[Updated: March 7th 2011]
Stop torturing your eyes!
Stop torturing your eyes!
How many of us have woken up in the morning to do some work or stayed up late only to find ourselves squinting uncomfortably at the computer screen? Looking at a computer screen is like staring into a light bulb and nowadays, one spends a considerable amount of time in front of a computer screen. You can do this without a problem in the afternoon but in the night, when the surroundings are dark, your eyes get damaged and start losing their sensitivity to light while looking at such a bright object. Bright screens can also impair your sleep patterns (source). In my experience, lowering the brightness causes me to strain my eyes even more. However, there is a better way; a way to make your computer usage comfortable when the Sun is down.
Introducing F.lux, a program that changes the colour temperature of your computer screen when it's daytime and night-time. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. I will provide instructions for installation for all three operating systems.
Installation
Ubuntu (go further down for Windows, Mac and other Linux distros). Instructions for the KDE desktop are provided along with the instructions for other Linux Distros)
Installation in Ubuntu is fairly easy. We just need to add the required repository.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kilian/f.lux
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fluxgui
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fluxgui
Upon starting, you will be asked for your latitude and your longitude.
A window will come up, in which you can enter these details.
When the sun sets in your location, your screen will begin to change its colour. It will blend in better with your indoor lighting.
Once F.lux is running, it will be visible in the indicator area.
Windows
The download link for windows is here, you will also have to enter your lattitude and longitude as I have shown.
Mac
The download link is available here. When you click download, click on "Open with Stuffit expander" and you will be able to drag and drop F.lux into Applications. Simply start f.lux and enter your lattitude and longitude.
Other Linux Distros and KDE
Binary files are not available for other linux distros. The GUI tool itself is not available. Also, the GUI tool requires gnome-settings-daemon in order to function properly. However, there is a way that this program can be used using the command line.
Step 1: Download the file.
wget -c https://secure.herf.org/flux/xflux.tgz
Step 2: Extract the file
The file xflux.gz should be present in your home folder. Extract it.
Step 3: Copy the extracted file to /usr/bin
You will need root privileges. You can obtain them by running Alt-F2 and typing gksudo nautilus if you are running Gnome or kdesu dolphin if you are running KDE.
Step 4: Mark it as executable
Nautilus: Right click > Properties > Permissions > Allow executing file as program
Dolphin: Right click> Properties > Permissions > Is executable
Step 5: Use it
Whenever you login, go to the terminal and enter "xflux -l XX.XX -g XX.XX" without quotations, where you should substitute the X's with your latitude and longitude.
However, you can also add it to your login manager (if you use both KDE and Gnome, you just need to do one of the following):
Assuming that your lattitude is 10.1 and your longitude is 9.2
Gnome:
1. Go to System > Preferences > Startup Applications
2. Click on add.
3.Follow the screenshot:
4.Go to /home/yourusername/.config/autostart
5. Mark xflux as executable (as shown in step 4)
KDE:
1. Go to System Settings > Startup and Shutdown
2. Click on add program
3. Do as shown in the screenshot
4. Double click on the program that you have just added.
5. Go to permissions > is executable
Step 1: Download the file.
wget -c https://secure.herf.org/flux/xflux.tgz
Step 2: Extract the file
The file xflux.gz should be present in your home folder. Extract it.
Step 3: Copy the extracted file to /usr/bin
You will need root privileges. You can obtain them by running Alt-F2 and typing gksudo nautilus if you are running Gnome or kdesu dolphin if you are running KDE.
Step 4: Mark it as executable
Nautilus: Right click > Properties > Permissions > Allow executing file as program
Dolphin: Right click> Properties > Permissions > Is executable
Step 5: Use it
Whenever you login, go to the terminal and enter "xflux -l XX.XX -g XX.XX" without quotations, where you should substitute the X's with your latitude and longitude.
However, you can also add it to your login manager (if you use both KDE and Gnome, you just need to do one of the following):
Assuming that your lattitude is 10.1 and your longitude is 9.2
Gnome:
1. Go to System > Preferences > Startup Applications
2. Click on add.
3.Follow the screenshot:
4.Go to /home/yourusername/.config/autostart
5. Mark xflux as executable (as shown in step 4)
KDE:
1. Go to System Settings > Startup and Shutdown
2. Click on add program
3. Do as shown in the screenshot
4. Double click on the program that you have just added.
5. Go to permissions > is executable
To illustrate how useful this is, in the night, you should suddenly quit f.lux. You'll be in for a shock!
No comments:
Post a Comment