Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?
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Often, I like not using the orange filter but I like using the Alt+PageUp and Alt+PageDown buttons to change my screen's brightness level. Is there a way to turn off the orange filter permanently (not just until sunrise) but keep my brightness level setting? When I disable fluxx, both orange filter and brightness are reset. Right now my work around is to set the "Daytime" and "At night" level to max but that means I have to change the "At night" level every time I want to turn the orange filter back on.
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No, there's no way to do it with the current version. Let's wait to see what the next version offers in terms of customizing everything (I have no idea what it will offer). It's possible we will see the next version be released before Spring of 2017. I hope.
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@Jorge May I ask what screen you're using, is it a desktop (separate) or a laptop built in? Either way it actually doesn't matter. You're DESTROYING your contrast and fading everything with alt + page up and page down.
First, every monitor and screen usually has an easy way to reduce brightness, and when you use your monitor's or laptops built in brightness, you'll see the screen much clearer, but I can't put it into words. You'd think it would be the same but it's not.
Think about .... looking at a bright light through a dark piece of paper. I can't think of any good examples, but you're trying to block light with the filter (f.lux) when you could completely reduce the light source (your monitors back light) in the first place.
This allows you to both reduce energy consumption by about 10-15 watts depending on the monitor, and greatly increase the readability of the content on screen.
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@Tungsten_smooth I have an Asus MG279Q monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236466
I use my monitors built in blue light filter. I don't like changing the brightness level through the monitor button because it takes longer than using flux's shortcut keys. I turn off my monitor's blue light filter and turn off flux's brightness settings when I play games, watch videos, or do graphics work. I don't like having to go to my monitor's settings each time I want to change brightness.
Also, even when if my monitor's brightness is at 0, it still looks brighter than I want it to so I have to use flux to make it slightly dimmer.
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f.lux is not changing the brightness of your monitor. It is simply increasing the black level and it's also warming up the color temperature simultaneously (this simulates what happens when you dim an incandescent light bulb).
When you change the brightness using your monitor's built-in brightness control, you are changing its backlight's brightness.
Consider this: you are already reaching for your monitor's buttons to enable and disable the built in blue light filter. So why not instead allow f.lux to filter the blue light (which does a much better job, as discovered with expensive light spectrum analyzers) and continue reaching for your buttons to instead adjust the brightness? If you press and hold the control to adjust the level, it goes very fast. So, it's very easy. This way, you get a much more true blue light filtering and you get a true brightness reduction.
Are you also using your computer in total darkness (no room light, just pitch black otherwise)? If so, then that's a part of the problem. If you were to balance the brightness of your room lighting with the brightness of your monitor and vice versa, then you wouldn't be needing to do all of this adjusting quite so often. That way, the brightness setting of '0' will actually be too dim. Believe me, I know how bright this monitor is even at 0.
I will never understand why people use their computer without any lights on in their room. It creates eyestrain, eye fatigue, and in some cases, headaches. Later in life, you may regret it because you could be causing permanent damage to your eyes. Ask old people what they regret in terms of how well they took care of their body when they were younger.
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@TwoCables Thanks, I started changing the brightness in my monitor. I realized I could just add a preset for it instead of having to adjust brightness manually.
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@Jorge said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables Thanks, I started changing the brightness in my monitor. I realized I could just add a preset for it instead of having to adjust brightness manually.
Oh wow, nice. I still hope you're not using your computer in a room with no lights on.
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@TwoCables No worries, I always have my trusty Philips LED Daylight bulb on :)
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@Jorge said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables No worries, I always have my trusty Philips LED Daylight bulb on :)
Uh, by daylight, do you mean close to 6500K? I think you put this in as a joke but I just can't quite catch it. It is hard to read because you say you don't like the orange filter so there's more reason to believe you're being serious. I'm hoping you will enjoy a warm white, so that you can get the rest you need. If 2700K is too much, find a quality LED bulb (not some 80 CRI because with a rating of "3000K it's NOT going to be 3000K) and find one that does "neutral white" with 3000K or very close to it.
Find a picture or video of it compared with another light so you know that it will be the right color. I've had horrible experience with cheap or even $10 LED bulbs that weren't what was advertised.
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@Tungsten_smooth said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@Jorge said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables No worries, I always have my trusty Philips LED Daylight bulb on :)
Uh, by daylight, do you mean close to 6500K? I think you put this in as a joke but I just can't quite catch it. It is hard to read because you say you don't like the orange filter so there's more reason to believe you're being serious. I'm hoping you will enjoy a warm white, so that you can get the rest you need. If 2700K is too much, find a quality LED bulb (not some 80 CRI because with a rating of "3000K it's NOT going to be 3000K) and find one that does "neutral white" with 3000K or very close to it.
