Ease your tired eyes!
Adjust your Mac’s display automatically
Anyone SKILL can LEVEL do it
IT WILL TAKE
15 minutes
YOU’ll NEED
OS X 10.6 or later, f.lux
If you’re ever forced to use your Mac late into the night, you need f.lux. This free tool automatically changes the colour temperature of your monitor’s display as the sun sets and night approaches. It’s designed to help relax your eyes, so you’re less wired after a long day’s work and better able to get some sleep.
You can download the app from justgetflux.com – extract the application from the zip file and copy it to your Applications folder. Launch it, then set your current location so f.lux is able to correctly calculate sunrise and sunset times for your area and the time of year. This can be done automatically using AirPort, or you can enter your postcode to pinpoint it on a map.
The only other bit of configuration you need to do is set your wake time – it’s 8am by default, but you might prefer to set it earlier if, say, you’re in the office by then. Once done, all you need to do is preview the changes made to your display – the Daytime button is set to the current temperature, but you can reduce the slider if you wish to dim it slightly. Click Sunset and you see it drop to 3400K (Halogen) levels, while Bedtime reduces it further to 1900K (Candle). The colours may look weird in the daylight, but while you can customise these settings, it’s best to wait and see how they look when the sun actually goes down before making any changes.
The step-by-step guide reveals all the advanced tweaks you can perform with f.lux, enabling you to configure your monitor to be easier on your eyes, both during the day and last thing at night. Nick Peers