Computer timer

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Ambush Commander
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Computer timer

Post by Ambush Commander »

To prevent me from blowing my eyes out any more than I am by being on the computer all day, I'd like to get some software that will give me friendly notifications every interval of time (every 15 minutes and every 2 hours) that I should give my eyes a break (10 seconds and 15 minutes respectively). An even nicer option would be to set "alarms" off at certain times in the future, although that's not necessary.

I tried Googling around for something like this, but there are a few problems: first of all, there's so many choices! It's a fairly simple bit of software, and I could probably hack something out myself with icron or Window's Scheduler or even in PHP; but a good deal of it is Shareware or Paid, which I will refuse to install on my computer nowadays. The second problem is most of the results are for Child Computer Usage limiting, which is definitely not what I want.

So I field the question to you guys: Do you use any software like this? If so, what? Open-source preferred.
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The Phoenix
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Post by The Phoenix »

I can relate how I solve the problem, which might yield good results for you (without giving a link to software).

I listen to music when I am intently working. Every four songs, I look up (I'm blessed with a window view now), and check out the downtown skyline.

Songs average 3-4 minutes, so thats every 12-16 minutes.

Then every 16 songs or so I get up and walk down the hall (stretch legs, get blood moving).

Works wonders, as long as you consistently can follow it. I don't have a software recommendation, because you are on Windows, and I'm on Mac/Linux (depending on the task).
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Benjamin
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Post by Benjamin »

Is that why my eyes are getting worse 8O
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Ambush Commander
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Post by Ambush Commander »

Phoenix, thanks for the suggestion. Recently, I've been getting away from listening music because I seem to concentrate better when there's no background "noise" (heh) but when I am that technique might be quite helpful. I'll need to bust out some playlists though (here is a person who likes to listen to one song at a time).

And yeah, I'm on Windows.

astions: While most optometrists I've gone to claim that there is no scientifically proven correlation between extended computer use and bad eyesight, most will tell you it can't be healthy not to give your eyes breaks. My eyesight is really bad, so I really need to mend my ways.
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The Phoenix
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Post by The Phoenix »

Ambush Commander wrote:astions: While most optometrists I've gone to claim that there is no scientifically proven correlation between extended computer use and bad eyesight, most will tell you it can't be healthy not to give your eyes breaks. My eyesight is really bad, so I really need to mend my ways.
My eye doctor skirted the issue. He talked about certain eye disorders (astigmatism, near/far-sightedness, and night-vision problems), and how each was directly linked to using your eyes for up close viewing a majority of the time. Eyes are generally better suited (designed?) for long-distance viewing.

The prevailing wisdom on how to deal with that is to use breaks where you look far away (20+ feet) on a regular basis for more than a minute at a time to allow your eye muscles to relax and tighten regularly. The alternative is bifocals for reading to allow your eyes to relax even when viewing items up close. Of course, I found bifocals to be a curse of unbearable weight.
matthijs
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Post by matthijs »

The prevailing wisdom on how to deal with that is to use breaks where you look far away (20+ feet) on a regular basis for more than a minute at a time
Does a screen saver with deep landscapes count? :)
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Benjamin
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Post by Benjamin »

This is exactly why I have considered using a projector or an HDTV as a computer monitor.

I think sitting close to monitors is just a throwback to the past in that it's just how it's always been done, but it's not the best way. With todays technology you don't have to site 2 feet in front of your computer screen anymore.
alex.barylski
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Post by alex.barylski »

I'm willing ot bet there is a FireFox extension out there that does this, but...

http://www.codeproject.com/samples/Alarm.asp

Complete with Sampe application. :)
njcu
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Post by njcu »

if your on windows why don't you just set up a recurring task on the task manager...

Start->Control Panel->Scheduled Tasks

Have it pop open a flash file which fills up your entire screen for however long you want it to then kill itself...

Also... you may want to change the resolution on your screen or invest in a better monitor altogether, I hear that there are some monitors specially designed to give off less radiation than a piece of paper.

Personally having something constantly pop up would annoy the hell outa me...
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Benjamin
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Post by Benjamin »

Well if your running linux you could just have it reboot every 15 minutes lol.
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feyd
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Post by feyd »

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iknownothing
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Post by iknownothing »

While you are on your computer, I suggest setting your Monitor Refresh Rate to the max, more Hertz, less Headache I've found.
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ReverendDexter
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Post by ReverendDexter »

iknownothing wrote:While you are on your computer, I suggest setting your Monitor Refresh Rate to the max, more Hertz, less Headache I've found.
Agreed - I had a college budy that couldn't sit in front of anything less than 100Hz for more than a few minutes without getting a headache, but he could play Diablo II for 8 hours straight on a good monitor.


Also, regarding the song suggestion; that wouldn't work for me, as I'm either not paying attention, or *really* focused... I'd lose count of songs after the first two or three ended. If I'm coding something really interesting, I'll lose 5-10 tracks in a row in Pandora (which is usually when it plays the song I want to hear...)
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