Find a picture or video of it compared with another light so you know that it will be the right color. I've had horrible experience with cheap or even $10 LED bulbs that weren't what was advertised.
All he is saying to me is, "No, I'm not using my computer with no lights on. I have fairly bright light in my room."
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@Tungsten_smooth The bulb I have is 800 lumens and it's supposed to look like 5000k. What's great about it is that it only uses 10 watts! I have never like orange/yellow bulbs (so called "soft white"). I like bulbs that are as white as the long tube kitchen lights. I like having my monitor dim but my surroundings bright (except when I watch a movie, then it's the opposite).
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@Jorge said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@Tungsten_smooth The bulb I have is 800 lumens and it's supposed to look like 5000k. What's great about it is that it only uses 10 watts! I have never like orange/yellow bulbs (so called "soft white"). I like bulbs that are as white as the long tube kitchen lights. I like having my monitor dim but my surroundings bright (except when I watch a movie, then it's the opposite).
The warmer the color of the light that you have coming from your indoor lighting (such as 2700K from the "old-fashioned" incandescent light bulbs which you call "orange/yellow"), the more relaxing your indoor lighting is. 5000K is very very very stimulating and alerting and should be avoided at all costs during the last few hours of your day. The last few hours of your day need to be spent relaxing, not being stimulated. This is a major problem in today's world and it's why some people can't sleep very well. This color of light comes from more than just "Daylight" lights. It comes from computer monitors and TVs and tablets and phones, etc (actually, now we're talking about light that's even more stimulating than 5000K).
The T12 fluorescent lights that you have in your kitchen are around 4100K, and while that's warmer than 5000K, the flicker and harshness of fluorescent lights is still quite stimulating. 4100K is also stimulating on its own.
Then you have brightness. I don't care how red your light is, if it's too bright, then it's going to be too stimulating. For example, I use these red LED lights when I'm trying to unwind toward the end of my day (I kid you not):
I have found them to be too bright and a little too alerting for use RIGHT before bed (so I found a solution to that which I'll share in a moment). Even though they are pure, true red, they are probably about as bright as a 60-75W incandescent light bulb. How do I know? 3 ways. The first way is, I noticed that the amount of red light that comes through my eyelids while my eyes are closed compared to when I cover my eyes completely with my hands is about the same as a 60-75W incandescent, but obviously it's just a different color. The 2nd way is, I can also tell by how well my room is illuminated by the red light. It's about the same as a 60-75W incandescent light bulb. The 3rd way is, I can definitely feel how stimulating their brightness is. I've done careful tests to confirm it.
So when I'm ready to truly go to bed (like, when I think I have about 30 minutes left), I switch to these little red lights:
They're about as bright as a 10W incandescent. I wouldn't say their red color is as perfectly true as the FEIT lights, but they're still quite good and very dim but not TOO dim that I can't see anything. When I turn these off and lay down, it's like I didn't even have any lights on at all. I'm 100% ready for sleep.
I forgot to mention my computer and f.lux. During this time with these little 1W red LED lights, my computer is OFF. The only light I'm exposed to are these little red LED lights. While using the FEIT lights, I'm finishing up with f.lux set to 800K and my monitor's brightness all the way down. I even use Alt+Page Down 1 or 2 times to further reduce the brightness because this monitor I have is still quite bright at '0'. That's the way a lot of today's monitors are though - at least the ones I would want for what I use them for (gaming, movies, etc.).
I'll be honest: there's no way I would ever want to use a Daylight light bulb after sunset - or really, not even DURING sunset. Why? Because of human evolution and because of the strong invisible all-penetrating energy that comes from the sun. Yes, even in a basement with no windows, any life form that evolved on this planet like we have can still be energized by the sun during the day - many sensitive people like me have noticed this and we are quite fascinated by it. You can screw up your circadian rhythm all you want, but without that invisible energy coming from the sun, using a Daylight light bulb just confuses your system and it's not healthy. You can't expect any good results by using alerting light during and after sunset. The body just doesn't like it. You can fool yourself into believing it's ok and we all do it, but that doesn't make it ok.
So when would I use Daylight lights? During the day, in areas inside where I need more light. When would I use warmer bulbs like what you called "orange/yellow"? At night, in areas where I need more light.
What about brightness? That's just as important. After sunset, try to avoid bright light. If you ever find yourself being sensitive to bright light at night when you've just come from a darker room or something, that means you were producing melatonin and your body wants to go to sleep and now that bright light just stopped that melatonin production and now it's going to take another 3-4 hours to get back up to useful levels for sleep. Human evolution. We're stuck with where we are at right now. We evolved with the only source of light being sun and eventually fire, after we discovered fire.
