#172 Some Flux

Are you the sort of person who uses a computer? And are you the sort of person that can have difficulty getting to sleep? I stumbled across F.lux, a simple programme that automatically adjusts the temperature of the colour on the screen, adjusting it to the time of day resulting in less strain on the eyes and it could help you get to sleep better.

Since computer monitors are basically meant to replicate the sun in their performance in colour management, at night they can blind you for being too ‘white’. F.lux, changes the colour temperature to be yellower or more sepia reducing stress on the eyes.

Whilst I cannot say for sure if it works or not at the moment as I have only been using it for a few days, it definitely does change the colour balance, but if you are working on the computer, you won’t really notice it at all as it is done gradually.

Below is a screenshot of the preference window, I can’t show what the colour difference is between midday and midnight as that can’t be captured in a screenshot. For those interested, here is a link to the F.lux website: Here

#43 There’s An App For That, A Very Well Designed One Too

Again, this post is about something which I found online. I should really stop doing this as, well, it probably isn’t the best of things to be doing when I could be getting on with some sort of work.

How many of you out there have an iPod Touch or an iPhone? Well this post is probably most relevant to you then. A while ago, someone posted a link to this site on Twitter, can’t remember who it was so I am unable to give them credit for it, but nonetheless, it is a site dedicated to showcasing all of the, or what are considered to be the best produced and designed applications in the iTunes App Store.

app.itize.us has a mission statement which is as follows:

app.itize.us is a painstakingly curated presentation of the best produced and designed iPhone applications that are available for download via the App Store.

I agree with every word in that sentence, figuratively speaking of course.

A few weeks ago whilst on this site, browsing, I stumbled across what has to be my favourite game I have ever played on my iPhone or iPod Touch. Colorbind. Essentially, the aim of the game is to connect all the dots on the screen with the coloured strips of paper. It is an utterly gorgeous game which probably wouldn’t work very well on any other platform. It is a good way to let the time slip by. In a lecture, before going to bed, if you have nothing else constructive to do, or even if you should be doing something else.

There are 80 levels in total, ranging from simple one colour puzzles to more complicated 4 colour conundrums. Included is a tutorial, but the game seems very intuitive from the very start. I highly recommend this game, it is without a doubt the one of the best 59p’s I have ever spent. Slight update, I seem to have got the game when it was at its discounted price, it is currently £1.19, but it is still worth the little extra money.

The website for Colorbind is nonverbal.ch

Link directly to application in iTunes: Colorbind

If you own an iPod Touch or an iPhone, or if by the time you are reading this, an iPad, then I couldn’t urge you more to go to app.itize.us and find something which is considered to be wonderfully designed. On top of that I am going to say definitely buy Colorbind, well worth the money, even if you aren’t sure about buying it, there is also a lite version, but why waste time and install that when you could have the full one instead?