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Anyone do a lot of reading on a MBP 13?

H

hazedragon45

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 23, 2009
125
0
I've decided not to print all of my Lecture Notes and Articles that i'm supposed to read for my Finals

Spending 3+ hours reading in Preview sort of hurts my eyes: headache..
Does anyone know of any film for the screen to make it easier to read off of?
 
hazedragon45 said:
I've decided not to print all of my Lecture Notes and Articles that i'm supposed to read for my Finals

Spending 3+ hours reading in Preview sort of hurts my eyes: headache..
Does anyone know of any film for the screen to make it easier to read off of?
Click to expand...

An ebook reader or printing them out are the only options I can think of. I had a laser printer for this purpose, I couldn't stand the reading on the laptop.
 
right now.. the only thing that's working for me is putting my MBP about an extra foot in front of me and reading in a well lit room. Just got this 2 weeks ago and thought this would solve all my printing problems.. j

I'd be nice if there was a screen thingy that you pop on your macbook just when u want to do some "intense" readings
 
I did the same thing as you. I stopped printing lecture notes since the start of last year and went 100% to notes on the Macbook. It was at one stage when I felt my eyes were strained that I went out and bought a 22" monitor. Never had eye strain since then. I recommend plugging into an external monitor.
 
takamine said:
I did the same thing as you. I stopped printing lecture notes since the start of last year and went 100% to notes on the Macbook. It was at one stage when I felt my eyes were strained that I went out and bought a 22" monitor. Never had eye strain since then. I recommend plugging into an external monitor.
Click to expand...

Interesting.. I dont see how a bigger screen is going to help. Wouldnt that be more straining on the eyes/?
 
hazedragon45 said:
Interesting.. I dont see how a bigger screen is going to help. Wouldnt that be more straining on the eyes/?
Click to expand...

A large screen will have larger text font that should be less straining for your eyes but I disagree that it will 100% help you. I have 24" monitor and I still prefer paper or eink display.
 
This is when the display technology in your monitor becomes important. In my experience IPS panels are superior to other, "cheaper" TN panels. The viewing angle, image quality, and everything, really, is superior with IPS technology.

I use a 26" H-IPS panel from NEC. I can stare at this monitor for extended periods and it's a joy to work with. The later-model, large iMacs also used IPS panels.

If you're unsure what all this means, read LCD Panel Technology for a quick primer (ignore the article's link to monitor lists, it is seriously outdated).

Our office runs on Macs -- decked out Mac Pros and iMacs. We do a lot of reading, writing and document review on our computers. And I won't do it on anything but a top-of-the-line H-IPS panel. The difference between a cheap monitor and a quality H-IPS panel is stark, once you begin working with a quality monitor.
 
hazedragon45 said:
right now.. the only thing that's working for me is putting my MBP about an extra foot in front of me and reading in a well lit room. Just got this 2 weeks ago and thought this would solve all my printing problems.. j

I'd be nice if there was a screen thingy that you pop on your macbook just when u want to do some "intense" readings
Click to expand...

So you bought a 13" MBP to solve your printing problems? Wouldn't spending $75 on 1500 printed pages be a better investment.

I don't understand people who do this. Printed pages are much more accessible, you can highlight, take notes in the columns, read it in your commute.

Also, when reading from a printed page, you are using ambient/reflective light. When you are reading from a computer screen you are staring directly at the light source. This is terrible for your eyes in the long term.
 
Use computer glasses

I found Gunnar computer glasses a while ago. It's $60 for the cheapest pair and it's made a world of difference for me. I'm on the computer all day reading text (I'm a programmer). I used to have eye strain and headaches every day after work. I read an article on lifehacker about these glasses where he said those symptoms went away. Half-scheptical I decided to give it a try. I had the exact same response. Eye strain and headaches completely went away. My eyes also don't dry out as easily with these glasses on. Best $60 I've spent in a long time.
 
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