the screen, since that will force you to punch the brightness back up.
You can use win-plus and -minus to zoom in and out, and win-esc to end, if you didn't know that, try it.
As always, all IMO. Insert "I think" everywhere grammatically possible.
A friend of mine had a similar problem, and found he couldn't get a computer monitor big enough. He ended up getting a 40" LCD TV with a HDMI input. It's on his desk at what I'd consider an uncomfortably close distance, but he swears by it.
Honestly learn how glasses are prescribed and how to modify a prescription. go to am optometrist and get a baseline made for reading then modify and order from a place that doesn't ask questions and will make dirt cheap glasses like Zenni.
I have a special set of computer glasses that are useless for seeing anything outside of my arms length but they magnify everything clearly within arms length. so I can even easily use a 11.8 inch 1080p screen at native resolution on my surface pro.
use optics to get your vision as clear as it possibly can for the monitor distance and then start toying with the software and contrast, it works a LOT better that way. and yes everyone can benefit from optics to correct as much as possible first.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
http://arcanesanctum.net/negat...
It works with windows 7 and above and it requires Aero to provide the filtering.
I get headaches from blinding white backgrounds and after spending way too much time trying various solutions like CSS and Windows accessibility themes which don't work I found NegativeScreen.
It works by putting a filter over the whole screen and allowing you to apply a matrix transform on the pixel values. Out of the box it will reverse the colours so every window gets a black background but there are other transforms supplied (submarine mode is cool). And you can edit the config file to create your own, here's mine which adds a blue tint to the otherwise harsh black:
Blue Blacks=win+alt+F12
{ -1, 0, 0, 0, 0 }
{ 0, -1, 0, 0, 0 }
{ 0, 0, -0.85, 0, 0 }
{ 0, 0, 0, 1, 0 }
{ 1, 1, 1, 0, 1 }
ObLinux: xcalib -i
go straight to a 32" 1080P TV as it's cheaper than a 25" monitor
A lot of televisions will only correctly negotiate EDID on the active input, and won't activate an input other than the primary, without first having a signal.
This tends to be a problem for laptops which are not persistent about negotiating EDID. This tends not to be a problem on Mac OS X, but in general, it's a problem for Windows, which is what the original poster said they had.
Toshiba or Samsung laptops, in particular, have a hard time driving some Samsung televisions, Dell HD monitors, and LG televisions. Mostly these screens tend to not be multithreaded in their electronics, meaning that they won't negotiate the EDID on an inactive (unselected) input when the computer is coming up, and those laptops, and many desktops, aren't very persistent in their attempts to renegotiate until they get an answer.
You're typically better off with a monitor than a television, if you plan to hook it up to a computer, even though there's a tendency towards higher expense compared to the televisions.