Now yes, in parts of the world where sunlight is very rare, it's good to use full-spectrum alerting light to help stave off depression due to not getting enough sunlight. There are even special lamps designed for this. In parts of the world though where there's a good amount of sunlight every day, it's really best to try to simulate outdoor lighting indoors and to follow the flow of it. Allow the use of bright alerting light during the day, and don't allow it at night. This can help make it much easier to solve major sleep problems.
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@TwoCables Thanks for the info, that's good to know. I do notice that sometimes it's hard to go to sleep even when I'm supposed to be tired. I'm thinking of getting a dimmable color changing LED bulb like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/MagicLight-Bluetooth-Smart-Light-Bulb/dp/B00Y6X93EQ
It's a programmable bulb that you can control with a smartphone app so it's possible to schedule it to be bright orange during sunset, then switch to dim orange late afternoon, and then to dim red light during late evening. Also, during the morning I could use white, blue, or purple (because well, purple looks cool haha). What do you think of a dimmable color changing LED bulb like this one?This is a link to the phone app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryanschultze.LEDBlueRyanSchultze -
@Jorge said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables Thanks for the info, that's good to know. I do notice that sometimes it's hard to go to sleep even when I'm supposed to be tired. I'm thinking of getting a dimmable color changing LED bulb like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/MagicLight-Bluetooth-Smart-Light-Bulb/dp/B00Y6X93EQ
It's a programmable bulb that you can control with a smartphone app so it's possible to schedule it to be bright orange during sunset, then switch to dim orange late afternoon, and then to dim red light during late evening. Also, during the morning I could use white, blue, or purple (because well, purple looks cool haha). What do you think of a dimmable color changing LED bulb like this one?This is a link to the phone app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryanschultze.LEDBlueRyanSchultzeYou're welcome!
I'd love to have something like that if I could have it (it's a long story why I can't). The idea seems quite good. I'd love it if I could easily change the color and brightness of my indoor lighting without having to swap light bulbs.
However, another problem we have in today's world is, we have too much stimulation during the evening and also right before bed (I think it's a bad habit we've all gotten into). Of course, there's also the stress of daily life. heh Without daily meditation at regular intervals, it can be impossible to shut all that off when you're laying in bed trying to go to sleep because you've never given your mind a chance to process everything that still needs to be processed. Meditation can be as simple as just going into a perfectly quiet room (or use a very good white noise machine) by yourself with your eyes closed and just spending like 10-30 minutes or an hour if you can afford it doing absolutely nothing, just letting your mind do what it needs to do. This way, you have a better chance of your mind being quiet when you lay down to go to sleep. You see, when you lay down to go to sleep, you have turned off all stimulations in your home and so now your mind is like, "Finally! Now I can process everything!!! Good lord! What are you doing to me?" lol
This also reminds me of the fact that we are over-stimulated in general, ALL DAY. I mean, for example, do you do any of the following?
- While driving, do you listen to music or have other forms of entertainment going? (or if you take public transportation, then do you feel that you have to have some kind of entertainment during the trip?) Are you able to do it in total silence?
- Do you have music going while you're in the bathroom for a shower and other "getting ready to go somewhere" activities? Can you do it in total silence?
- While eating at home, do you feel that you have to be entertained by something like music or TV or a movie or YouTube, etc.? Can you do it in total silence?
- While using the bathroom for "number 2", do you feel that you can't do it if you're just sitting there in silence doing nothing else otherwise? I have heard that most people will sit down on the toilet with their phone or tablet! When I sit down to use the bathroom, I don't have any outside stimulation at all. While I'm in there, it's just me, the sound of the air vent, and my thoughts.
- While cleaning your home or doing laundry or something like that, do you have music playing? Can you do it in total silence?
I mean, there are a LOT of activities we do where we feel that we must have some sort of entertainment going at the same time. The problem with this is, the mind is never allowed a moment to process anything. It's never allowed to meditate. If we're constantly stimulated from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep every single day, then it's only a matter of time before we become more and more stressed along with experiencing other mental and physical health problems. When we're laying in bed trying to sleep, there's no stimulation preventing the mind from processing things, and so that's what it begins to do immediately and it won't stop until it's done. That's why it's impossible to go to sleep sometimes even though you're exhausted and really can't do anything else but lay there.
Personally, I drive in total silence. If I were taking public transportation, then I'd do it in silence.
When I am showering and getting ready to go somewhere, I do it in silence. No entertainment.
