gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials » eye strain http://www.ghacks.net A technology news blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:32:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Eye Guardian Reminds You To Take Regular Breaks To Prevent Eye Strainhttp://www.ghacks.net/2010/06/22/eye-guardian-reminds-you-to-take-regular-breaks-to-prevent-eye-strain/ http://www.ghacks.net/2010/06/22/eye-guardian-reminds-you-to-take-regular-breaks-to-prevent-eye-strain/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:38:20 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=26927 Working with computers all day can put a serious strain on the eyes if the user does not take regular breaks to rest the eyes. Many computer users tend to forget to take those breaks. The eye strain, or aesthenopia, manifests itself in various symptoms like headaches, blurred vision, neck pain, fatigue or pain in the eye area. Improper conditions can further aggravate the symptoms.

Eye strain is a temporary condition that goes away after resting the eyes for some time. Resting the eyes regularly can prevent eye strain.

Eye Guardian is a small program for Windows that reminds a computer user to take a break. It is in this regard similar to programs like Eyes Relax, Eye Defender, Eyecare or Off 4 Fit which we have reviewed in the past.

The software program places an icon into the Windows system tray upon startup that offers options to configure the application. The language was set to Chinese on first start on our test system. To switch the interface to the English language users need to right-click the system tray icon and select the fourth option from the top. This opens the config menu. The pulldown menu lists English as an alternative language for the program interface. The setting needs to be saved by clicking on the leftmost button in the settings.

eye guardian

eye guardian

Five minute breaks are suggested after 50 minutes of work with the possibility to change both intervals in the program’s settings.

prevent eye strain

prevent eye strain

A dimmed full screen window is displayed on top of the computer desktop at break times. A message, configured in the program’s settings, can be displayed on the screen as well. A right-click opens the menu with options to return to work early. The window can be closed by clicking on the X window control at the top right as well.

Eye Guardian reminds users to take regular breaks. The default language on the other hand could turn non-Chinese speaking users away. Those users can take a look at the program alternatives that were linked to above.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2010/06/22/eye-guardian-reminds-you-to-take-regular-breaks-to-prevent-eye-strain/feed/ 1 Prevent Eye Strain With Computer Breakshttp://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/04/prevent-eye-strain-with-computer-breaks/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/04/prevent-eye-strain-with-computer-breaks/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:28:30 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/04/prevent-eye-strain-with-computer-breaks/ If you work eight or more hours per day starring at a computer screen you will notice sooner or later that your eyes will get tired from starring at the computer screen. Eye Strain occurs when the eyes get tired from intense use. It is usually nothing serious and will go away after rest.

That’s where computer breaks come into play. While it would be possible to schedule breaks on your own some users might prefer an application that tells them when they should take their computer breaks.

Eyes Relax (via Download Squad) is a portable computer program that can prevent eye strain by managing computer breaks for the user.

Work time, break time and notification time are customizable to suite the user’s needs. It is possible to stop the software from running by double-clicking the system tray icon or by extending the work time by five minutes. That’s good news in times when you cannot stop your current work.

eye strain computer breaks

Notifications can be configured to be either baloon tips, a blank screen or an image that will be shown once the time for computer breaks arrives.

There is even a parent mode which can be used to password protect the application to make sure that your children will take enough breaks from working with the computer.

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