Eye-strain, maximum visibility

[Robert J Tiess]

There are other things you can do to maximize visibility
on a PC, in and beyond an Internet environment:

At higher resolutions (e.g. 800x600), Windows defaults to
"small fonts."  This affects all system menus as well as
programs (like Notepad) using the operating system's
default font.  You can change this setting to "large fonts,"
either through WINSETUP.EXE in Win 3.x or through
the Desktop Properties in Win95 (right click anywhere
other than on an icon on the Win95 desktop, select
Properties, then settings).

With respect to Windows 95, there is a free program
Microsoft has made available:   win95gray.exe.  This
program, originally bundled with Microsoft Plus, offers
a feature called "font smoothing."  I believe it should be
still available at the Microsoft site (www.microsoft.com),
or, if not there, at a place like www.shareware.com.  I
believe the program requires a 16.7 million color palette,
so most systems will be able to use this at 648x480x16.7,
while other systems with more video memory will be able
to use the 800x600x16.7 resolution.  Once installed, a new
menu tab is added to your desktop properties, and you
can now use "large icons," as well as set a number of
previously unavailable options.

Several other things come to mind:

* There are such things as screen magnifiers and glare-
   panels one may place over any given monitor, and that
   may reduce eyestrain.

*  Most monitors do not come configured to show their
    images at the maximum available height and width.
    Manipulating the V-Height and H-Width controls on
    any monitor should provide the largest viewing area,
    although on older or cheaper monitors, this can have
    the unpleasant effect of separating raster lines.

*   Also, the brightness and contrast controls on a
     monitor should be tuned to the environment in which
     the monitor exists.  For example, we have several PCs
     and terminals positioned in places of high overhead and
     side-angle glare.  Some monitors are tuned "darker"
     than others to counter the glare and provide a crisper
     image, whereas other monitors, in areas of less light,
     are tuned to their brightest settings.

*    You can also change the color setup on your computer
      to something more favorable.  Sometimes you're better
      using a black/navy background and white/light gray text.
      Depending on your video card, you may not have many
      coloration options.

*     With regards to video cards, this really is the source of
       viewing capability.  All the newer monitors operate near
       or exceed industry standard refresh rates and are SVGA
       compatible; so today, the best step you can take to
       improve on-screen legibility is to upgrade your video
       card to at least a SVGA level with 2MB of video memory.
       (4MB for higher resolutions with higher palette options)

Also, look to see what you might be able to do to improve
any given program's visibility.  In Netscape Navigator, for
example, you can override a document's colors and force
a page to load and be viewed in your colors.  Some word
processors can also be changed.  Also, for those of you
doing general correspondence on word processors, why not
try this:  Set your font point size to something like 14, 16, or 20
and type that way until you're ready to print, at which point
you can hilight the entire document and reset the point size
to a lesser point size.  As long as you follow the don't-hit-
the-return-until-the-end-of-the-paragraph technique, your
document will automatically rescale to a publishable size.

Other practical things you might consider is whether or not
your monitor-cleaning practices are often enough and
whether you may be adding to the glare or dullness of your
monitor in doing so.  Some cleaning agents can leave
residue and produce a thin film on your screen.  You might
check to see if there is any electrical equipment in the
proximity causing the slightest interference with your video
signal.  I've had to relocate several PCs because of this.
Finally, if after considering all of the above, consider
relocating the Monitor/terminal tube and/or the PC.  A
new monitor of ours seemed to be not as crisp as the
others, but when I moved it from an office and out onto
the main floor for public use, the difference was dramatic
(not to mention a relief, as this was not a cheap monitor).


				Robert J. Tiess
				Middletown Thrall Library
				http://www.thrall.org
				thrall12 at warwick.net
				rjtiess at juno.com