When I eat, I admit that I still watch a movie or two or three. lol I always forget that it's much better to just sit and eat quietly in peace.
When I use the bathroom for anything, I do it quietly in peace. No entertainment.
When I do any cleaning or laundry or when I make my bed, etc. etc. etc. I do it in silence. No entertainment.
I think we all have a fear of being bored or something. I had an old friend say something to me one time that has stuck with me, but I don't remember his exact words. Basically, what he told me was it's absolutely amazing how entertaining our mind and our thoughts can be when there's no external stimulation/entertainment or distractions. He was kind of surprised to find out on his own that he doesn't need something entertaining him all the time, that his mind and his thoughts are just as good.
One distraction that I think no one can let go of these days is, their phone and social media. Turning ALL of that off and forgetting that it exists on a regular basis can be extremely beneficial. The mind can't process things when it's not allowed to. We're living in an extremely overstimulating world these days. If it's not music or TV or movies or YouTube, it's social media and our phones and tablets. If it's not that, it's our jobs and other things. Many people are going absolutely stir-crazy because they're always on the go, seemingly 24/7. It's no wonder we have the mental and physical health problems that we have in today's world. It's no wonder most people have problems falling asleep.
There one more problem that I haven't really discussed on this forum yet, and I regret it because it's very important because I don't think anyone is teaching this these days: don't eat too close to bedtime. Generally, it's best to wait a minimum of 3 hours after eating before trying to go to sleep, especially if it was a bit of a big meal. Forcing the body to sleep while it's trying to digest food is going to cause problems with sleep, digestion, and of course your health (including becoming more and more overweight). You should almost begin feeling somewhat hungry when you're about to go to bed. You know that familiar feeling a few hours after you eat where you think you're hungry again? That's when the body is mostly done digesting and you can then go to sleep.
Then, of course, there's physical activity. Too many of us these days don't know any of these things because almost no one is teaching anyone (we have to go seeking this information ourselves now). One major thing is, it's critical to calm down and slow down and cool down toward the end of the day. Too many people these days though will come home from work or school at like 5pm and then go to the gym at like 6pm and come home at 8pm all hot and sweaty and then try to go to bed at like 10 or 11. That's WAY too soon to be going to bed after all that activity. It takes a few more hours than that for the body to unwind and calm down after all that exercise. I remember reading it takes a minimum of maybe 4-6 hours because I remember reading that it's best to do all of your exercising during the day, but not too late in the afternoon. So, I extrapolated from that information that it probably takes 4-6 hours for the body to truly calm down after exercising or doing other high-energy activities.
I'm sure much more could be said, but I've already made this post way too long. It's quite important though. A healthy mind and body makes it easier to be happy and peaceful.
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@TwoCables said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
I mean, there are a LOT of activities we do where we feel that we must have some sort of entertainment going at the same time. The problem with this is, the mind is never allowed a moment to process anything. It's never allowed to meditate.
You need a TL;DR for sure! Anyway, I wish I didn't open pandora every night in high school, there were way more important things to process about my behavior and social interactions. I got slightly better at this mid senior year, but having the ability to do so all throughout highschool, and even before, would have been life changing.
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@Tungsten_smooth said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
I mean, there are a LOT of activities we do where we feel that we must have some sort of entertainment going at the same time. The problem with this is, the mind is never allowed a moment to process anything. It's never allowed to meditate.
You need a TL;DR for sure! Anyway, I wish I didn't open pandora every night in high school, there were way more important things to process about my behavior and social interactions. I got slightly better at this mid senior year, but having the ability to do so all throughout highschool, and even before, would have been life changing.
I hate the "TL;DR" because that means, "Too long, didn't read it". That, to me, is rude. I'm hoping you already knew what "TL;DR" means.
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@TwoCables Yeah, say what you want but I'm not reading that wall of text. I skimmed the top of the paragraphs after what I had quoted.
An edit probably wouldn't be seen so I want to be more accurate about what I said before. I said I opened up music all throughout highschool. Remembering that I had a flip phone since middle school on up to just about sophomore year, (a touch screen / flip phone after that--still not like android or iOS app capable) so I maybe listened to the occasional song before bed, but it hopefully wasn't more than an hour or so. I really don't remember, probably because I don't care about those specifics. Anyway, I think I got my first real smartphone after high school, and I had a tablet near the end of my senior year.
Either way, it's not just "entertainment" distraction, it's not knowing how to reflect on my day, and I did get better, but what I reflected on was not the day before, but months or more than a year behind me, I guess catching up on what I hadn't processed.
