Discussion

New Research from VSP Vision Care and Workplace Intelligence Finds Desk Workers Spend Nearly 100 Hours a Week on Screens, 71% Say Screen-Related Visual Discomfort is Reducing Productivity

Papazsazsa: I have found the use of e-ink screens has not only given my eyes a rest, but reduced distraction as well.Short review of what I've tried:POMERA/KINGJIM: https://kingjim.us/products/pomera-full-suite-typewriter-for...This is great and pocket sized, but the keyboard is rather small. Very simple text based file system, I haven't tried their software and just use the microSD. Fits in a pocket neatly which is great.REMARKABLE2: https://remarkable.com/Really nice handwriting system, terrible sync software. Probably these cannot be separated, which is a shame. The included keyboard is great. I will probably sell this.DAYLIGHT COMPUTER: https://daylightcomputer.com/This is great because it runs Android so it doubles as my book reader too. Handwriting is useless, and you have to buy your own keyboard which is annoying since its so expensive, and the case options are highly limited. That said, I can use my apple magic keyboard with it so it's fairly natural, but the whole setup is rather bulky.BOOX external monitor: https://onyxboox.com/boox_miraproThis is a bit clunky but offers a big screen, which is nice. I don't trust the software on their eink readers and whatnot, but it's fine for desktop use.Happy to answer questions and eager to hear what other HN folks are doing on this front.More recently I've been using Daylight Computer

jMyles: RLCD worth a mention too.

mikkupikku: Do smaller screens help? I've never really bought into the big screen craze, I've been happy using a little eeepc screen for years before, and have always preferred laptop size screens generally. I have a feeling that luminous screen filling a smaller percentage of my field of vision is probably an ergonomic win, contrary to expectations.

hsbauauvhabzb: Laptops absolutely ruin my posture. I would take a crt over a laptop screen anyday.

dwedge: Yeah I have this. Mild but constant headaches, and a big floater I've always had has recently moved right into the centre of my vision and bounces around when I read on a screen, really harms my focus.I've been to opticians they said nothing is physically working and there is nothing they can safely do. I found some vitamins that apparently help and they do seem to be helping but they seem to have broken up other floaters so now I have more.I know the only real cure is to get out of this game, but it's a hobby as much as it is a skill

layman51: Floaters are very annoying. One solution for me has been to turn my brightness down as much as possible, but of course this might make it difficult to see what's on your monitor if there's too much ambient light around you.

justinpombrio: [delayed]

bdcravens: My wife is a former optician, so maybe she drank enough of the Koolaid, but she seems sold on the value of blue-light filtering. I also stick with dark mode as much as I can, and get the largest screens I possibly can (have dual 32" screens at home and at work), and so far I think I'm free of vision-related discomfort (I do have pretty terrible vision though without correction, and I am 49)

james-bcn: Get glasses with the correct focal length for the distance you have your screen at. It makes a huge difference.

nosefurhairdo: I dealt with eye strain that would bother me for hours after I stopped working. Improving the lighting around my desk basically solved it for me.

krackers: And beyond 20/20/20 rule, try to physically go outdoors in sunlight if possible. You can go down by 0.5 diopters if you do this consistently enough.

1123581321: A smaller screen seems like it would help so long as you centered it in your good posture position’s eyeline, and weren’t tempted to reduce text size too much.

estimator7292: The remarkable 2 is entirely separable from the cloud bullshit. You have root SSH access out of the box and the community has several sync replacement options for most needs.You can also install a terminal emulator and do all the usual linux CLI stuff like vim and SSH on a pleasant e-ink display.The keyboard does have a good feel, but I hate the layout and it's a bit too fiddly.

eddyg: Open-hardware e-paper: 13.3”, 1600x1200, 75Hz, HDMI & USB-C, Mac compatible: https://www.crowdsupply.com/modos-tech/modos-paper-monitor

bebna: Yeah, forget that. Switching the system over to Linux access kills most of its features and is hidden be hind scary screens, including loss of warranty. It is only your typically greenwashing like, “ we are open source” marketing badge. The community is also almost dead, probably because of that.Keyboard is also unusable, it doesn’t even have enough characters for markdown.