It's something I never thought about and really regret. There were some things that I processed almost on the spot, and some things I couldn't even remember once I got to school. It's not like it's difficult, my mind was just completely blank, not even good stress to keep important things on my mind. I think it is in part by all the media and things that distract us, even things as simple as a commercial.
I think it's probably also my brain was still developing as an adolescent and I just didn't have the same thought process that I do now and I should be glad that I didn't do anything too stupid to get myself in a ton of trouble. So there's a good and bad side.
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@Tungsten_smooth said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables Yeah, say what you want but I'm not reading that wall of text. I skimmed the top of the paragraphs after what I had quoted.
No, it's all good. I mean, I'm not asking you to read it. However, it won't hurt you to do so. You might even feel glad that you read it. I know I'm glad I typed it up. I still feel it's rude for someone to say "TL;DR" about a post that's not even directed at them. Yes, it would be even worse for the recipient to say that, but he didn't.
I'm only being honest because I don't like keeping things hidden from friends if I can help it.
@Tungsten_smooth said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
An edit probably wouldn't be seen so I want to be more accurate about what I said before. I said I opened up music all throughout highschool. Remembering that I had a flip phone since middle school on up to just about sophomore year, (a touch screen / flip phone after that--still not like android or iOS app capable) so I maybe listened to the occasional song before bed, but it hopefully wasn't more than an hour or so. I really don't remember, probably because I don't care about those specifics. Anyway, I think I got my first real smartphone after high school, and I had a tablet near the end of my senior year.
Either way, it's not just "entertainment" distraction, it's not knowing how to reflect on my day, and I did get better, but what I reflected on was not the day before, but months or more than a year behind me, I guess catching up on what I hadn't processed.
It's something I never thought about and really regret. There were some things that I processed almost on the spot, and some things I couldn't even remember once I got to school. It's not like it's difficult, my mind was just completely blank, not even good stress to keep important things on my mind. I think it is in part by all the media and things that distract us, even things as simple as a commercial.
I think it's probably also my brain was still developing as an adolescent and I just didn't have the same thought process that I do now and I should be glad that I didn't do anything too stupid to get myself in a ton of trouble. So there's a good and bad side.
Yeah, it's extremely tough growing up in this modern world. I grew up watching TV, so I think I have a nearly innate desire or belief that I must always be entertained by something at all times. It's like a constant fear or belief that I'll be bored to tears or something if there's nothing to entertain me. Well, it turns out I was wrong. I can be surprisingly entertained by just sitting here and focusing inward and just letting my mind go where it needs to. I sometimes will do this on purpose to focus on a decision or to solve a problem, etc. I'm learning what it means to quiet the mind and the soul so that I can hear the answers I'm looking for.
Of course, I should also discuss nutrition. That can make a big enough difference that none of the above matters.
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@TwoCables said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
that I'll be bored to tears or something
NINJA DELETE.
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@Tungsten_smooth said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
@TwoCables said in Can I turn off orange filter but keep brightness level?:
that I'll be bored to tears or something
[deleted as requested]
I'm a little lost as to where you're going with this or why you're telling this story, but I do want to say that I'm not surprised he felt he was extremely bored. In today's world, most people grow up with some form of entertainment going nearly constantly from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed. That type of entertainment can even be in the form of just texting someone or checking Facebook or other things like that. It can be anything that's keeping your attention.
People are living in a world where they never give the mind a moment to rest and process everything. So, it does it when it can, which is usually when they've finally turned off all of their distractions because now they want to go to sleep. It's good to get up an hour or two early and just do nothing for a while. Just sit and be quiet and peaceful with your thoughts.
It can also be good to retire early at night and do the same thing when you are completely ready for bed: just sit in a chair and be quiet and peaceful with your thoughts. If you doze off for a few minutes, then that's ok. Maybe get up out of your chair and get into bed when that happens.
Unfortunately, I think most people would say that they don't have enough time for that. They might find it impossible to stop thinking about their phone or Facebook or whatever it is. It breaks my heart. It really does. I think we humans were much better off before we started inventing all these fancy things to keep us entertained and busy. It can be healthy to just sit and be quiet doing nothing from time to time, even if it's just for 10-15 minutes each day. If you have to use a white noise sound machine for that to drown out distractions outside your room, then that's what I would recommend.
But yeah, a person can believe they're "bored to tears" because they haven't learned that they don't actually have to be doing something all the damn time and that sometimes, it's very beneficial to your mental and physical health to turn everything off, slow down and just sit quietly for a little bit. Close your eyes and let your mind go. Let it entertain you for a while. You might be amazed by some of the benefits. You might start figuring out solutions to things, or you might come up with some bright new ideas, etc.
